this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2024
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456
Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America (www.theguardian.com)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
44 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Just over four years ago, an insurrectionist mob found each other online, descended on Washington, stormed the Capitol and threatened the vice-president with a noose. But that was the good old days. We’re living in a different reality now. One in which the billionaires have been unchained.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (8 children)

It is wild how much conservatives attack these platforms and accuse them of silencing their voices while they continue to weaponize said platforms to nefarious ends.

  • Facebook? Right wing conspiracy farm (also marketplace which I hate to admit is pretty good).

  • Twitter? Right wing conspiracy spreader and platform for Christian nationalists.

  • Instagram? Corporate hellscape and some beach photos.

  • TikTok? So far has not shown a preference for right wing or left-wing content, but definitely has no reasonable content policing in place to stop misinformation from spreading wildly.

The list goes on. None of it good.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 2 months ago (1 children)

By attacking their opposition for something, they can seed the idea that it is happening in the first place. Once this idea is established, it gives them license to pursue the tactic themselves under the guise of "fighting fire with fire".

We see this with stolen election claims. By yelling constantly about cheated elections and fraud, Trump sets the stage to be able to cheat and commit fraud without alienating his fans.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Exactly. Sometimes I think people forget he was saying the election would be stolen before we even saw the results in 2016, then after winning he said the number of illegal votes totaled the exact amount he lost the popular vote by.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Facebook? Right wing conspiracy farm (also marketplace which I hate to admit is pretty good).

Note to self: post a thread on [email protected] about how refusing to use Facebook severely limits access to the used goods market.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Whoever was allowed to run with the idea did a great job. Again I hate to admit it. It’s truly a Craigslist 2.0.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Except it's not. The filtering, sort, and search functions are truly awful compared to Craigslist, especially if you're looking for cars. I find so many mislabeled cars because FB Marketplace has an extremely limited set of models and manufacturers, and also has a stupid system where you can't price late model cars way over KBB, so people have to price things with really stupid values to get around it.

Not to mention the sheer number of blatant scams that Facebook does literally nothing about, regardless of how blatant they are and number of reports. I've seen accounts that have 1 star and have dozens of comments about how they're blatant scammers, but their accounts are still up and they're still running the same scam. Craigslist had its fair number of scammers, but it didn't take much to report and get them taken down usually.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

My experience with gaming/tech stuff has been great and as a consumer my protections have been great. I won’t speak to cars as that isn’t something I have dealt with.

I’ve never been scammed - I’m not sure how you’re getting scammed unless you’re not paying on fb and instead opt for cash app/venmo/etc. in which case that’s 100% on the buyer for exposing themselves.

I’ve had 3 incidents where someone sent me damaged or otherwise things with issues and each time I sent one message to FB and got my money back. Took no effort. I’m honestly curious how you’re getting scammed with such a buyer-friendly stance. If anything it’s harder to be a seller on the platform.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

It's not that I'm getting scammed directly. It's just the sheer prevalence of them, how much they clog up my feed, and FB's unwillingness to do anything about them. It seems no matter how much they're reported, I get the same "We've looked into it and found no issues" message. I agree having a payment platform built into the marketplace is nice, but that's basically the sole benefit I see vs Craigslist.

My issues just really come down to how awful the search function is, and how filters do literally nothing. No matter how irrelevant the items might be to your search, they still feel the need to show you *something *, literally anything to maybe convince you to click on another item.

A while ago I was shopping for a piano, and given how difficult they are to move, I was looking in a fairly small area in Michigan, and some very specific brands/models. Naturally, this meant that when there wasn't anything that fit those filters, it filled my list with pianos anywhere from Kentucky to South Africa, which at least to my knowledge, is a bit outside the 40mi radius I had set.

It does this constantly, which makes it insanely frustrating because I'll find something that is within the state in a town I don't recognize, get interested, only to find out it's 4 hours away. It doesn't even bother doing the "We couldn't find anything that matches, so here are some similar items" thing. Just straight up puts items into the feed that don't match my search criteria whatsoever, all for the sake of filling it with literally anything it possibly can.

Maybe it's better for items that can be shipped, but I almost exclusively use Marketplace for local shopping/large items (like cars and pianos), so having even a basic thing like the search radius not even work is a major pain to say the least.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

Only deal locally. I got a Mario kart 64 original cartridge, in box with the manual and the plastic around the cartridge for $75. If I went to eBay or a specialized dealer, that would've cost $200+.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

NextDoor and OfferUp have a ton of scammers, too. It's so fucking annoying - I'm looking for a decent used bicycle and 99% of the listings are either outright scams or semi-pro bike flippers who are just another variety of scam, essentially.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (2 children)

I'm forced to use Instagram for engagement as a performing artist and producer.

My community is FREQUENTLY at odds with its automated content moderation, which heavily favors conservative values. Posts get censored for "sexual activity" even when there's no nudity, and performer accounts are more often shadow banned than not. Even posts in which I'm fully dressed in winter street clothes get censored as "sexual activity"

Meanwhile, I have NEVER seen Instagram take action a single time on posts that promote CSAM or that are made by literal white supremacist Nazis. Like clockwork, every time I report one it comes back with "this content does not violate Instagram's guidelines"

Fuck Instagram. Fuck META. Nazi pieces of shit.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

Was so glad to ditch IG once I stopped freelancing

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I dread this shit. I have nothing to do with social media (unless Lemmy counts) and I haven't for almost 15 years now, but I'm finishing up a mobile app that I'm going to start selling in a couple of months and I think I'll have to make accounts on all of these sites to promote it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 months ago

They won't be happy until they can propagandise uncontested

It's expensive to have to come up with good propaganda campaigns only to have them never see the light of day

