[News] The Internet Was a Mistake

A thread for updates on the various ways the internet is destroying everything and the undying hellsites of social media. Let's all laugh at the abyss.

dejanzie wrote:
Prederick wrote:

I think (emphasis on think) it's a human psychology thing? Basic tribalistic In-group/out-group stuff.

Liberals like to think they're above it, but they're just as susceptible to "I am willing to believe this farfetched story because it paints people I dislike in the worst light possible" as conservatives are.

Now, whether one group spends more time leaning into it and weaponizing that is another long debate.

Doesn't seem like that long of a debate to me, honestly.

When one side spends a lot of time leaning into and weaponizing ignorance, debates tend to run long.

Uvalde gunman threatened rapes and school shootings on social media app Yubo in weeks leading up to the massacre, users say

Salvador Ramos told girls he would rape them, showed off a rifle he bought, and threatened to shoot up schools in livestreams on the social media app Yubo, according to several users who witnessed the threats in recent weeks.

This isn't insomuch about the shootings as it is the way social media companies offer paltry moderation for this kind of stuff while also allowing it to shape their online culture and drive profits.

@HollyAnderson wrote:

One other thing – this inaction was neither an oversight nor a mistake. Don’t let it get framed as such.

If the people in charge of these platforms wanted things to work differently, they would. It’s not an accident that this is how it works instead.

You see a lot of emotion expressed via institutional means in the wake of these events that is termed “sorrow,” but it’s all embarrassment and fear for their own livelihoods, and irritation at having to play-act. Just a waste of words and expressions, all of it.

Well, I'm officially old. I'm only hearing about the new social media thing when it shows up in the news connected to a tragedy, so I reflexively hate it.

Edit: After reading the article, unless there's a really good other side to this story, I definitely hate it. Apparently they temp-banned Ramos after a girl reported him for making very specific and credible rape and death threats at her specifically, then let him back onto the platform. So it's not even one of those things where the excuse is that they've got millions of users and can't possibly monitor them all; they were aware of him doing things that should earn a permanent ban from any platform, and made the conscious decision to give him a slap on the wrist.

IMAGE(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FT24_RdXoAM_rP2?format=jpg&name=medium)

A Face Search Engine Anyone Can Use Is Alarmingly Accurate

PimEyes is a paid service that finds photos of a person from across the internet, including some the person may not want exposed. “We’re just a tool provider,” its owner said.

IMAGE(https://i.makeagif.com/media/11-03-2019/PE4uDs.gif)

MrDeVil909 wrote:

It's a reaction to the #MeToo movement and is all about putting victims in their place.

This part, this part, this part. It maintains an unhealthy standard. Neither one of them seem to be stellar individuals, everyone seems to have forgotten Depp's problematic history alongside hers for some reason, and hers were not even repeated incidents of public messiness like he's prone to. Drumming up this stuff constantly reinforces that women can't be trusted to be honest about abuse instead of just one woman's word against the word of her partner.

It's definitely a win-win for Depp though. In the court of public opinion, he's won this one however it ends.

Well, he won the first way.

It's a reaction to the #MeToo movement and is all about putting victims in their place.

I wouldn't say "confirmed," but definitely not-not confirmed.

Prederick wrote:

Well, he won the first way.

It's a reaction to the #MeToo movement and is all about putting victims in their place.

I wouldn't say "confirmed," but definitely not-not confirmed.

I guess their break-up with Disney's over.

Prederick wrote:

Well, he won the first way.

It's a reaction to the #MeToo movement and is all about putting victims in their place.

I wouldn't say "confirmed," but definitely not-not confirmed.

The best part about that gif is it’s from a scene where Depp tries to act cool as his ship sinks to the waterline. Very symbolic.

I have been studiously avoiding the Depp v Heard case news, but it pops up on my socials too often to completely ignore. I am certainly not educated enough on the specifics to have an opinion other than my sincere belief that Heard appears to have not been competently represented from the looks of it.

From what I saw either her legal team was not focused on trials or some evidence never made it in. These would be things like photos that proved what she said. They would need to be submitted in a specific form to allow them to be verified with meta data.

So I came to three main possibilities based on what a saw.
The photos do no exist so they are both responsible for some bad stuff but we will never really know the full story. The photos are real but her lawyers failed to get them in as evidence. Someone failed to or chose to not submit them.

