I see your point. Relatedly @himself.bsky.social points to the harder problem being platforms as degrading democratic publics with distorted information flows which leads to problematic beliefs about others beliefs rather than just individuals getting bad data inputted into their brains.
This is a very good article. Reminded me of Society of the Spectacle.
Although assuming the election was legit, a lot of voters have genuinely bad beliefs!!! No real way around that one.
Anonymity and misinformation aren’t just individual problems—they’re systemic. Social media isn’t just inputting bad data; it’s warping the structure of democratic discourse. What if the real issue isn’t the lies we see, but the way platforms distort our ability to see each other?
Spot on.
100% this ☝🏼
I don't always agree with Johnathan Haidt, but this is an excellent article about how we got here. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Excellent and thought provoking article!
Oh, this is good.
Thank you for this!!
Absolutely.
So true. I don’t believe those of us opposed to this rhetoric are in the minority. Xitter and FB have more bots and paid trolls spreading their lies with staged and manufactured disinformation and Russian propaganda and they’re causing violence offline - these radicalized people are in the minority
you're still trying to blame the Russians for the things American billionaires are doing?
It’s not binary. Do you not believe donald is Putin’s puppet?? Russia sent propaganda immediately spoken by magats. They sent a false witness against Biden. They sent bomb threats to Black neighborhoods during Election Day
Bingo. Most of us would never say the things to a person in front of us that we say to others online. I’m guilty of it.
Nailed it. Thank you.
Well said!
Have you tried doing anything to address the concerns of normal people instead of gaslighting them and calling them racist?
Are you referring to me specifically, or broader trends in how these issues are discussed? I’d love to clarify my stance if it helps the conversation move forward.
Broader sense. Any sort of legitimate concern about immigration is usually slandered as far right, which has ended up fueling the actual far right.
Thank you for clarifying. I agree that ignoring legitimate concerns can lead to backlash and polarization. How can we promote discussions that tackle real issues without amplifying extremist narratives?
why do you assume people like you are "normal"? You're loading the dice
All the most vile shit I've seen is from people with names and faces out.
That's what you've experienced. I've experienced both. Either way it encourages bad faith.
🎯 youtu.be/gAObqEu_tbg?...
Thanks for sharing this. I’ll watch it to better understand your perspective. What part of the video do you feel is most relevant to our conversation?
The whole thing, really. It’s short. Social media is distorting our realities through algorithmic feedback loops. It also amplifies divisiveness and the separation of ‘us & them.’ His is the voice I have found the most relevant post-election, fwiw.
I guess this is nicer to believe than “49% of Americans are bigots”, but I’m not convinced.
Fair.
isolation amplifies propaganda results
The 2024 election was decided on social media. I don’t know how the Dems have any hope for future elections.
I do think this is part of the problem.
It's not unlike a mental illness, where inputs are distorted by the brain trying to process information. In both cases, we move away from reality.
It would be Horrible for vulnerable people so I fear it's a non starter but I often wonder if social media required identifying info in user profiles so you could trace posts to the humans who posted them (and readily identify bots) would be a net positive for society.
The challenge: how do we design systems that balance accountability and protection? Can we imagine platforms that incentivize truth without exposing risk?
Bluesky is already trying to implement the solution: Have users bring their own identity. Bluesky only creates user identities because it must until decentralized identifiers (DIDs) become common. substack.com/home/post/p-...
Very true. I find myself hating Trump supporters when a lot of them just have a distorted reality. On the other hand I wouldn’t want to go to Texas and be labeled a Democrat in front of people I don’t know because their misinformation complex would ascribe all kinds of horrible things to me.
So many words to say almost nothing. I prefer to get it in a nutshell; misinformation is corrupting how people understand what’s going on in the world. Trump is making it worse.
It's not misinformation. It's the faux community in which people pretend to do something real by discussing major events over which they have no influence. It's the online version of voting and national politics in the US.
nothing wrong with disgusting major events. I’m so sick of the no politics here format.
He's actually saying the opposite of how you've summarised it, if anything.
We need to start in school. I didn't get the information about how important voting is until I went to college. Maybe that's because I'm from Missouri, but once I learned the importance, I never slacked off on knowing what I'm voting for.