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

At best tik Tok is brain rot. It's digital heroine.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Facebook marketplace is literally a shit show full of scams and it is hard to find anything, a bad UI, and no good filtering. The only thing holding it up is the algorithm to show you products (based on your browsing and advertising data). It is a step up from Craigslist, but it is mediocre at its absolute best. There are just no used alternatives in many places

We have an app here called 2dehands which has a similar scam problem, but is easier to filter out. However, the UX is 10x better with robust filtering, setting up pre-specced searches based on location, price, text strings, quality, categories, etc... with email and/or app notifications for new items added and everything surrounding bidding and favorite item status.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I really do not understand how people are getting scammed. I am totally willing to concede that people have very different experiences with FB marketplace overall. Mine has been good, does not mean it has been good for everyone. But the scamming I really don’t get. Are y’all just not using the actual platform to pay? Have you personally been scammed?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Scammers simply know how to scam. A common one is the scammer visiting a house (pretending to buy) with a newer lock that gives one time codes and leaving a different door unlocked. Then the scammer "rents" out the house (even though it's only for sale) and tricks people out of a deposit and first month's rent.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That isn’t on FB marketplace.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I know people who almost fell for this scam on Facebook Marketplace. However, they looked up the owner and called the owner themselves.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

If you pay through the platform you won’t be scammed.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

The only one of those I ever made an account for was Facebook back when it was like Friends Reunited but free.

Of course what you find is that most of the people you thought were fairly normal were illiterate raving lunatics all along.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

(also marketplace which I hate to admit is pretty good)

The new Craigslist.

[–] [email protected] 56 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If he starts this shit again, seize the Twitter and X.com domains, and charge his ass with inciting violence.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago (1 children)

As long as we're living in fantasy land, let's go the full nine yards and seize all his assets.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Nationalize SpaceX

[–] [email protected] -1 points 2 months ago

Made me literally laugh out loud

[–] [email protected] 36 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

A disturbing thing about the UK riots to me is that it seems that, between the crypto scams and the porn bots that are mixed together with Musk's incoherent ramblings on Twitter, there is still real humans in between the bullshit.

I have a Twitter account that's been dormant for 16 years or so (and never really active at all). I signed in to it today for the first time in a few months - the last time it was just to delete what was left of personal information and change my user name to something offensive to fascists.

Anyway, the content on my feed was:
- Musk tweets about Kamala losing ground
- A bunch of tweets with the same optical illusion, "can you read this number". One had a picture of a panda. Three of them were from Musk parody accounts using his profile picture, promising a million dollars or whatever to whoever could see it.
- X bitching about Brazil. Musk bitching about Brazil.
- Porn. So much porn. Hardcore porn, amateur porn, only fans promotions or what looked like it. Generally not marked NSFW, just people being pounded directly in the feed.
- Barack Obama for some reason
- A video of a young woman farting
- Video of Trump and a black woman who didn't look like anyone in particular AI'd into a sunset together
- A bunch of bitcoin spam
- One guy plotting up his master plan for how people could go about to leave Twitter, despite it being so irreplaceable and all. Obviously an ageing white man who considers himself some sort of public intellectual.

Why are there still people left in this mess? Do they not realize there is porn available elsewhere?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

🌍 🧑‍🚀 🔫 🧑‍🚀

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I guess so. Or at least for a long time - back when I signed up it was sold as a way of broadcasting SMS messages, and nobody really knew what it was good for. At least now we know it's good for nothing.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago

The worst thing we've done as a species is connected all of the stupidest people to each other.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

I remember signing up right at the start, having been there from the start of all this internet stuff.

I sign up, then... "Now what?" This is just an endless streamed 140 character crap-fest.

Sure, I could have filtered and followed someone (s) with something important to say... awful lot of work though.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

I personally stopped using Twitter for the most part, I locked my account, and instead I advertise my game engine on the Fediverse (@[email protected], currently I'm in the process of fixing a borked release due to not having proper power in my room), since my reach on Twitter with it was nonexistent, and I don't want to associate my brand with nazis, fascists, or the "we swear we're just moderate christian-conservative democrats, we just think secularism should be completely abolished and we should control the media" types of the far-right.

As for porn, it's already available on more specialized sites, or even the Fediverse itself.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 months ago

Americans are very tired of his nonsense. Once his car company goes over a cliff because of his actions, big changes are going to be happening for him.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 2 months ago (2 children)

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

He's not trying.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

It might be time to openly call Elon out as the threat to Americans that he actually is. How many American lives would be saved if his private jet were to suffer from a Boeing incident and fall into the sea?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago

Oh, you mean the private jet that landed in Austin on Saturday?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Every single Twitter account holder is complicit at this point.

Twitter is now a tool Elon uses to start race riots. If you're still logging on, this must not be a dealbreaker for you...

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago

Yeah I'm glad I nuked mine right after Musk bought it. I already hadn't used it in a couple of years by that point but that was the final straw.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

As a person from the UK, it really does feel sometimes like the UK is just the place where America tests out all of its most dystopian ideas before it rolls them out at home.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Ya know I called ou that Musk was going to becoem increasingly dangerous with time all the way back in 2016. Folks like him can never be satisfied and will do everything to feed their maw for it combine that with the obvious moral flaws thatd exist with someone who directly benefited from apartheid and you have a volitile solution. I just figured it was gonna evolve into increasingly shitty and dangerous build quality for any projects he was involved with combined with horrific labor violations.

Now im curious if he'll be found with foam coming out of his mouth or with several bullet holes in his chest from one of his own kids. Those are two of my other predictions, ill also add plane bombong to the list for shits and giggles.