I will probably never watch the full trial but every part of the heard trial felt rushed or bad. So I am not sure if they were rushing or just didn't have much to work with.

The court battle is over now it is on to the media war.

Stealthpizza wrote:

The court battle is over now it is on to the media war.

I think that's pretty emphatically over as well.

Prederick wrote:
Stealthpizza wrote:

The court battle is over now it is on to the media war.

I think that's pretty emphatically over as well.

Yup. Between Depp stans and the general (based on the limited amount of the trial I saw, involuntarily) incompetence of Heard's lawyers, Depp has pretty solidly won the media war as well.

Good Lord this is bleak.

Didulo’s followers suffer for their allegiance to their queen. Some stopped paying their utility bills after she announced the bills were unethical and instructed them to pull all utility companies off their online banking payee lists. Those who listened to her now say they’re being hounded by debt collectors, and in some extreme cases, are having their power or water shut off. Some, blaming the capitalist system for their woes, are begging Didulo for help in turning their power back on or making people believe.

“Queen Romana. It is time you show your authority to the MSM NOW," wrote one. "I agree that it is time to enforce your decrees Canada-wide and take out the fake Trudeau from his office. We the people are trying to enforce the decrees with little success.”

Things have gotten to the point in the community where they are circulating a generic letter to send to utility companies to demand they turn their power, water, or internet back on. One woman, who pushes others to follow Didulo’s decrees, posted an image from a bank showing she had racked up $47,000 on a personal credit line and is frustrated they won’t listen to the Didulo videos she sends them. Other followers have posted they’ve suffered in other ways for their devotion to their Queen. One woman, who said she walked away from her partner and comfortable life is about to move into her car, shared an email she was sent from her brother.

If I wandered about the countryside proclaiming myself emperor because some moistened bint had given me keys to an RV they’d lock me up!

Prederick wrote:

Good Lord this is bleak.

I had to stop at "A QAnon influencer"

Qanon Anonymous has multiple episodes on her. She’s been doing this pseudo-sovereign citizen stuff for years but didn’t really start gaining traction until the pandemic.

Seems like a solid grift. 10/10 rubes. Would fool again.

Pretty sure this best fits in this thread:
Inspired by Johnny Depp, Kyle Rittenhouse Ready to File Defamation Lawsuits

“Johnny Depp trial is just fueling me,” Rittenhouse tweeted Wednesday, hinting at a big announcement to come. Rittenhouse was acquitted last year of all charges related to killing two people and wounding another with an assault rifle during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin during the summer of 2020. “You can fight back against the lies in the media, and you should.”
NathanialG wrote:

Pretty sure this best fits in this thread:
Inspired by Johnny Depp, Kyle Rittenhouse Ready to File Defamation Lawsuits

“Johnny Depp trial is just fueling me,” Rittenhouse tweeted Wednesday, hinting at a big announcement to come. Rittenhouse was acquitted last year of all charges related to killing two people and wounding another with an assault rifle during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin during the summer of 2020. “You can fight back against the lies in the media, and you should.”

Not an expert on libel law but I’m reading this defamation trial has opened the flood gates for similar lawsuits. Part of the problem is it’s hard to trick an experienced judge (which is why Depp lost in the UK) but easy to influence a group of inexperienced jury members.

Rittenhouse is a one off racist who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Facebook is an existential threat to the species, so the more damage Rittenhouse can do to it and Meta, the better.

Seth wrote:

Rittenhouse is a one off racist who was in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Facebook is an existential threat to the species, so the more damage Rittenhouse can do to it and Meta, the better.

I’m sure he’s going after multiple outlets, some of which do good journalism.

I’m sure there’s a lot of room for disappointment but his lawyer has a long hill to climb to prove media outlets were wrong to accuse Rittenhouse of white supremacy considering there’s dozens of hours of audio and video of him making racist jokes and appearing on podcasts/shows hosted by open white supremacists and self-described nazis after he was acquitted.

ruhk wrote:

I’m sure there’s a lot of room for disappointment but his lawyer has a long hill to climb to prove media outlets were wrong to accuse Rittenhouse of white supremacy considering there’s dozens of hours of audio and video of him making racist jokes and appearing on podcasts/shows hosted by open white supremacists and self-described nazis after he was acquitted.

