FaceBook morphed into something not imagined.

[kentuck]

Mark Zuckerberg had no idea that FaceBook would become what it is today. No one did.

It was not created to be a media platform. It was not intended to be a place where people get their news and information. But, that is what has happened.

Unfortunately, it has morphed into one of the largest propaganda platforms this world has ever known. People are able to create their own news, whatever fits their ideology, and then pass it on as "real" news.

It now appears that Russian intelligence saw this trend before Americans saw it? We were all victims of this propaganda in the last election.

Facebook should come with a warning. Do not believe anything on FaceBook unless it has been researched and validated. It is a propaganda tool like we have never seen before.

[madokie]

1. No facebook here

one of my wifes friends set up a facebook for her but to this day she has no desire to even log in. This has been at least 2 years ago.

Myself I attempted to create a facebook account but it was too invasive for my liking so I quit. No facebook in our home. Period

[kentuck]

2. When my Mom passed away...

...the family set up a Facebook page so we could all stay in touch. It seemed like the greatest thing that was ever invented, at the time. But, I have seen it grow into this massive propaganda machine.

[samnsara]

3. so glad im not a FB junkie. I traded it for twitter...

..its so congested in there any more

[kentuck]

4. Twitter is another problem, in my opinion.

It permits just enough information to create confusion in the masses. It's like a riot with everyone yelling something different at the person they are addressing.

[bluepen]

5. Yeah, MySpace. FaceSpace. Glad I ditched it and just hope

people who are more suited for FB’s horrible culture don’t start making their way over to Twitter.

[kentuck]

6. Twitter?

Look at how Trump uses Twitter to promote propaganda and lies.

[bluepen]

7. And gets called out every time.

Almost 100% of the time, people calling him out are at the top of the thread.

Very different situation there than on FB.

Facebook is rampant disinformation, throughly debunked bullshit still making he rounds on that cesspool of a website. Then there’s the tired old family photo album aspect of FB (with heaps of fake praise), along with the personal drama (with heaps of fake sympathy). Just awful. But hey, it’s geared toward a certain set of users so, have at it.

[kentuck]

8. It doesn't matter how much he is "called out"..

His supporters still believe him.

[L. Coyote]

11. And his 40,000 bots still like his tweets immediately.

Plus, they bring new meaning to the term "Faceless minion" idiots. :rofl"

[Dave Starsky]

13. Apparently, bots don't know how to use a camera.

I particularly love the "guy" whose avatar image is a picture of his neck.

[bluepen]

12. Thats also true when TV pundits call his bullshit

after showing clips of him speaking.

[kentuck]

14. Everybody seems to be an authority on any given subject.

Total unknowns are re-tweeted as if it was gospel... We have seen these names debated here on DU.

[bluepen]

16. Spreading misleading memes, (truly) fake news, etc isnt restricted

to a given platform, whether it’s social media or message boards. That’s more of an issue of many people’s need/desire for confirmation bias.

I just think FB has a horrible culture in every way.

[kentuck]

20. True.

And you get to choose your own audience.

[roamer65]

26. ..

Generally, I am not a fan of social media. Especially FB. I had an acquaintance who was addicted to FB. He got where he literally couldn't put his phone down even when you were talking to him. Very annoying.

[L. Coyote]

9. Facebook has absolute control over what you see on Facebook no matter who posts what.

That is the key to Facebook's control over what people think and how they are able to profit. They recently made another change to gain more control, forcing me to select "most recent" on my newsfeed so they don't get to tell me what is more important for me to see first.

We need a new social media platform for realists, built to exclude social control and profit enterprising. That means hosting your own content instead of massive server farms.

[kentuck]

10. Go ahead and put a patent on that idea.

You could become a billionaire.

[mshasta]

15. No need for facebook or twitter

My husband and I only have a linkedin account only, we don't use facebook nor twitter. Everyone should follow lead

[kentuck]

18. There are billions of people on FaceBook worldwide.

As it is, it is too large to control.

[MrsCoffee]

17. A site originally created to rate whether college girls were hot or not should never have

evolved into anything in the first place.

Welcome to Idiocracy.

[kentuck]

19. I recall that when it first started, there was not very much political stuff discussed.

But, very quickly, it became an outlet for people to express their opinions, factual or not.

