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In reply to the discussion: Yes, Facebook is every bit as bad as you thought. [View all]Qutzupalotl
(14,307 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.