EPTUS Politics Mega-thread - Page 9925
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Read the rules in the OP before posting, please. In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up! NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action. | ||
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WolfintheSheep
Canada14127 Posts
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
On February 17 2018 05:31 plasmidghost wrote: I'm just spitballing here but could it be that the activity generated by the bots/troll accounts brings in a ton of money from advertising revenue? That is the operating theory. And they are not comfortable with policing their own services. Twitter is deep into the free speech over all other things camp. I saw an interview recent from someone who used to work with Zuck who said that he was like Lenny from Mice and Men. Hard working and means well, but completely unaware of how powerful he is. I wouldn’t count on anything out of them beyond “We updated our software to catch attempts to destroy democracy. It is working well.” | ||
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Wulfey_LA
932 Posts
Did you see the goalposts get moved there? A year ago we debated if the Russians were even acting. Months ago we were debating whether there was collusion. Then we debated whether it was illegal. Now they are pushing a new line and I expect to be seeing this argument pushed by the usual suspects on here. But it didn't affect the outcome of the election. FOX is going to be pushing that line hard, since so many people are taking plea deals and there are so many indictments being handed out. | ||
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TheTenthDoc
United States9561 Posts
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
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TheLordofAwesome
Korea (South)2656 Posts
On February 17 2018 05:29 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: I'm surprised Twitter, and Facebook have not hit the nuclear button and gone on a rampage to find and destroy the accounts of bots, and their hosts but then again this is their bread and butter to appear relevant. There is a very simple answer to that question. If Twitter or Facebook wanted to, it could get rid of most trolls and bots overnight. The problem with doing that, from their perspective, is that every dollar they make is tied directly to the number of clicks or views by accounts on their platforms. There are so many bots and trolls on both those platforms that getting rid of all of them, or even a substantial portion of them, would have massive negative financial repercussions for these companies. (Of course, continuing to deny that the problem exists will eventually kill these companies too. It will just happen slower.) Twitter and Facebook want to bury their heads in the sand about this problem. Thus, you see Zuckerberg in November 2016 saying that the idea that Facebook influenced the election is "crazy," even though the majority of Americans get at least some of their news from social media. Then, when Congress started hauling these companies to hearings, their tune changed. Twitter went from 0 bots to 200 bots, to 20,000 bots, to 50,000 as of Jan 19. But this number is still ridiculously low. Multiple independent studies have found general bot/troll numbers to be anywhere from 23 million to 48 million. The ability to purchase Twitter followers or Facebook likes by the tens of thousands is very well known. tl;dr: The fake account problem is out of control of both these sites, and neither of them want to admit it because revealing the very high number of fake followers, fake likes, and fake clicks would mean an enormous drop in revenue. Also, they would certainly be hit with massive lawsuits from corporate clients with deep pockets for defrauding their customers, due to the sheer amount of fake interaction on the site. | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
Also John Kelly just dropped a security clearance memo and changes taking effect. | ||
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Dangermousecatdog
United Kingdom7084 Posts
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TheLordofAwesome
Korea (South)2656 Posts
On February 17 2018 05:35 WolfintheSheep wrote: Probably going to fly under the radar with everything else, but to the surprise of no one the FCC chair is under investigation for...insider trading? Not sure what the actual charge would be considered, but changing regulations for a Sinclair Broadcast Group buyout. It wouldn't be insider trading unless he did something like buy ten thousand shares of Sinclair one night and changed the rules the next day, causing a massive increase in stock price and making himself a ton of money. That's insider trading. The information in the article is rather limited on what exactly the quid pro quo is alleged to be, but there was no mention of stock trading whatsoever in that article. More likely, he's just being investigated for old-fashioned bribery. Probably like "you let us make this merger and we'll give you a cushy job making a gazillion $$$ when you're not in government any more." | ||
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LegalLord
United States13779 Posts
On February 17 2018 05:35 WolfintheSheep wrote: Probably going to fly under the radar with everything else, but to the surprise of no one the FCC chair is under investigation for...insider trading? Not sure what the actual charge would be considered, but changing regulations for a Sinclair Broadcast Group buyout. Was going to post it too, but didn’t think anyone cared. Nothing surprising there really, he’s pretty clearly a corporate owned crook. Ideally heading to the gallows. | ||
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TheLordofAwesome
Korea (South)2656 Posts
On February 17 2018 05:55 Dangermousecatdog wrote: To be fair the vast majority of bots may not be state actors, but rather be owned by marketing companies and the like, who proudly and loudly boast that they have the ability to cause a product or video to go "viral". Right, I wasn't saying that every bot is the work of the Russians. Just that there exists a massive bot problem, which was originally caused by marketing companies and advertisers and such. Russia just figured out how to exploit an already broken platform to its own advantage. Anyways, no one would be doing anything about bots on social media if it weren't for Russia's actions. Now it looks quite likely that social media companies are going to get a lot of regulation coming their way. | ||
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
On February 17 2018 06:02 TheLordofAwesome wrote: Right, I wasn't saying that every bot is the work of the Russians. Just that there exists a massive bot problem, which was originally caused by marketing companies and advertisers and such. Russia just figured out how to exploit an already broken platform to its own advantage. Anyways, no one would be doing anything about bots on social media if it weren't for Russia's actions. Now it looks quite likely that social media companies are going to get a lot of regulation coming their way. As much as people decry regulation, there was a good reason we had them set up for political ad and elections. The lack of regulation and the completely liability protection has allowed Facebook and Google dominate the internet media landscape, but has also made them the absentee landlords of their media space. And there is no free market solution a problem when state actors are on the other end. | ||
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hunts
United States2113 Posts
On February 17 2018 03:46 Introvert wrote: Russian meddling has been the official government position since when, Dec 2016? And we are seeing more and more proof of that, while the opposite is true for your precious nunes memo, the bullshit in it has been DISPROVEN. just stop before you make yourself look even more silly. | ||
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Introvert
United States5010 Posts
edit: sorry I had to indulge just a little. | ||
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{CC}StealthBlue
United States41117 Posts
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TheLordofAwesome
Korea (South)2656 Posts
On February 17 2018 06:26 Introvert wrote: It just occurred to me how amusing it is that Mitt "Russia is our #1 geopolitical foe" Romney announces another run for office on the same day we find out concrete details about Russian meddling LOL. And to think he was mocked by the president! #Romneywasright #Romney2012 edit: sorry I had to indulge just a little. Romney was right. | ||
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LegalLord
United States13779 Posts
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Mohdoo
United States15743 Posts
On February 17 2018 06:26 Introvert wrote: It just occurred to me how amusing it is that Mitt "Russia is our #1 geopolitical foe" Romney announces another run for office on the same day we find out concrete details about Russian meddling LOL. And to think he was mocked by the president! #Romneywasright #Romney2012 edit: sorry I had to indulge just a little. It's justified indulgence. Romney was totally right. Man I wish it was him right now. | ||
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Plansix
United States60190 Posts
And no one listened to him. So when both the UK and US both voted down military action in Syria, Putin pushed into Ukraine 4 months later. People can complaint that Obama shouldn’t have set the red line, congress should have known that the whole world was watching that. Putin was and decided to push a little to see what he could get away with. And the answer is that he can get away with a lot. | ||
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LegalLord
United States13779 Posts
On February 17 2018 06:46 Mohdoo wrote: It's justified indulgence. Romney was totally right. Man I wish it was him right now. It really is a shame Obama won that one. We would be a third of the way through Romney's second term right now. | ||
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