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.
Eh. I put Jones in the same bucket as Trump - they're both incorrigible ramblers, and you should treat their ramblings with the same seriousness as bad improv.
ruhk wrote:I’m no fan of Jones, but it’s a bit of a disingenuous take. The specific part about him eating his neighbors is from a hypothetical apocalypse scenario where his family has run out of food, he was talking about how he’d rather eat his neighbors than let his kids starve to death.
I don't think that's much of an improvement, really, though I agree that it is less dire than him making active plans to eat his neighbors this week. I still think it's supremely f*cked up, though I suppose it falls in the grand tradition of genteel people who get very upset when told that they weren't allowed to be cannibals after shipwrecks.
You have to keep in mind that Jones has a habit of intentionally saying inflammatory things loudly and obnoxiously while simultaneously being careful to bookend those statements in deniable ways that allows him to reap credibility when those inflammatory statements are removed from context and broadcast either in media or through memes. The Knowledge Fight guys we’re talking about this in the most recent episode, they think the cannibalism statements were intentionally meant to be taken out of context in exactly the way his ex-wife has done. He’s currently in the midst of legal proceedings over his kids and now he could potentially say she’s trying to libel him by taking his ranting out of context in a very public way.
The Knowledge Fight guys we’re talking about this in the most recent episode, they think the cannibalism statements were intentionally meant to be taken out of context in exactly the way his ex-wife has done. He’s currently in the midst of legal proceedings over his kids and now he could potentially say she’s trying to libel him by taking his ranting out of context in a very public way.
OK, now it's horrifying but in an entirely different way.
Eh. I put Jones in the same bucket as Trump - they're both incorrigible ramblers, and you should treat their ramblings with the same seriousness as bad improv.
Except millions of people listen to it and internalize it as fact and acceptable behavior.
I thought we weren't supposed to talk about Alex Jones on this site. 
In all seriousness, I've read enough history to think that turning to cannibalism maybe isn't a choice. The survivors of Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 were disciplined athletes in excellent physical and mental shape, yet in the end they started eating their dead comrades. Alex is an a-hole and if I were his neighbor I would immediately sell my house.
Bu none of us know for sure how we'd react if hunger shorted out our higher cognition and the lizard survival brain took over.
I thought we weren't supposed to talk about Alex Jones on this site. :)
Realistically, no one should be talking about him, because whether it actually was his plan or not (and he’s openly done similar things in the past), he’s been trending on twitter for the last day and multiple mainstream outlets have been giving him free publicity over the stupid cannibal stuff.
jdzappa wrote:I thought we weren't supposed to talk about Alex Jones on this site. :)
Realistically, no one should be talking about him, because whether it actually was his plan or not (and he’s openly done similar things in the past), he’s been trending on twitter for the last day and multiple mainstream outlets have been giving him free publicity over the stupid cannibal stuff.
Just giving you a hard time Ruhk. And yeah that's f'ed. I'm hoping nobody takes him seriously.
ruhk wrote:I’m no fan of Jones, but it’s a bit of a disingenuous take. The specific part about him eating his neighbors is from a hypothetical apocalypse scenario where his family has run out of food, he was talking about how he’d rather eat his neighbors than let his kids starve to death.
I don't think that's much of an improvement, really, though I agree that it is less dire than him making active plans to eat his neighbors this week. I still think it's supremely f*cked up, though I suppose it falls in the grand tradition of genteel people who get very upset when told that they weren't allowed to be cannibals after shipwrecks.
These tattoos finally have a purpose
Gremlin wrote:ruhk wrote:I’m no fan of Jones, but it’s a bit of a disingenuous take. The specific part about him eating his neighbors is from a hypothetical apocalypse scenario where his family has run out of food, he was talking about how he’d rather eat his neighbors than let his kids starve to death.
I don't think that's much of an improvement, really, though I agree that it is less dire than him making active plans to eat his neighbors this week. I still think it's supremely f*cked up, though I suppose it falls in the grand tradition of genteel people who get very upset when told that they weren't allowed to be cannibals after shipwrecks.
These tattoos finally have a purpose
What is that slogan? Been seeing it a lot with the III three-percenters but haven’t seen any direct references to the meaning of that slogan.
JLS wrote:Gremlin wrote:ruhk wrote:I’m no fan of Jones, but it’s a bit of a disingenuous take. The specific part about him eating his neighbors is from a hypothetical apocalypse scenario where his family has run out of food, he was talking about how he’d rather eat his neighbors than let his kids starve to death.
I don't think that's much of an improvement, really, though I agree that it is less dire than him making active plans to eat his neighbors this week. I still think it's supremely f*cked up, though I suppose it falls in the grand tradition of genteel people who get very upset when told that they weren't allowed to be cannibals after shipwrecks.
