General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsYes, Facebook is every bit as bad as you thought.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/08/why-facebook-wont-stop-pushing-propaganda/?utm_source=mj-newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-newsletter-08-30-20212naSalit
(86,510 posts)dalton99a
(81,432 posts)JohnSJ
(92,116 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Invasions of privacy, uploading my life into the hands of a greedy right-wing billionaire, and making myself a target for right-wing and foreign attacks? Um, no thanks.
luv2fly
(2,475 posts)But turn a blind eye to the facts. Makes absolutely no sense...
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Destruction of democracy and ranmpant disinformation fueling hate and a pandemic vs. pics of the grans? For a lot DUers its apparently an easy choice.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)At least they got to see selfies of people with their food!
PortTack
(32,751 posts)Response to Dream Girl (Reply #6)
Mosby This message was self-deleted by its author.
we can do it
(12,180 posts)luv2fly
(2,475 posts)But I do know that you're right, users make Facebook.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Elessar Zappa
(13,952 posts)Others, including myself, will make different choices.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)As mentioned I have no trouble with it. I hide each and every Meme (blocking the sources where I can) I see and am selective with the friends (the requests from the young ladies with impossible cleavages are just ignored).
It provides me with a wealth of information for my hobbies and I find it very useful.
PatSeg
(47,370 posts)It is a place to interact with my friends and family. I don't go there for my news and I keep my friends to a minimum. I have a Facebook page for my colorized vintage photos that get far more exposure there than they do on Flickr. Any political interactions are kept to private groups.
Over the years, I have unfriended a few people due to posts I perceived as racist or anyone who openly supported Donald Trump. At my age, I really do not suffer fools gladly and usually find it easy to just release them. Meanwhile, I am very selective about any friend requests I accept, even if they are very old friends or relatives.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)But hey, it's all about the self now.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)...though it did get a little edgy sometimes.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Should I get rid of my Roku because they carry "BlazeTV"? Should I throw away my radio because it picks up conservative talk-shows? Should I stop going to my local grocery store because they sell Goya rice, beans, spices? I suppose I should cancel my subscription to the Washington Post because they print George Will? --- This over-the-top Facebook hate is absurd. Y'all are just too much.
Kaleva
(36,294 posts)Or maybe censorship boards could be set up that would control what Facebook, Twitter, DU, Daily Kos and others post.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... it's damn near 100% ad-free. Y'all go ahead and gnash teeth, wring-hands and pull out hair... I'll share and enjoy photos, keep in touch, send birthday greetings, send condolences, and video chat with my kids and grandkids.
It's great!
tritsofme
(17,373 posts)luv2fly
(2,475 posts)People want it both ways.
tritsofme
(17,373 posts)Sorry you are scared of Facebook. Its good to know your own limits.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I have no problems on my Facebook news feed. Dont really see any propaganda at all.
MineralMan
(146,284 posts)The folks complaining the loudest about FB are those who have never really used it.
You could say the same about your TV set, or even the entirety of the Internet.
Shut them all off and go live off the land in some remote place. You'll never have to think about anything again. That's my advice to such folks.
NCDem47
(2,248 posts)But yeah, at the end of the day, Facebook is mining and selling your info. to the highest bidder.
MineralMan
(146,284 posts)My FB page is friends-only. My spam filter gets updated daily. A guy has to take care of himself, it seems to me.
I don't see any propaganda on FB. NONE! I see some ads, of course, but I see those everywhere.
Facebook is what you make it. If you don't care, you get a lot of crap in your feed. If you care, you avoid that quite easily.
However, non-FB users don't know any of that. They don't use Facebook; they just complain about it.
Response to MineralMan (Reply #29)
Mosby This message was self-deleted by its author.
smatteson
(3 posts)I don't have any issues with this on my FB feed either. And these repetitive posts griping about FB invariably seem to originate from people who have heard Very Bad Things about it but never used it.
Reminds me of the hysteria over Dungeons and Dragons in the 1980's such that one woman who kids I once watched for an afternoon (favor for a family friend) instructed me not to tell them anything about D&D since she knew I was a devotee because she "heard it involves Satanism."
If I had a nickel for every time I read someone here condescendingly telling others to "You! You there! You should write letters, send emails or make phone calls instead of using social media! Don't you know better??!" I'd be retired now.
