How Facebook has buggered democracy

[Spandaubaggie]

I work in the media and have become increasingly concerned about the effects social media has on society in that any lies can be peddled very easily.
I'm also an ex journalist so have  quite a few good contacts and one of them is a good friend who is senior in intelligence in the army.
In the lead up to the referendum he told me how there was a belief that social media would be used to destabilise this and the US election. He also spoke of how enemies of the UK realised technology was as effective as blowing up soldiers in weakening countries.
This came to fruition, unfortunately, and we are all in the midst of this mess.
Regardless of what way you voted, I urge you to watch this. It really needs highlighting, because in an era where critical thinking seems amiss, and people just accept Facebook as a truthful source, this might open up your eyes.
This is the journalist who unearthed the Cambridge Analytica scandal.   
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=car...&FORM=VIRE

[tiptontown]

I work in the media and have become increasingly concerned about the effects social media has on society in that any lies can be peddled very easily.
I'm also an ex journalist so have  quite a few good contacts and one of them is a good friend who is senior in intelligence in the army.
In the lead up to the election he told me how there was a belief that social media would be used to destabilise the election. He also spoke of how enemies of the UK realised technology was as effective as blowing up soldiers in weakening countries.
This came to fruition, unfortunately, and we are all in the midst of this mess.
Regardless of what way you voted, I urge you to watch this. It really needs highlighting, because in an era where critical thinking seems amiss, and people just accept Facebook as a truthful source, this might open up your eyes.
This is the journalist who unearthed the Cambridge Analytica scandal.   
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=car...&FORM=VIRE

No great surprise Spandau. The amount of stuff that gets shared on Facebook under the heading of "Share if you agree" is ridiculous. 
All it takes most of the time is a quick search and a lot of the stuff is debunked time and again and yet people blindly share it.
Facebook has many good uses in staying in touch with friends and family, but I really do despair at how gullible some people can be at times. It's as though they need something to be outraged about, even if it is complete nonsense.

[Spandaubaggie]

I work in the media and have become increasingly concerned about the effects social media has on society in that any lies can be peddled very easily.
I'm also an ex journalist so have  quite a few good contacts and one of them is a good friend who is senior in intelligence in the army.
In the lead up to the election he told me how there was a belief that social media would be used to destabilise the election. He also spoke of how enemies of the UK realised technology was as effective as blowing up soldiers in weakening countries.
This came to fruition, unfortunately, and we are all in the midst of this mess.
Regardless of what way you voted, I urge you to watch this. It really needs highlighting, because in an era where critical thinking seems amiss, and people just accept Facebook as a truthful source, this might open up your eyes.
This is the journalist who unearthed the Cambridge Analytica scandal.   
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=car...&FORM=VIRE

No great surprise Spandau. The amount of stuff that gets shared on Facebook under the heading of "Share if you agree" is ridiculous. 
All it takes most of the time is a quick search and a lot of the stuff is debunked time and again and yet people blindly share it.
Facebook has many good uses in staying in touch with friends and family, but I really do despair at how gullible some people can be at times. It's as though they need something to be outraged about, even if it is complete nonsense.

Yep, I hate it. When it started I jumped on it and found it incredible being able to join up with people who you'd lost contact with years ago.
Thanks to it I met my old next door neighbour, who I hadn't seen for 22 years, and had moved to Germany-he was ex forces.
It seemed wonderful.
However, I've stopped using it, bar lurking as i don't want to give people a window into my world. I've just had a week in Crete with the family, but I wouldn't dream of sharing it, and who cares anyway? It's just a platform for showing off.
At the time of the referendum I have a plank of a cousin, Blues hooligan, who was sharing all right wing racist propaganda- the stuff was all lies, but he is a total dullard and shared away. He doesn't even see the irony that his dad is Jewish and his mum was Irish? 
Trouble is brain dead morons like him were so easy to influence and get them into a polling booth for the first time in years.

[YorkieDan]

The same people who share these easily debunked memes and posts will be the first to tell you that they "knew all of the facts and knew what they were voting for."

[Derek Hardballs]

It’s easy to persuade someone to believe something if it affirms their own prejudices. We live in a society now that knows it’s been lied to and doesn’t mind been lied to and those lying know this. When you have Richard Littlejohn the highest paid journalist (press) in the country applauding / rejoicing at Boris Johnson lying about the reasons for closing parliament then you know that the truth, fact, reason is now seen as unimportant / inconvenient / to be ignored.

We live in dangerous times where technology is enabling those that would do us harm to bypass scrutiny and influence. Sadly by the time some of those who will be hurt the most realise this, it’ll be too late for them and they will have enabled / rejoiced in the charade.

[MassDebater]

Facebook et al have just replaced the previous mind control of the media and its brainwashing effects.

It's just that like most technological advances, it's far more efficient at controlling the sheeple. It used to be the domain of the Mirror and the Sun...with the richer types opting for the broadsheets.

Social media is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the papers of old could never compete. That said, I'm sure they are still behind a lot of posts and anti/news anyway.

[HeathAyIt]

#LeastWorst