[tlow]

Threads is an interesting move because of the context. However, I believe that Facebook will continue to alienate a large segment of its users through its aggressive bias. You can't please everyone, but simply censoring and banning one political side is not a viable approach. As we saw with the Twitter files this ultimately snowballs, creating a larger problem that will resurface.

I'm not optimistic about the Threads product, but I think its failure will be a positive overall impact on public discourse.

Facebook isn't our friend. Zuck doesn't want a "more friendly place" he wants censorship and monetization.

[phmqk76]

The “Twitter Files” was a giant nothingburger fraudulently peddled as some sort of exposé by bad faith actors. Ultimately, these platforms want to have it all - the sole right to sell ads against content, while having no liability over that content. Tech platforms should have a financial responsibility with respect to the harms their content causes. Aggressive moderation against slander, harmful conspiracy theories that destabilize our politics and public health, and incitement to insurrection are easy pickings to ban. That one political party overtly embraces this shitshow doesn’t make it “political.”

[wyclif]

Wait, holdup a second. You think a company handing over personal data to the FBI and censoring free speech isn't a "shitshow" but the REAL shitshow is that investigative journalists are "bad faith actors"?

[rblatz]

I don’t know, if someone keeps posting lies and then Facebook decides to say you this dude is a liar. Feels pretty fair, sorry one side decided lies are core to their political identity.

Edit: it’s not one side, it’s a small minority of loud mouthed assholes.

[karmakurtisaani]

> Edit: it’s not one side, it’s a small minority of loud mouthed assholes.

That the rest of them happily accept as long as it puts them in power.

[aydyn]

> it’s a small minority of loud mouthed assholes.

Ah I see you understand that intimately.

[bhouston]

Since you mention it, what part of the Twitter files was most damning? Can you share that part?

[tacotacotaco]

Zuckerberg hired Joel Kaplan as Facebook’s VP of public policy to shape political speech policy. Kaplan was a former clerk for Antonin Scalia, a lawyer for W. Bush during the 2000 recount and eventually his chief of staff[1]. Kaplan regularly intervened to stop enforcement of terms of service violations for, as you said, “one political side”[2]. He also successfully advocated to _not_ update Facebook’s recommendation algorithm to promote neutral, non-political content because it would make Facebook appear bias against conservatives[3]. Despite all of this “one political side” continues to claim they are unfairly targeted.

[1] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Kaplan [2] https://www.wired.com/story/facebook-joel-kaplan-washington-... [3] https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-algorithm-change-zucke...

[runamok]

> but simply censoring and banning one political side is not a viable approach

Citation needed.

There are tons of claims but from what I can see not a lot of proof. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/02/01/censorship-co...