But really the core of my peeve here is how we are perpetually talked down to and belittled for being so stupid to make a decision they don't like and using Facebook despite the constant hand-wringing here.
Let them make their choices, we'll make our own. Isn't that the core tenet of our belief structure?
Long time lurker, first time poster. Always enjoy your posts, MM.
catrose
(5,065 posts)No one but friends or friends of friends can comment, and I keep refusing friendships with all those studly military dudes. And I NEVER look at an FB "news" item. I get my news elsewhere; FB is for keeping up with the friends scattered far and wide.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)MineralMan
(146,284 posts)Some of us use Facebook for very valid reasons. For example, my 75 year old sister has advanced Alzheimer's. She can't do much, but she can still look at photos of her children and grandchildren on Facebook when her husband goes to her page. She sees pictures of me, as well. I'm her big brother.
Please stop trying to shame people for making the choice to use Facebook. It's a little authoritarian, it seems to me. Clearly, you don't use Facebook, but you're happy to explain to everyone else why they shouldn't as well. Virtue signaling isn't a good look.
catrose
(5,065 posts)frogmarch
(12,153 posts)photos of my great-grandchildren. I belong to a Fb group called Science Funnies, which I like too.
No political crap, just good posts from Democrats, including, but not limited to, Adam Schiff.
Elessar Zappa
(13,952 posts)People see stuff in which theyve indicated interest, either by google searches or other means. I dont show an interest in bullshit so I dont see bullshit.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)... do what's right, eh?
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Others seem to have no problems with the service and are not seeing the alleged propaganda described.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Undermine democracy help elect Trump.
PortTack
(32,751 posts)Frustrating because there are lots of ways to stay in touch without using FB! I have grand kids that live away, we send photos, share and stay in touch and never use the site!
Zuckerburg helped elect tfg and that is common knowledge. He meant with him at the WH and in general is a big part of the problem.
Those of you who use the site are enabling this regardless of ad blockers, and other measures. It puts money in the coffers they will use to elect more gqp criminals...tell me it aint so
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)managed to vote for Biden. Perhaps that is a surprise to you, perhaps not. My connecting with with the local historical preservation groups and botanical garden along with my hobby interests seems to have not made any difference in my ability to get to the polls and vote a straight Democratic ticket in November. I wonder just how that happened?
LeftInTX
(25,219 posts)They are all active on FB...
Telling us peons what to do is fine, but please tell the important people that they are undermining Democracy. Thank you.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I'm all ears.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)When the griping, scolding and nagging starts, the subtext is "I'm better than you because I don't use Facebook"... it's meant as a swipe to put people in their places and take them down a notch (for not being sufficiently progressive, I suppose.) It comes and goes in cycles. In a day or two this thread will sink... it will start up again in about 5-6 weeks. Ugh.
Sherman A1
(38,958 posts)I have noted that Our Doom and Gloom poster seems to not have an answer to my question regarding my use of FB affecting her, but then I never expected a response. FB is like anything else, it is a tool to be used. How it is used makes all the difference.
smatteson
(3 posts)... the preening condescension is what really gets me, along with the barking of commands along the lines of "You there! You stop using social media right now! Get back to sending emails, faxes and making phone calls! Write letters, what's the matter with you??! I HAVE SPOKEN! You'll do as I say or I'll insinuate you're stupid!"
And don't even get me started on the holier than thou types who come RUSHING into these repetitive threads to proudly boast "Never used FB, NEVER will!" the split second these rants start right up again.
Complaining about FB is mental masturbation for many on DU, plain and simple. And there are many who leap at the chance, every single time.
canetoad
(17,149 posts)To the posts that say, "You there!..... " etc. You need to back up your assertions with facts.
With two posts under your belt, smatteson, I'm starting to wonder if you are on FBs payroll.
Response to canetoad (Reply #70)
Name removed Message auto-removed
we can do it
(12,180 posts)Tired of the no other way to communicate crap.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Sympthsical
(9,067 posts)My entire family lives across country, so I'll keep using FB. During Covid, it's how I've kept up with friends.
I see no politics nor ads, because I use an ad-blocker and don't subscribe to groups that promote politics. If a friend or family starts posting wacky stuff, I just shadow block them from the feed I see.
