Can confirm giving up popular social media has made my life a lot better. You don’t need to know half the shit your friends are up to. It’s just going to hurt you. Go outside. Take part in trivia night. Make new friends. Feel the grass beneath your feet.
PROPAGANDA. Please use the actual word. Why use two words when one do trick?
From Wikipedia:
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded language to produce an emotional rather than a rational response to the information that is being presented.
Propaganda isn’t always fake news, it can also be true stuff presented in a biased way.
Similarly, fake news isn’t always propaganda. Some is just stuff spread by trolls to make fun of people.
Propaganda isn’t always fake news, it can also be true stuff presented in a biased way.
It can also be true stuff presented in an unbiased way. There’s a disconnect here between the proper definition of the word, which is perfectly neutral, and its connotations because the what secretary for tsunami safety doesn’t call their stuff “propaganda” but “public service announcement”. Still the same thing, though, the tsunami safety secretary is trying to persuade the audience to not be stupid and get to high ground as soon as the sea recedes. Very much pushing an agenda, they *gasp* want people to survive and *gasp* use communication to achieve it.
Can it? I searched a bit and all the definitions I’ve found seem to be about swaying public opinion, not simple objective announcements.
It does have a negative connotation even though it can be used for good, but I still don’t think purely objective messages like “a tsunami is coming, get to high ground” should count as propaganda.
What about things like this?
Which btw yes certainly has editorialising going on. The answer to “Useless projects are funded with EU money” starts with “National and regional authorities in the EU countries select projects which they think meet their needs best in line with the strategies and priorities agreed with the Commission.” Which isn’t saying that EU money doesn’t found useless projects, but implicitly blames regional authorities for it. I don’t even think they want to mislead, here, they simply want to stay diplomatic.
(This video about the canopy walk is brilliant. (enable subtitles)).
I think that qualifies as propaganda too: its intention is to improve the public opinion of the Cohesion policy by clearing misconceptions.
(About the “project” in the video… what the hell? I had to Google it because I wasn’t convinced it was a real thing. Just why?)
Corruption, that’s why. Similar to how the Italian mafia would half-build highway bridges with taxpayer money and then mysteriously have some shell company go bankrupt. OLAF is on it because of course they are when stuff makes the press. If they have a case EPPO will take over at which point that Hungarian mayor will have the questionable honour of being up against the gal who cleaned up Romania… before Hungarian courts. If those turn out to be corrupt then that’s going to buy the mayor time but ultimately the ECJ would overrule them. Still no mechanism to actually set boots on member state grounds but Hungary is already on thin ice when it comes to getting suspended from the EU for various reasons, they’re going to tread lightly.
See if you want to be corrupt in the EU you have to do it like the big boys: Implement some policy, then get a cushy job at a company. Or receive tons of money for boring private speeches. Something like that, directly grabbing into state coffers is so uncivilised.
EDIT: Oh, Hungary didn’t join EPPO, figures. They can still freeze assets, though. Also if I understand things correctly our mayor would turn into a fugitive in the rest of the EU.
Yes, I figured but… isn’t that a bit too obvious? Surely there had to be a less blatant way of laundering money than… a treetop walk with no trees?
I wish I could get my parents to unplug from Fox for a while
Block Fox and the other right wing news stations, but also a couple liberal news stations like NBC. When they call you for tech support, tell them it’s a weird issue happening with cable lately
My dad would figure it out pretty quick, he’s no ludite
Parental controls on the cable/satellite box are a two-way street, IMO. 🤷🏻♂️
Parent control
I deleted FB 15 years ago and haven’t missed it once.
I stopped actively using it in about 2015 and every time I happen to go on it (like once every 3 years because, like a lot of people, it’s how I communicate with family members I don’t see often) it’s like uncovering and diving into a cesspool.
Me too and me either.
I only miss it because Facebook Marketplace has killed Craigslist and I have some crap I need to sell
It’s also real annoying when trying to look up business hours or a restaurant menu only to find all their links are to Facebook.
Fortunately, my area has a popular classifieds at a local newspaper website, so I’ve never even looked at Facebook marketplace.
