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Cattledog

(5,915 posts) Sat Jul 14, 2018, 12:43 PM Jul 2018

Facebook wants to cut down on misinformation. So why isn't it doing anything about Infowars?

By Eli Rosenberg
July 14 at 8:00 AM

Facebook has spent much of the last year and a half attempting to tamp down the spread of false and malicious information that bloomed on its platform during the 2016 election.

After a slew of negative publicity, the company adjusted its algorithms, sought to study the political effects of misinformation and issued mea culpas, in the form of congressional testimony and slick advertisements a plenty.

But critics point to one thing it has not done: banned or blocked the site Infowars — one of the most prominent outlets known for spreading baseless information and conspiracy theories — which enjoys many verified Facebook pages with millions of followers. The right-wing media channel’s relationship to Facebook has come under closer scrutiny as social media giant has begun touting the other measures it says it has undertaken to try to reduce the amount of misleading information on its site.

“By refusing to ban InfoWars, @facebook is choosing profit off a vile conspiracy theorist who harasses the families of the children killed at Sandy Hook,” former Obama administration official Dan Pfeiffer wrote on Twitter. “Please spare me the self righteousness about freedom of speech.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2018/07/14/facebook-wants-to-cut-down-on-misinformation-so-why-isnt-it-doing-anything-about-infowars/?utm_term=.8ec73e053fd5

5 replies

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Facebook wants to cut down on misinformation. So why isn't it doing anything about Infowars? (Original Post) Cattledog Jul 2018 OP

Zuckerberg doesn't give a damn about truth or democracy dalton99a Jul 2018 #1

Because like Trump they can and get away with it lame54 Jul 2018 #2

"Please spare me the self righteousness about freedom of speech." PSPS Jul 2018 #3

Ignore anything that Facebook says jimlup Jul 2018 #4

I delet d facebook and have never been happier. vi5 Jul 2018 #5

dalton99a

(81,515 posts)

1. Zuckerberg doesn't give a damn about truth or democracy

Reply to Cattledog (Original post)

Sat Jul 14, 2018, 12:48 PM

Jul 2018

lame54

(35,293 posts)

2. Because like Trump they can and get away with it

Reply to Cattledog (Original post)

Sat Jul 14, 2018, 12:49 PM

Jul 2018

PSPS

(13,601 posts)

3. "Please spare me the self righteousness about freedom of speech."

Reply to Cattledog (Original post)

Sat Jul 14, 2018, 01:16 PM

Jul 2018

"By refusing to ban InfoWars, @facebook is choosing profit off a vile conspiracy theorist who harasses the families of the children killed at Sandy Hook," former Obama administration official Dan Pfeiffer wrote on Twitter. "Please spare me the self righteousness about freedom of speech."

Another consequence of poor education in schools. The first amendment has absolutely no relationship with this. Facebook is a private entity, not a branch of government. As such, it can exercise full control over everything on its platform without exception. The same goes for all other social media such as twitter, YouTube and the rest. The only reason Zuckerberg and the rest of them embrace the destruction of our democracy is because they profit handsomely from doing so.

jimlup

(7,968 posts)

4. Ignore anything that Facebook says

Reply to Cattledog (Original post)

Sat Jul 14, 2018, 01:19 PM

Jul 2018

it will be coorporate propaganda. And they can't help it. This is how coorporations work. They even may have someone at the top who "means well" but it doesn't matter. The for-profit coorporate structure will insure that anything that comes out of Facebook's mouth is pure propaganda and has no bearing on what if anything they are actually going to do.

vi5

(13,305 posts)

5. I delet d facebook and have never been happier.

Reply to Cattledog (Original post)

Sat Jul 14, 2018, 02:24 PM

Jul 2018

As long as we continue to give them our clicks, our eyes, and in some cases our money they will do whatever the fuck they want.

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