Why are people mean on Twitter? - Smarter Every Day 214

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Recommends xelxebar · 2020-06 · on “America is giving up on the pandemic?”

> no wonder people don’t believe in global warming, these “experts” prioritize politics over everything I read this as a clear expression of your frustration. Completely reasonable given the situation. Are you familiar with the YouTube channel "Smarter Every Day"? There's this three-part series that might offer a new perspective on the distrust and disillusionment you seem to be feeling: [1]: [LINK] [2]: [this video] [3]: [LINK] In particular, the channel creator Destin Sandlin explores how YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are being used as a sort of vanguard in a meta-game to undermine our trust in the social institutions we rely on. It's a pretty dystopian-sounding and bleak theme. However, Desti

Cites some_furry · 2020-05 · on “Show HN: This Fursona Does Not Exist”

You could "just" draw a furry avatar if you have the art skills. Or you could pay an artist to do that for you. Neither tactic really scales, especially when your game is coordinated inauthentic behavior i.e. [this video] and you need thousands of convincing fake accounts.

Cites NoOneNew · 2020-11 · on “YouTube's Fake Animal Rescue Ring [video]”

Yea, that's well known. Not just from federal law enforcement with proof of it, but twitter, youtube and facebook know it and admit to it too. Smarter Everyday interviewed all 3 and their folks talk about this directly. [LINK] [LINK] [this video] The actual social media platforms saying it's happening. At the same time though, it's not all their fault. It takes two to tango and if you're gullible enough to wreck your own life on the words of someone you've never, and will never meet... that's a special kind of stupid. Here's my hope. All of this gets out of our systems. After whoever wins this election, folks are going to go, "Hold on, we're all acting like crazy people. Let's be sensible and sto

Critical specialist · 2020-11 · on “YouTube's Fake Animal Rescue Ring [video]”

Thanks for the links. I hadn't seen those. Wow. Those were rough. TLDR: Barn, horses, open door, darn. Social media created the problem, makes enormous profits, harms all of society, and is not only powerless to mitigate it, has no responsibility to do so. Because Freedom Speeches™, or reasons. You attribute most of the blame on stupid users. And yet. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey retweeted a bot. [this video] So then what hope does the average person have of doing better? (Rhetorical question.) A la Merchants of Doubt, I've always wandered how skeptics, shills, and apologists sleep at night. Surely Sandberg, Zuck, Dorsey, et al somehow manage. But what about the drones? So I'll be watching the career