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[Technology] Disinformation







jackalbion

Well-known member
Aug 30, 2011
4,894
I have a family member like this, they look for a conspiracy in everything and seems totally irrational. They were stating that Biden was faking an alien invasion to hide that he’d blown up the Nord pipeline.
I am actually concerned for their state of mind as they seem to spend a lot of time obsessing about what they call left wing conspiracies. Every time I try to engage, (I try to talk about normal day to day issues, but they always steer the conversation to these issues and I get increasingly aggressive conversations about how I don’t understand, live in an echo chamber etc).
I blame social media, it seems facts do not seem to have a place in society anymore and hysteria rules.
A schoolfriend of mine with all seriousness posted 'Vaccinated????' under the BBC news article of Bernard Cribbins dying.
 


Crawley Dingo

Political thread tourist.
Mar 31, 2022
1,063
That's hilarious. As the spelling indicates, it hails from America too. The poor far right having to navigate in the oh so choppy waters of a center-left establishment bias.
This is 5 year old thinking, if you want to know what the far right is you ask them, same with far left etc. You will find they are not shy. Its like asking a Jew what a Jew believes instead of asking a Muslim what a Jew believes. Anything else is out of focus and liable to corruption, which is Wikipedia summed up on controversial issues.
 


LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
48,376
SHOREHAM BY SEA
Not meant arrogantly, but I never did engage in social media news. Very deliberately. I stick to tried and far more trusted sauces such the BBC, broadsheets (read with a scepticism and I've never read an editorial, ever) and long running news agencies.

It's not right or left thing. I've got friends and family who in the last 15 years lurched to the right, getting into Facebook and Twatter propaganda; pro-Trump, anti-Ukraine and climates haven't changed. Beggars belief. At least one of them previously lifelong Labour, a friend since childhood.
Hmm…my trust in the bbc has disappeared over the last few years …I find some ‘journalists’ from non traditional sources far more interesting and more likely to question what some report as ‘fact’….i’ll trust them on the football scores though…just.
 


Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
17,751
Fiveways
I have a family member like this, they look for a conspiracy in everything and seems totally irrational. They were stating that Biden was faking an alien invasion to hide that he’d blown up the Nord pipeline.
I am actually concerned for their state of mind as they seem to spend a lot of time obsessing about what they call left wing conspiracies. Every time I try to engage, (I try to talk about normal day to day issues, but they always steer the conversation to these issues and I get increasingly aggressive conversations about how I don’t understand, live in an echo chamber etc).
I blame social media, it seems facts do not seem to have a place in society anymore and hysteria rules.
It's common amongst partisan positions. In an Albion whatsapp group, I'm repeatedly told that every ref gets his decisions in favour of the opposition after every game (if that's the case, it's coordinated and a conspiracy), and was even told that VAR has led to more wrong officiating decisions than before its introduction after the Palace game.
 




Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
17,751
Fiveways
This is 5 year old thinking, if you want to know what the far right is you ask them, same with far left etc. You will find they are not shy. Its like asking a Jew what a Jew believes instead of asking a Muslim what a Jew believes. Anything else is out of focus and liable to corruption, which is Wikipedia summed up on controversial issues.
:lolol: Thank you for educating me oh wise adult.
 


Guy Fawkes

The voice of treason
Sep 29, 2007
8,295
For years now opinion pieces are taken by many to be proof and as valid and reliable source to use to help support their views, and call it evidence, but in truth, are next to worthless. Nowadays we have so many opinion pieces which are easily accessable by so many thanks to the internet and often passed off as proof (usually in an attempt to get clicks and therefore income).

We have a lot of people who now only will listen to and believe to things that support their own point of view, and will happily accept these opinion piece based things as evidence to support their view, whilst instantly dismissing the opinion pieces out of hand that don't agree with their own views

Social media, etc have used algorithms which mean it will usually only display stories, etc to someone which are similar in viewpoint to what they have already seen, and therefore fail to provide the alternative view of something as balance, and this only acts to re-enforce the readers / viewers beliefs.
I doubt there is anything sinister behind the use of those algorithms, and it is simply used to try to promote material that the user will also find interesting and therefore interact with (potentially earning income for the company witht the algorithm) but the unintended consequences of them are that if someone has an extreme view and finds material on that subject, the system then will show them even more which will support and potentially grow their extremism
 
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Weststander

Well-known member
Aug 25, 2011
69,173
Withdean area
Hmm…my trust in the bbc has disappeared over the last few years …I find some ‘journalists’ from non traditional sources far more interesting and more likely to question what some report as ‘fact’….i’ll trust them on the football scores though…just.
A few newsreaders/journalists could barely hide their bias on a subject.
But they were bollocked.

There's also the issue of articles being chosen for headlines, a huge emphasis on bad news, little on real good news. My instinct is that it's not party political and here's why ..... they'll do exactly the same after a honeymoon period, in thriving in any bad news for the UK under Starmer.

I do know what you mean.

But I still love the Beeb.
 
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Guy Fawkes

The voice of treason
Sep 29, 2007
8,295
A few newsreaders/journalists could barely hide their bias on a subject.
But they were bollocked.

There's also the issue of articles being chosen for headlines, a huge emphasis on bad news, little on real good news. My instinct is that it's not party political and here's why ..... they'll do exactly the same after a honeymoon period, in thriving in any bad news for the UK under Starmer.

I do know what you mean.

But I still love the Beeb.
I can't remember the exact story on the BBC news website (may have been a flood, a hurricane,or something like that) but they had an adult version of the story on the main news page and in that piece it said that they couldn't say whether it's occurance was due to man made climate change or not, then they had a version on their site aimed at a younger audience and on there it said it was due to man made climate change.

No wonder there is an argument between generations on things like climate change if they are being fed 2 different versions on the same event aimed at different audiences by the same news site, but the same applies to a vast number of topics and social groups if they are being fed different accounts of the same event. (not looking for this to change into a debate about climate change)

Another example from quite a few years ago and 2 mainstream newspaper reports on the same story. The number of complaints made about tv programmes in the last year had declined, which is how one paper reported the news, but another covered it in a different way, instead focusing on an increase in the number of complaints about a certain area which had increased in the same time frame (possibly something like violence in shows) so again, 2 different slants on the same event with one pushing the positive and the other, the negative aspect of the same event

Social media and alike just takes this to an extreme
 


LamieRobertson

Not awoke
Feb 3, 2008
48,376
SHOREHAM BY SEA
A few newsreaders/journalists could barely hide their bias on a subject.
But they were bollocked.

There's also the issue of articles being chosen for headlines, a huge emphasis on bad news, little on real good news. My instinct is that it's not party political and here's why ..... they'll do exactly the same after a honeymoon period, in thriving in any bad news for the UK under Starmer.

I do know what you mean.

But I still love the Beeb.
I know you do..your love for Nicky C is unparalleled:wink:
 








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