Marketplace is much worse than Craigslist, I don’t get it.
Craigslist was always on the fringes, before Facebook marketplace came in there were a bunch of separate and disconnected online marketplaces. Facebook marketplace had the advantage of already having a massive user base (larger than any of the existing online marketplaces), causing it to become the largest one right out the gate, which then of course makes it the most attractive option for sellers since they will reach more people.
I gave up selling on marketplace, and donate everything. People messaging you for months asking questions or wanting a refund after they broke it. I’m not your tech support, and no warranty claims. Have ueard this is a regional issue and also depends on the category. I will never sell another car on marketplace. Craigslist is great for the anonymity.
Can’t even give shit away on Facebook’s buy nothing groups cause people fucking ghost you after saying they’ll take it
I (maybe, kinda) miss what Facebook was like in, er, 2008-ish. But then again I was also 25 so maybe I just miss what life was like back then.
Same. I got on it in 2006 and it was great up until about 2010, 2013-2014 was when the shit started to hit the fan.
2013-2014 was when the timeline shifted from being a chronological timeline to a feed. The algo took over and it went to shit.
yeah. the platforms aren’t so bad in and of themselves, it’s the engagement algorithms that turn everything to shit.
just like IG, YT, video/music stremaing etc. you could stumble upon random and interesting shit… now the algo is just trying to shove kendrick lamar and joe rogan at me none stop because that is what is ‘popular’ and whatever shitty movie that netflix is trying to promote.
browsing is dead and search is also mostly broken. you can’t even effectively search for shit anymore.
the only place i can freely browse anymore is my local library. and discover lots of cool things. that experience on the internet is dead.
That sounds roughly about when I bailed on it.
Not being stuck inside of an echo chamber really does wonders for the brain. And yes, I know the irony of saying this on Lemmy, but it’s true.
Lemmy isn’t really an echo chamber. It’s like saying going over to a friends place is an echo chamber because you and your friend get along. There’s nothing wrong with hanging out with people who share your values and beliefs.
The problem with social media are their algorithms. They aren’t designed to connect you with like-minded people, but to keep you engaged. The content that keeps people engaged tends to be terrible content.
The recent “a man or a bear” trend is a perfect example. Algorithms love divisive content like that because it drives engagement, but it also leads to people getting really upset over nothing. Lemmy doesn’t have any algorithms driving engagement so it doesn’t have that problem.
Lemmy’s a lot better than Reddit for not being an echo chamber because the communities are less interest specific, and most of us are here because we’re the type to seek out a better discussion rather than stick with status quo.
But as it gets bigger and the communities become more niché it will become a bigger issue.
I strongly disagree.
I don’t think lemmy is necessarily an echochamber per se, rather its just a place where misinformation exists and opinions are manipulated.
Lemmy does use algorithms to show you the most engaging content, and there are absolutely bots and bad actors manipulating which content is prioritised.
The genocide Joe / vote abstinence thing was a very clear example.
… That’s not an echo chamber though. That’s propaganda and vote manipulation mostly by literal state actors and brainwashed rubes.
An echo chamber is when people literally self segregate enough to the point that they no longer consume almost any media that doesn’t fit their belief. Its exacerbated by large corporations who profit from ad revenue driven through user engagement.
Lemmy is not an echo chamber no more than the literal radio.
Reddit is not an echo chamber.
You can make these an echo chamber through varying degrees of ease. But places like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have been proven to drive you into one by exploiting ragebait for clicks.
You can say they’re both fruit, sure. But one is like eating cantaloupe and the other like eating bananas laced with speed.
Lemmy is definitely an echo chamber, but I agree that it’s not necessarily a bad thing as long as we recognize it for what it is. There are a large number of people out there that have very different opinions than the majority of users on this platform, we need to keep things respectful even in our disagreements with them instead of tearing them down for their opinions.
Have you tried Linux, communism, and being gay?
yes, yes, and yes.
and i no longer like any of those things.
Damn, speedrunning the Lemmy topics! I only do 2/3 of them, otherwise we’d probably already be married!