Rittenhouse grifts money for this “lawsuit”

His lawyer(s) enjoy money from his grift.

His mother enjoys money from her baby’s grift

Gun manufacturers/dealers grift more money from Rittenhouse supporters in the form of gun sales.

Republicans grift the rubes that support all this bullsh*t.

The wheel continues to turn.

I’m sure I missed 12 or more other pieces of this cycle.

ruhk wrote:

I’m sure there’s a lot of room for disappointment but his lawyer has a long hill to climb to prove media outlets were wrong to accuse Rittenhouse of white supremacy considering there’s dozens of hours of audio and video of him making racist jokes and appearing on podcasts/shows hosted by open white supremacists and self-described nazis after he was acquitted.

Jury trial. Find a venue with suitable voting record. Exclude potential jurors who have a “biased” view of my client. Have a favourable judge. I would be happy to roll the dice that 7 out of 12 Fox News watchers believe the Mainstream Media is racist against white people. And if it is all funded by those same rubes, the expected payoff makes it a no brainier.

It's called the Fifth Circuit, and it's the Alex Jones to the SCOTUS's Tucker Carlson.

Garbage Day, very good again.

Hyperlocal journalism came true, but in the bad way

But like all attempts at predicting where technology will take us, the idea that hyperlocal journalism was the future was both very correct and astoundingly wrong at the same time. What actually happened was that American internet users were corralled into huge social platforms, fed algorithmic garbage for years while local publishers around the country atrophied and died, and then, when platforms like Facebook decided local engagement was actually better for time-on-site, they flipped a switch, and sent millions of internet years back into their respective communities, only now without any local journalism to orient themselves. And what filled the vacuum? Grifters, anti-vaxxers, local Republican Facebook pages, livestreaming chiropractors, and various Barstool Sports-affiliated Instagram pages.

This is something many of us have anecdotally felt over the last few years, but according to a recent research paper published in Research & Politics, we now have some data to back it up.

“Regardless of Facebook’s motivations, their decision to change the algorithm might have given local Republican parties greater reach to connect with citizens and shape political realities for Americans,” the study’s abstract reads.

And it seems like this algorithm change was the main driver behind The Manhattan Institute’s anti-critical race theory moral panic that swept the country following Trump leaving office.

Facebook doesn’t (and possibly can’t) give us data on how popular screenshots of tweets are on the platform, which is the main way a tweet is shared, but according to the most recent Widely Viewed Content Transparency Report, as of the first quarter of this year, tiktok.com and twitter.com were the fourth and eleventh most-viewed domains for links shared on the platform in the US. Which, to me, says that smaller, more relevant platforms are still being mined for content by the overwhelmingly older and more conservative users on Facebook. I’ve previously described all of this as our current “local Facebook page nightmare world,” but this is not just a Facebook problem.

Free speech absolutist not so absolutist after all...

SpaceX fires workers who criticized Elon Musk in open letter

Washington Post wrote:

SpaceX has fired employees who helped coordinate an open letter critical of chief executive Elon Musk’s behavior on Twitter and other public forums.

In an email to employees Thursday reviewed by The Washington Post, the rocket company’s president, Gwynne Shotwell, said the letter “made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied” and pressured into signing a document that did not reflect their views.

She said the workers who’d coordinated the effort had been terminated, but did not say how many. The New York Times first reported the firings.

The letter called Musk’s behavior “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment.” It comes as the Tesla billionaire is in the midst of a high-profile effort to acquire Twitter and after a report in Business Insider alleging he had sexually harassed a flight attendant aboard a corporate jet, allegations Musk condemned as a “politically motivated hit piece” meant to disrupt his $44 billion bid for the social media platform. The Post has been unable to verify those allegations.

Musk and his companies were also served with a lawsuit Thursday for allegedly defrauding investors as part of a scheme to promote the cryptocurrency dogecoin. The complaint argues that Musk was part of a “pump and dump” racket that involved him hyping dogecoin to attract more investors, then rapidly selling off his assets as their value peaked, tanking the rest of currency’s value.

In recent weeks, Musk has used his Twitter account to laud right-wing political figures, boost cryptocurrency and accuse the news media of liberal bias, all while sharing updates of SpaceX’s progress toward several launches. His account has also tweeted and retweeted lewd jokes and attacked liberal politicians, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).