1760 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Well I suppose. I mean that would require some pretty intense computing to look at it and analyze what it is doing. I thought you were saying open source like Linux any doofus can mess with the code. I wouldn't like that as seems open to manipulation.

[LJ]

To understand how content finds its ways to people’s eyes. Right now it’s all guess work and conspiracy. We’ll get a look into how content gets suppressed, and elevated, and why.

Can you let me know how it turns out?

[Mike K.]

It won’t be for us to mess with code, it’ll allow people who do know what the mumbo jumbo is to decode it, and explain it. Someone like Elon Musk will have the resources (obviously) to now state what was elevated and what wasn’t.

That’s historic, since algorithms now control so much of what we consume.

[Victoria Watcher]

 

 

 

Background

 

 

[Mike K.]

Imagine if Republicans had created a “disinformation board,” and hired a very controversial person to run it.

The purchase of Twitter was timed perhaps to also counter governments all around the world clamping down on freedoms of speech. Progressive’s disdain for debate plays directly into their (government’s) hands, and means they themselves have less work to do on keeping controversial topics suppressed.

[G-Man]

According to MIT the disinformation appears to happen on a greater basis by those on the right than those on the left.

https://psyarxiv.com/ay9q5

[Victoria Watcher]

According to MIT the disinformation appears to happen on a greater basis by those on the right than those on the left.

https://psyarxiv.com/ay9q5

How does that explain the the wildly inaccurate perception of “unarmed black male” police shooting deaths or the danger from Covid by those on the left?


From your quoted report:

The Republican users, however, shared substantially more news from misinformation sites – as judged by either fact-checkers or politically balanced crowds – than the Democratic users.

The “fact-checkers” are all left wing organizations. It’s a farce.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 30 April 2022 - 08:14 AM.

[Benezet]

“ Just last week, Twitter was owned by a confederation of capitalists… Will shuffling different billionaires into leadership make much of a difference? “

https://jacobinmag.c...te-capitalists/

[Victoria Watcher]

Yes. It’s not exactly about the worth of the individuals owning it. It’s about their philosophies.

It’s Hoover Institution vs. Southern Poverty Law Centre.

[Mike K.]

According to MIT the disinformation appears to happen on a greater basis by those on the right than those on the left.

https://psyarxiv.com/ay9q5

Fact checking organizations are biased, and politically affiliated. You can’t base research on what 20-somethings deem to be universal truth.

Once Musk makes Twitter for the 80th percentile, what you’ll likely see will be an end to this “far right” blame game nonsense, and far left “communist” blame game nonsense.

[Mike K.]

Yes. It’s not exactly about the worth of the individuals owning it. It’s about their philosophies.

It’s Hoover Institution vs. Southern Poverty Law Centre.

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing the Saudis are no longer a major owner of Twitter.

[Mike K.]

To Watcher’s point, how many times on this forum have people been upset over linking to right-of-centre news outlets, calling them misinformation, while themselves linking to far-left news outlets, calling them credible?

It’s a tale of two sets of tolerances for what constitutes bias.

[Mike K.]

Maybe what Twitter needs is just someone from Musk’s generation at the helm. This guy sums up the situation relatively well: https://youtube.com/...o?feature=share

[G-Man]

To Watcher’s point, how many times on this forum have people been upset over linking to right-of-centre news outlets, calling them misinformation, while themselves linking to far-left news outlets, calling them credible?

It’s a tale of two sets of tolerances for what constitutes bias.

While I agree with the philosophy behind what you are saying here, the left is usually calling out links to Breitbart as extreme right wing while the right wing is usually calling out the Washington Post or NY Times as extreme left wing and of course that is ridiculous.

I would love to get the list of okay to quote centrist media organisations that no one is going to say is biased to one extreme or the other.

[Victoria Watcher]

The problem is the left wants to silence Breitbart but the right wants no such thing for the left publications.

[Victoria Watcher]

Fox, regarding a Time article:



The author then proceeded to wonder why a rich techie like Musk would even care about freedom of speech and how it "had become paramount concern of the techno-moral universe."

She asked, "Why does Musk care so much about this? Why would a guy who has pushed the boundaries of electric-vehicle manufacturing and plumbed the limits of commercial space flight care about who can say what on Twitter?"

She then cited professor of communication at Stanford University Fred Turner for the answer, who agreed, "It does seem to be a dominant obsession with the most elite." He stated, "[F]ree speech seems to be much more of an obsession among men," and part of "the entrepreneurial push: I did it in business, I did it in space, and now I’m going to do it in the world."


https://www.foxnews....elite-like-musk

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 01 May 2022 - 04:07 AM.

[Mike K.]

They are answering their own questions.

[Spy Black]

I realize that holding Musk up as a brilliant thinker, and a man who, with what seems like very little effort, can bring to bear a deep (engineers) understanding on any subject matter he chooses (electronic payments, space, electric vehicles, tunnel boring, freedom of speech, etc) is not a popularly held opinion.

 

I've seen Musk speak in numerous videos, and on numerous different topics ... and although I think he's a bit nuts (you can be nuts and brilliant at the same time), I think Musk will surprise a lot of folks with Twitter (I don't have a Twitter account, and never have had a Twitter account).

 

Musk isn't "right" or "left" in his thinking ... he's way out of the box in his thinking. 

 

I believe there are two ways for Musk to take Twitter.

One way is that he will come up with a set of ideas that will truly revolutionize instant communications around the world and provide voice to billions of folks that currently don't have a voice ... and the other way he may take Twitter is that he will simply screw it up, causing folks to completely loose their trust in the platform, resulting in it being diminished in stature to the point of loosing a massive chunk of its value.

[Victoria Watcher]

People should not have "trust in the platform" any more than you have trust in your telephone line or your e-mail account or the conversation you have over the back fence with your neighbour.

 

That's where he wants to bring it.

[G-Man]

Well as I have said before, I would say the majority of active users of the platform do trust it. Why should a private company care if people that don't use it and will never use it, trust it? It doesn't make sense.