YouTube has crazy crap on it. Reddit has crazy crap on it. Twitter is absolutely a shitfest of misinformation. If you think DU is 100% factual and doesn't contain lots of stuff to reinforce narratives that are not . . . objectively accurate, not sure what to tell you about that one.
People are 100% responsible for their online experiences. It takes a little bit of effort, but it is completely doable.
Once you realize the algorithms are designed to show you things it thinks will get you to engage more and click more, you'll quickly learn not to click on things.
As for selling information, that's every website ever. If you're using something for free, you are the product. And I do mean every website.
People aren't going to scold me out of using tools I find perfectly useful for my purposes.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)Initech
(100,059 posts)It's having the opposite effect - it's driving us more apart and making us more isolated than ever before. And it's also radicalizing people like never before thanks to targeted propaganda.
Qutzupalotl
(14,300 posts)I dont think wed have had Brexit or Trump without Facebook.
Full disclosure: I use it. I do see propaganda. I see the effects of the algorithm controlling what I get shown; if I disagree with something a friend posted, its like, You like arguing with Fred? Heres a bunch more of his posts!
I see propaganda from our side too over-the-top stuff from Occupy Democrats, one-sided or factually wrong things, perhaps deliberately made that way to sow chaos. Like that pic of Obama laughing with a caption of something he never said; I had a friend who thought Obama was condescending but couldnt say why; turns out he was exposed to a bunch of memes like that which created a false impression. I like a good political cartoon now and then, but of course those things are designed to be distorted. Now I get them from all sides.
The lesson? Dont like something unless you want to see more of it. Dont click on any ad. Dont put a lot of personal info in your bio. Log out of FB on your browser so they dont track your online movements. Dont argue unless youre prepared to argue constantly.
Even with all that, just by being a user doing nothing wrong (anymore), I am aware that I am swelling FBs numbers and making them more powerful. Which sucks, as I become more aware of how they abuse that power to boost conservatives.
Captain Stern
(2,201 posts)I've used Facebook since 2008.
I don't see any pro-trump stuff in my newsfeed. I don't see any anti-vax stuff in my newsfeed. Nor do I see anything that belittles the BLM movement, or supports the Jan 6 Insurgents.
I don't see any anti-science stuff in my Facebook newsfeed (but I do occasionally see it right here on DU....go figure)
Perhaps the folks that are apparently inundated with all of these messages that they don't want to see, don't know how to use Facebook that well. Maybe Facebook could do a better job of familiarizing it's users with the tools that are available to them.
But, for the most part, Facebook, just like the Internet in general, or television, or radio, is pretty much what the user makes of it.
Saboburns
(2,807 posts)Facebook doesn't post anything, never has. If you are seeing anti-vax horseshit and Q-conspiracy nuttery on your facebook feed it's because your friends are posting it.
I'm on Facebook multiple times daily, everyday, and I haven't seen one anti-vax post. Not 1 Q-conspiracy post. Not ever.
Again I am forced to say that most of you don't understand even the basics when it comes to Facebook. EVERY USER CONTROLS WHAT IS SHOWN TO THEM. My Facebook is full of rational articles urging taking vaccines, wearing masks, pro social distancing, and listening to Doctors and scientists. And memes promoting the truth about COVID-19. And the truth about Joe Biden trouncing Trump.
My Facebook is a force for good. As I imagine all other DU Facebook pages are.
Stop with the Facebook doom posting. Because either you don't know what you are actually talking about, or worse, you are letting you're Facebook page spread lies and misinformation.
You control what's on your page, not Facebook.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)luv2fly
(2,475 posts)Nor do sweets spread misinformation about vaccines.
CrackityJones75
(2,403 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,975 posts)As well as Snapchat and TikTok.
Everyone uses YouTube it seems. There are other social media platforms, such as Clapper, a TikTok alternative. Medium and Tumbler are still a thing. WhatsApp is popular. Twitter, of course.
Should everyone stop using all of these platforms, or just Facebook? Everyone of them is problematic in someway.
Crap. Almost forgot Reddit!
Could go back to email, or even letter writing I suppose.
leighbythesea2
(1,200 posts)I stay off. No tiktok either. FB is so toxic it's shocking. Good article.
Jim G.
(14,811 posts)I'm on FB but I have no toxic friends & I don't follow any toxic pages. Therefore my experience is obviously much different than those constantly complaining about it here.