Echo chambers are a lot easier to recognize and ignore when they aren’t filled with your friends and family.
Meh. I have facebook but don’t really use it much. my condo has a page so its like a semi public chat and sometimes have communication with folks. Certainly never use the feed though and I hate checking it every few weeks. I certainly don’t want anyone im connected to to think they will get a faster response if they hit me up there. I bet other things besides facebook spreads bs though. I see it with youtube users. I use youtube but I don’t really chase my feed.
Never had a facebook, still won’t have a facebook
This title is ambiguous: reduces belief in the fake news topics themselves, vs. that fake news exists.
Anyway, yes, it does wonders for mental health and sanity to unplug from that cesspit of human “alternative knowledge”!:-P
See, I’m not real big on facebook, but I have an account because I live a considerable distance from when I am from. (Also because marketplace is nice.)
Lately those cockballs have been refollowing people I have unfollowed and it is a clusterfuck on there now. I just have to ignore the feed because it’s full of trump shit and religious shit yet again.
My mom was permabanned from Facebook in 2020 for constantly posting anti-vax nonsense so she just went to places like Gab and Parlor. 😑
Yowza. My dad did the same until he died (shockingly, of COVID), so I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I know what it’s like having a crazy parent and it sucks.
Truth depends on whoever you’re buying it from.
Truth is truth, how it is described may be subjective. But there is still only one truth.
And lies are lies. How do you decide which is which?
Damn, you’re so enlightened.
How do you decide which sources are credible? I can’t decide. Literally everything can be faked, and the more there is on the line, the more incentive and resources there are to do so.
What important stuff do you think there is that isn’t faked? How do you decide that it’s not fake?
Damn near everything you’ve ever accepted as true is stuff you were told or read and just accepted it based on how it was presented.
“I can’t decide”
yes, we are all well aware of how dumb you are. Your stupidity is becoming quite well known on Lemmy.
This is why, in a lot of universities, they’re trying to teach you how to learn, not necessarily how you should think.
We need to be able to examine the claims for ourselves and learn what red flags look like.
And a lot of the time we mix up “facts” with “opinions”. Even when we are looking at facts, most of the time there are lies mixed with truth or conveniently forgotten truths. If we only get our information from a single source, or from biased sources, then we’re going to miss some key information.
That’s why it’s good to make sure that you look at any story (especially politicized ones) from different angles and sources even if you don’t agree with them.
Not only that but it can be enlightening to hear about a story from someone who’s much more intimately familiar with the subject themselves.
For example, whenever it comes to news stories about the Supreme Court, I like to look for commentary from lawyers such as Steve Lehto or Legal Eagle. You’ll find that they typically provide some very important context into why a particular decision was made that cuts through a lot of the outrage material that reporters push for clicks.
I believe that some popular news organizations are sufficiently trustworthy. At the very least, you can find sources that rank higher than others on the scale of trustworthiness.
I’m convinced those who want to be fearful of things will immediately latch onto a new source of misinformation.
This isn’t to say Facebook is good, or that we shouldn’t try to have stronger punishment for misinformation that leads to public harm, just that “people are dumb, panicky dangerous animals”
Given how FB’s algorithm stacks their feed and hides real information, that’s not surprising.
I disabled my account four years ago when I realized how much plague stupidity and election stupidity on there was harming my mental health.
I doubt I will ever formally delete my account, as it’s the only source for pictures of some now-deceased family members. If hell freezes over and there’s a legit unavoidable need for me to be on there, I’m using desktop+web browser only, and probably in a browser that only gets used for the monthly visit to FB.
it’s the only source for pictures of some now-deceased family members
Download them ASAP. You can never trust an external service like that to keep them available in perpetuity.
Can’t you download those pictures locally? It would be good practice anyway to not rely on Facebook of all places to host your beloved photos indefinitely
Be careful, I logged out for too long and forgot my password and they wanted a copy of my driver’s license before letting me have access to my account.
That is not surprising at all. That’s like saying laying off the conspiracy theory conventions for a while reduces your belief in conspiracy theories.
It’s been since 2020 for me. No going back
What took you so long? 😉