These tattoos finally have a purpose
What is that slogan? Been seeing it a lot with the III three-percenters but haven’t seen any direct references to the meaning of that slogan.
Molon Labe: "Come and take them". A slogan of defiance co-opted by gun-rights defenders in the U.S.
A tattoo on your meaty thigh can now also serve as a deterrent to Alex Jones.
My right to not accidentally or intentionally get shot is more important than your penis extension.
'What are we doing this for?': Doctors are fed up with conspiracies ravaging ERs
At the end of another long shift treating coronavirus patients, Dr. Hadi Halazun opened his Facebook page to find a man insisting to him that “no one’s dying” and that the coronavirus is “fake news” drummed up by the news media.Hadi tried to engage and explain his first-hand experience with the virus. In reply, another user insinuated he wasn't a real doctor, saying that pictures from his profile showing him at concerts and music festivals proved it.
“I told them: ‘I am a real doctor. There are 200 people in my hospital’s ICU,’" said Halazun, a cardiologist in New York. "And they said, ‘Give me your credentials.’ I engaged with them, and they kicked me off their wall."
“I left work and I felt so deflated. I let it get to me.”
Halazun, like many health care professionals, is dealing with a bombardment of misinformation and harassment from conspiracy theorists, some of whom have moved beyond posting online to pressing doctors for proof of the severity of the pandemic.
And it's taking a toll. Hazalun said that dealing with conspiracy theorists is the “second-most painful thing I’ve had to deal with, other than separation of families from their loved one."
Several other doctors shared similar experiences, saying that they regularly had to treat patients who had sought care too late because of conspiracy theories spread on social media, and that social media companies have to do more to counteract the forces that spread lies for profit.
This is a terrifying thing I've seen a few people mention, as a result of the pandemic. Millions of people, young people especially, are basically stuck inside their house with nothing to do but watch stuff on YouTube and read Facebook, all of this in the midst of a exceptionally trying time that has left people feeling dislocated and demoralized. Grifters and extremists have been waiting for times like this, and are currently taking advantage (perhaps you've seen the much-reported deluge of ads from The Epoch Times prior to YT videos on almost any subject recently).
What happens when we emerge from this and a nontrivial portion of the population believe Donald Trump has secretly taken out all of the child-eating cannibals, and others are shielding their kids from 5G towers while rallying to imprison Bill Gates?You can't really undo this.
It's not good!
Molon Labe: "Come and take them". A slogan of defiance co-opted by gun-rights defenders in the U.S.
And yet...
Miquela, the Uncanny CGI Virtual Influencer, Signs With CAA
See, the big thing all the speculative fiction about the near-future missed is how absurdly stupid the dystopia will be.
Twenty three. There are now twenty-three ways to spell "Michaela". I'm giving up.
(shakes fist at the sky)
I don't know what your problem is Arqanjul.
(To be fair, I'm pretty sure Miquela is Latin/Hispanic/Spanish spelling of the name.)
I don't know what your problem is Arqanjul.
(To be fair, I'm pretty sure Miquela is Latin/Hispanic/Spanish spelling of the name.)
Hey now, that’s the 47th President of the United States you’re threatening.
Prederick wrote:I don't know what your problem is Arqanjul.
(To be fair, I'm pretty sure Miquela is Latin/Hispanic/Spanish spelling of the name.)
Hey now, that’s the 47th President of the United States you’re threatening.
Today in "The Internet Was a Mistake":
Perhaps you've seen the new big thing on YouTube and Facebook:
'Plandemic' Is Dangerous, Viral Nonsense
The "Plandemic" Video Has Exploded Online — And It Is Filled With Falsehoods
Needless to say, Judy Mikovits' book is currently the #1 best-seller on Amazon.
In semi-related news:
Suspects of Canada Cell Tower Fires Are a Model and Failed Rapper
A Quebec couple, a failed rapper and a former beauty queen, have been charged in connection to a spate of cellphone tower fires over the past week in Quebec.Quebec provincial police arrested Justin-Philippe Pauley, 28, and Jessica Kallas, 25, in Sainte-Adèle, a town about 80 km outside of Montreal, early Thursday morning after two cell towers in nearby towns were lit on fire. Police told VICE they believe the couple are connected to seven cell tower fires in the area over the past week.
Pauley and Kallas are facing charges of arson and mischief, police said.
The cell tower fires are similar to fires set across Europe in connection to a conspiracy theory that 5G causes coronavirus. Provincial police spokesman Marc Tessier told VICE on Wednesday that the 5G conspiracy is “only one thing but it’s part of the investigation, for sure.”
