Everything from white supremacists to Russians (one would guess – “supremacist”? features in this Engadget report.
Either it itself, or in its many internal links to previous stories.
And it’s quite a narrative that’s being built here.
In it, Facebook plans to treat its own “civil rights audit, the 2020 US census as if it were a vote.”
What a wonderful step towards “Facebook, the country” – or maybe not.
“Facebook isn’t just limiting its anti-interference efforts to elections. The social network has published a second updated on its civil rights audit, and with it news that the company plans to treat the 2020 US census as if it were a vote. It will have a team dedicated to fighting misinformation,” Engadget reports.
And, the internal links from this report the publication offer to explain its case – and cause – and are more than telling.
In this latest article, the website said that Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg decided to “direct those who search for or post content related to those ideologies (white supremacy and nationalism) to a nonprofit called Life After Hate.”
That’s right – you will no longer be free to learn about a topic on a free web – you will be apparently directed to an NGO.
And we say “NGO” generously here because the organization isn’t very clear on what exactly it is or does, as per its current online presence.
But most of the links on Endgadget’s “one-minute-read” meant, presumably, to make an immediate impact, without ever being held factually accountable.
Perhaps they never will be.
The gist of the latest Endgadget report is this: Facebook “will fight misinformation linked to the 2020 US census.”
It sounds like a very complex structure of thought and action control, this time transplanted into the digital age.
And as a person born and raised in an Eastern European country, I could, but would hate to tell you how it ends.
So, let’s instead play along. Endgadget says in the wake of the census – Facebook will invest in formalizing its “civil rights task force” created last December to teach user more on things like voting rights and voter suppression.
Maybe that’s another case of taking action against actions your terms of service don’t even envisage?
Now, make no mistake: much of the criticism of Facebook – that always talks about “misinformation” and “fake news” but never mentions the company’s basic problem of data and privacy-invading business model is merely political.
Now let’s be clear: who, if anyone, will ask any of these basic questions?
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