Comment by asdff
5 days ago
What can you do about it? That is the rub. You can't. It is no coincidence that pretty much all avenues of information consumption you face are susceptible to this issue. It is by design that these technologies are able to reach you in these ways. It is by design that propagandists have so much success. Everyone in power today is in power because of propaganda. Why would they ever let go of their reigns of power? It is the sole forcing factor keeping them in power after all. They'd be no different than you and I otherwise, which scares them more than anything.
Legislate! We need laws! I get we aren’t used to that anymore in the US but truly “marketing” and social media in the US has become so hostile and harmful I just don’t understand how we can in good conscience not start to put heavier restrictions on them. Enough is enough. We can’t continue to sacrifice our society on the altar of the Almighty dollar.
Shun! You know people at Meta, Tiktok, et al? They're not people you want as friends, they're family but one step above nothing in your lives. Boo Zuck wherever he goes, MMA fights is just one place. Make it as uncool to be part of the machine as it should be for other drains on society like Palantir.
There's the other rub. Can't get good laws passed either because laws are also subject to propaganda. You draft your good Bill A. Technocracy comes out with millions in ad spend, floods the zone, convinces the voters your bill is bad, or their Bill B with their profitable carveouts is good, voters vote against their interests and for the technocracy. This pattern has played out like this countless times already. Only thing I can think to do is dissociate and pretend like the world isn't fucked.