Suspects of Canada Cell Tower Fires Are a Model and Failed Rapper
See, CGI Influencers never set cell towers on fire.
It's May. 2020's got 7 whole months left and I would not bet against it.
Are we sure the Coen brothers are not just shooting a new movie? Please?
Facebook will pay $52 million in settlement with moderators who developed PTSD on the job
In a landmark acknowledgment of the toll that content moderation takes on its workforce, Facebook has agreed to pay $52 million to current and former moderators to compensate them for mental health issues developed on the job. In a preliminary settlement filed on Friday in San Mateo Superior Court, the social network agreed to pay damages to American moderators and provide more counseling to them while they work.
Each moderator will receive a minimum of $1,000 and will be eligible for additional compensation if they are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder or related conditions. The settlement covers 11,250 moderators, and lawyers in the case believe that as many as half of them may be eligible for extra pay related to mental health issues associated with their time working for Facebook, including depression and addiction.
...
Under the terms of the settlement, every moderator will receive $1,000 that can be spent however they like. But the companies intend for the money to be spent partly on medical treatment, covering the costs associated with seeking a diagnosis related to any mental health issues the moderator may be suffering.
The amount of money a moderator will receive beyond the initial $1,000 will depend on their diagnosis. Anyone who is diagnosed with a mental health condition is eligible for an additional $1,500, and people who receive multiple concurrent diagnoses — PTSD and depression, for example — could be eligible for up to $6,000.
In addition to payment for treatment, moderators with a qualifying diagnosis will be eligible to submit evidence of other injuries they suffered for their time at Facebook and could receive up to $50,000 in damages.
The exact amount of the payout depends on how many members of the class apply for benefits, and it could shrink significantly if the majority of the class is found to be eligible for benefits.
Nothing having to force Facebook to pay you an extra grand or two as compensation for them having you wade through piles of digital shit so horrible that it gave you mental health problems.
Yeah, what was Facebook's profit last quarter? 4.9 billion? They're going to keep right on chewing through people's brains. Brains are cheap apparently.
Yeah, what was Facebook's profit last quarter? 4.9 billion? They're going to keep right on chewing through people's brains. Brains are cheap apparently.
That's just capitalism, baby. Feel the Invisible Hand.
The "Invisible Hand" is the one the rich use to tilt the scales of justice.
Have I mentioned here in this thread how thrilled I am about a population of stressed, isolated young people given functionally unlimited screen time and an entire network of extremists on YouTube and various social media sites ready to take advantage of that and for whom this entire pandemic has been an absolute gift?
I don’t know, it seems like the older generations are the ones I’ve seen spreading the most bullshit online. When it comes to stuff like this I’m generally less concerned with the youth who were born into the informational chaos-sphere than with older people who grew up in times when media was vetted and curated and therefore tend to inherently trust anything that looks newsy regardless of source.
There was a Stanford study a few years ago that seemed to indicate kids were not very good at detecting nonsense, https://www.wsj.com/articles/most-st...
Anecdotally, that has been my experience. As a kid growing up, I was certainly susceptible to believing everything I saw on TV was a representation of reality. But we were a single TV household so I didn't do very much solo media consumption, and had parents who could help me eventually discern reality from nonsense.
I suspect you have it right that older folks are sharing more, currently, and for the given reason. Those of us who were early internet users go to see the early unsophisticated attempts at fake news, conspiracy theories, and other nonsense, and got to watch the attempts grow slowly more sophisticated (and even amongst there are plenty of people who fall for such things). Younger kids are getting tossed into the deep end after the nonsense creators have had a chance to really hone their skills. And media consumption is much more often a solo affair these days. A lot of devices and applications have decent parental controls ... but one has to know about them, and be willing and able to use them, which won't always be the case. Unless something drastic changes, I have trouble seeing how Prederick's concerns won't come to fruition.
When I was a teen my media consumption (not counting videogames and prime time sitcoms) consisted almost entirely of Rush Limbaugh, Bill Cooper, and Art Bell, and aside from some of the more out-there stuff on Art Bell I believed pretty much all of it unquestionably. Kids have easier access to fake news today, but they also have easy access to tools and resources for parsing that shit that I never came close to having, so I don’t really see things as necessarily being worse for younger generations, just more volatile. Maybe I’m just more optimistic about it because I survived a pretty toxic media bubble that could easily have turned me into one of those people waving guns around and spitting on healthcare workers.
Part of the reason for all that is that we tend to lack empathy as teens. I read somewhere that this is one of the last things to fully develop, and that the brain doesn't fully mature until about the age of 24.
A lot of them will probably recover, but they can do a hell of lot of damage until that happens.
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