[Baitball Blogger]

21. It became a place where you could see if someone had a dark soul.

[kentuck]

22. Yes. You learned things about your "friends" that you never knew.

It is an extremely difficult terrain to navigate.

[ileus]

23. Facebook has become a living history of life.

The past 8 or 9 years of my families life is recorded there. Major and minor events are there easily recalled, and there for "friends" to see as I see fit.

It's a darned handy platform for most everything. I'd love to be cool and progressive and say I don't use facebook, but that'd be a lie.

Our dog even has his own page that he kept updated since he was 8 weeks old. I think he also has an instagram account. He's one social butterfly...

[Lisa0825]

29. I'm with ya!

I keep in touch with family and friends around the country and the world.

I'm in a support group for a rare disease, and can't imagine how lost I would have felt without being able to connect with others who have it.

I live alone, so it's really a social outlet for me. I would feel much more isolated without it.

[Tracer]

24. I'm obviously missing something here.

I don't have a Facebook account, but use my daughter's to see what my son, daughter-in-law and other relatives are doing.

I've never seen an ad, article, or any other kind of propaganda on Facebook -- at least on the pages that I frequent.

Yes, I block ads on Firefox. Is that the reason?

Pardon my naiveté.

[kentuck]

25. Perhaps you are one of the few that has escaped any political discussion?

It depends on who and what your "family and friends" want to discuss on Facebook.

[Tracer]

35. Since my F & F are all staunch liberals,

our only political discussions consists of our disgust with the Asshole. [He who shall not be named].

[kentuck]

39. Most people do not have F & Fs that are that "pure".

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. How does that differ from any other online platform or discussion board?

[kentuck]

28. Because the discussion is usually with "friends" or people that you know.

The divisiveness is much more raw.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

30. Wouldn't that be more a problem with friends and family, than the platform?

[kentuck]

31. Possibly?

But a lot of people like to talk about politics more than cats and dogs, believe it or not.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

33. But why is that a bad thing?

[kentuck]

34. What?

Politics or Dogs and Cats??

[WhiskeyGrinder]

36. Politics.

Your thesis is that Facebook has turned into something it wasn't intended to be and that's somehow terrible. That's what happens with most new tools; users find new ways to use it that fit their needs. Some people are finding out that their acquaintances, families and friends hold views that they didn't know they had, and some are consuming content that is false. That happens on all tech platforms as well as in real life. Calls to boycott or take down Facebook are odd to me, I guess, because it's such a user-driven experience; many objections people have to it can be solved by using it more effectively.

[kentuck]

37. A friend of mine posted on Facebook this morning a quote in one of those blue boxes...

It said that Budweiser had withdrawn all association with the NFL.

They received it from someone else and "shared" it.

Is it true? I don't know. I doubt it.

But you cannot keep up with the lies and false information because there is no desire to post just facts or to differentiate between fact and fiction.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

38. Sounds like a problem with your friends, not Facebook.

As with all content, it's important to vet who's producing it and why.

[Kolesar]

32. Kremlin/GOPs bought voter lists and sent targeted ads to specific, stupid people

That is why most of us never heard the extreme judgements that Hillary Clinton was a criminal.
I think they bought the lists. They may have been stolen or free.

[MineralMan]

40. Frankly, people who use FB to get their news are fools.

It is a social media venue, and works great to keep in touch with friends and relatives, despite the heavy ad load. For news, it's useless. There are many news aggregation sites, including the search engines. Using appropriate technology appropriately is the best approach.

[Madam45for2923]

41. In 2011, Facebook asked for political ads on its site 2b regulated like campaign buttons, not TV ads

In 2011, Facebook asked for political ads on its site to be regulated like campaign buttons, not TV ads, which require a disclaimer.

Link to tweet

How Facebook deliberately pursued policies that left its platform vulnerable to being exploited http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/27/technology/business/facebook-political-ad-rules/index.html … by @donie

Link to tweet

[IronLionZion]

42. It's the new town public square

any person can stand on a street corner and spew forth whatever nonsense they want. Such is life.

One feature that I have seen is that some posts will have a "related links" section where the top result is a Snopes piece dismissing it as false. This could be used for instant fact checking. Or a google or other search feature tied to such posts so that a person could verify quickly and conveniently. It needs to be instant or people won't bother using it.

[blueinredohio]

43. Nothing for me except D U and MSNBC after 8