It seems to me that if you have a whistleblower account of some poor research practices for a vaccine trial, spreading it around Facebook to be commented on by random people who have no idea how to interpret it, probably isn't the best place for it.
I know that means publications like these which may have something important to add to the vaccine conversation, won't be able to have millions of "likes and shares"... but, who cares? Is that really such an important thing? Why is it so important for billions of random uninformed people throughout the internet to directly vomit out the first thought that comes into their head on topics like these?
I know I know, censorship, blah blah blah. I don't give a shit. To me, it's akin to somebody opting to turn off the comment section on a YouTube video that's bound to get a lot of heated debate. Just... publish your article, let actual news sites disseminate it, and do things the old fashioned way. That is, without the internet mob weighing in at every opportunity.
I know that the endgame of my argument is that Facebook would just be a site with cat pictures and status updates on what people are having for dinner. I don't care. That would be a world that is 100000 times better than the one we live in.
My concern is that I don't think that is the endgame. I think the endgame is a world where Facebook still seems to have a variety of news information, but it's heavily censored under the hood, and your parents/grandparents think you're talking nonsense if you bring up one of the topics Facebook fact checks don't allow.
Is that not the situation we're in now? Facebook does act as if it's giving people a variety of news information, they do censor the things my relatives see, and my relatives do think I'm talking nonsense if I bring up one of the topics the algorithm doesn't allow them to see. We are there already.
My relatives today think I am a misguided, manipulated communist because I believe in climate change and universal healthcare. Such is the experience of many of my friends so while I also find your end game concerning, that's how the internet as our parents (etc) experience it already works.
I would like to hear about facebook cancelling out a major news source or even medical journal for forever for anything short of lying through their teeth. Do you have any? I will be happy to research it, but I have not seen anything of the sort. Banning Trump was a godsend in my opinion.
I would consider giving money to news that do things better, instead of succumbing to cynism. This way things can improve. I have never been to a newsroom, but I have run into outlets with better, if mot perfect, standards than these.
Agree. The notion that moderation of any kind can make individual Facebook comments and opinions _at scale_ a trustable source of information is false. I’m not sure anyone believes it, and the outsourcing of the whole operation suggests it’s acknowledged to be a cost of doing business but not a strategy.
Yes, let's do it the old fashioned way where a bunch of journalists at "actual news sites" who think they're smarter than me but aren't, and have no subject matter knowledge whatsoever, decide for me what information I should get to see.
You don't give a shit because you're happy to see Facebook silence opinions you don't want to hear.
What, you think a tech monopoly will always be on your side? Or that someone will care when news that YOU care about will be censored / defeated / fake fact checked?
You're just a propaganda cog with such an attitude, no better than dumb antivaxers who don't care about facts either.
I'm fine with facebook doing what they want on their platform including hiring "fact checkers" if it cuts down on the garbage like covid and global warming deniers. If they don't like my posts and "cancel" me well then I'll just quit using the platform. Social media is not really important in my life, I would rather individuals and companies be able to do what they want with their "lives" without the government regulating everything or picking winners.
I think you may have stopped reading my comment after the beginning. In my last paragraph I explained that the end game is that basically nothing controversial (of one side or another, whether I agree with it or not) is allowed past the censors, and we just get cat videos and updates about people’s dinner. And that would be a 100000x better user experience than what is on Facebook today.
Yes, if only people stopped saying things that are "controversial", the world would be 100000x better. No wait they can can say that, but not on any platform that matters. Maybe stop posting your own controversial ideas before saying that others have no right to.
Funny how you downgraded "world" to "Facebook user experience" in your second comment.
Freedom of expression, as a principle, not as the literal 1st amendment text, is a bit more important to continued existence of our society than your Facebook experience. Unfollow your antivaxer friends if you can't bear them.
Yeah yeah we get it you’re a fascist little shithead who would gladly take away everyone else’s rights to make yourself feel safe. Just like a bunch of other commenters here. Good to know.
I know that means publications like these which may have something important to add to the vaccine conversation, won't be able to have millions of "likes and shares"... but, who cares? Is that really such an important thing? Why is it so important for billions of random uninformed people throughout the internet to directly vomit out the first thought that comes into their head on topics like these?
I know I know, censorship, blah blah blah. I don't give a shit. To me, it's akin to somebody opting to turn off the comment section on a YouTube video that's bound to get a lot of heated debate. Just... publish your article, let actual news sites disseminate it, and do things the old fashioned way. That is, without the internet mob weighing in at every opportunity.
I know that the endgame of my argument is that Facebook would just be a site with cat pictures and status updates on what people are having for dinner. I don't care. That would be a world that is 100000 times better than the one we live in.