1069 Facebook is kaputt
What to make of the stoush between Facebook and our Government?
Well, when an item came up on the news that Facebook doesn't do news anymore, I shouted, "hurray!" That's because I have a very fraught relationship with fb (I immediately began my exit from fb, you'll find the link on my Home page doesn't work anymore) ... I hate them for spreading fake news, disinformation and conspiracies, just check out this incident:
771 First 911 and now Trump
This is the story of our lives: First 911, now Trump ...
You know, of course, that the algorithm according to which you are fed news on fb favours what you have been clicking earlier ... if you click on an item about Trump, fb will send you more items on Trump; simple. And people who use fb as their source for news have their news stream manipulated with increasing intensity.
I use fb to keep up with my kids and grandkids, that's all; so I don't miss the newsfeeds ... but there are two sides to the story.
Here are some items in the press about the issue (SMH):
If it was hoping its provocative move would garner attention, it succeeded – if not for the right reasons. In deactivating the ability to share news stories, it also managed to shut down dozens of major health, corporate, sporting and charity Facebook pages. For a tech company in the information business, it was an embarrassing mistake with possibly dire health consequences.
The backlash was swift. The federal government demanded that the social media giant immediately reinstate those pages unwittingly caught up in the dispute, and Prime Minister Scott Morrison was adamant that Facebook’s “bullying” actions would not pressure the government into backing down on its legislation.
More in the Herald:
However, alarmingly, Facebook also appears to be blocking some health organisations, legal services and women’s shelters. It’s possible this is a mistake, the collateral damage of an algorithm, but Facebook may also be attempting to make a point about the impact and scope of the code. Either way, it demonstrates a disregard for Facebook’s many communities, that it puts profits before its users.
Anyway, a good source for news is always The Conversation and here they have some sound advice for us:
Feel like breaking up with Facebook?
Maybe it’s time for a social media spring clean
In denying news content to its Australian users, Facebook is arguably overplaying its hand, behaving as a big company that thinks it can intimidate governments.
If it keeps doing this, it will ultimately lose customers, and that’s the last thing Facebook wants.
Perhaps you’re already considering breaking up with Facebook, whether in reaction to the news ban, or out of a broader unease about its business model, which profiles its users with the goal of earning revenue from targeted advertising.
If so, the good news is it’s definitely possible to delete Facebook. Or, if you’re not ready to go the whole hog, you can certainly minimise your footprint on the platform.