Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/14/genocide-business-model.html
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The journalists Facebook installed as fact-checkers say the company is using them as window-dressing
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Roger That!
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I wonder who else is paying Snopes and other “fact checkers”.
The root of this evil is the ad-based business model. “The problems are now clear, but few see a simple solution. I suggest action based on a new class of user-sustained, relationship-value-first, business models that could negate those ills – and make our platforms more broadly humane and sustainable. Companies like Facebook can build market-based solutions, to minimize need for regulation or antitrust action. However, lacking such initiatives, government can mandate business model remedies by requiring X% of revenue be from users, not advertisers and data buyers (and gradually increasing X, much like for auto emissions), thus reducing need for a more intrusive hand.” More at http://bit.ly/FPZCall, and http://bit.ly/FPZDuop.
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Hashtag Genocode? Did you mean genocide?
It amazes me that any executive at a company as rotten and corrupt and greedy as Facebook thought that using idealistic journalists as in-house fact-checkers would turn out any other way than this.
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I don’t believe they did. The only thing I’m surprised about is that it took this long for this ‘news’ to get out.
The arrogance of these types blinds them to potential consequences. They think that they’re always the smartest people in the room and believe that money can buy the silence of anyone.
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I find it hard to believe that you could run such a company while being that blind. I find it easier to believe that the facebook board is filled with cynics who knew exactly that this was a short term tactic to deflect blame for a few weeks and nothing more than that.
I’ve worked in and with the tech industry for more than two decades now, so I don’t find it hard to believe that at all.
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I live on another continent and don’t work in tech, so I’ll take your word for it.
But here’s what I think is happening. The goal of facebook is to maintain user growth and user value, both of which are main factors in the share price, which in turn is a main motivator for their higher ups because of stock options. To truly combat fake news on their platform they’d need to be transparent about their own practices. Facebook hates transparency, this you can see in Zuckerbergs own behavior, he hides from scrutiny as much as possible. You also see it every time some government calls them in for a hearing. Being transparent would mean they’d have to show how the sausage is made so to speak, and that is an ugly sight alright. It could very well mean negative user growth and that would mean plummeting stock prices which means poor executives. So of course they avoid transparency which means that they will only allow some half hearted measures to keep up appearances, like hiring these journalists.
In short, I don’t think they’re blinded by arrogance, they’re blinded by greed.
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