Snowden to the World: Stop Letting Facebook Control Your News

In an attempt to rationalize the fact that Donald Trump has been elected as the next president of the United States, a growing movement is lashing out against “fake news sites,” even labeling them responsible for the election results.
Earlier this week, a document “False, Misleading, Clickbait-y, and/or Satirical ‘News’ Sources” was uploaded to Facebook by a user named Melissa Zimdars. The document made the rounds on social media, adding fuel to the fake news fire. Despite the fact that Zimdars’ list ironically lacks proper citation, blatantly targets right-wing outlets, and includes perfectly legitimate sites for no apparent reason, the Los Angeles Times published the false, misleading, clickbait-y document, lending it an air of legitimacy.
The irony in the assistant professor’s project is that it mirrors everything she is warning others about. Although it is prefaced with a disclaimer, the document is being shared by “legitimate” news outlets as a legitimate report. Some of it is true and some of it is cited, but overall, it’s a poor resource to rely on for guidance on reputable news outlets. It almost makes one wonder if this young teacher is conducting her own social experiment to see how seriously people will take a Google document uploaded to Facebook.
Fake news sites are certainly problematic in a world where the majority of people get their news from social networks; a good portion of those people don’t even read articles before sharing them. Facebook and Google have responded to the hysteria by announcing their decision to ban what they deem to be fake news sites from their advertising platforms. This is a cause for concern for many reasons.
As Edward Snowden pointed out, “[t]o have one company that has enough power to reshape the way we think, I don’t think I need to describe how dangerous that is.” Snowden addressed the fake news issue in detail via Beambot at Fusion’s Real Future Fair on Tuesday.
“I don’t think many people need to have this explained to them, that when you type something into the Google search box, it’s Google that decides what you get back. When you go to your Facebook page, it’s Facebook that decides what news it is that you see on your page. When you go to a platform like Twitter, or any of these, really, the voices that are heard are the ones that are selected and permitted by the corporation.”
He identifies the source of the problem as a lack of competition. “There seems to be no alternative to the larger services. Because of this network effect, because [of] the first mover advantage. When you get a Google or a Facebook or Twitter in place, they never seem to leave.”
His solution? Don’t rely on Facebook for your news. By banning websites from their platform, they are essentially telling users they aren’t intelligent enough to decide for themselves what is and is not news. As Snowden put it, “they’re creating more silence than they are creating more speech.”
By: Josie Wales   From: The Anti Media
The post Snowden to the World: Stop Letting Facebook Control Your News appeared first on Counter Current News.
Source: Inoreader Tagged

20 things you can do on election day to improve your life – The Ungoverned – David Veksler

Everywhere I look today, everyone is telling me how important it is that I vote.  I’ve written before why I am boycotting the vote this election.  The fact is that regardless of where you live or who you support, as a practical matter, your vote makes very little difference.   However, just because I am opposed to voting, does not mean that I’ve given up.  There are many worthwhile charitable and for-profit organizations that you can support instead of wasting your time and money on elections. While improving the world is a worthy goal, it is even more important to invest in yourself.  Your life is the only one under your control, and setting an example for others is one of the best way to create positive change.  Don’t get distracted by politics – no matter who you vote for, it will only leave you distracted, disillusioned and feeling more powerless than ever.  You can act right now to improve your life in a million small…


Source: Inoreader Tagged

Bonus Ep. 776 Unleash Your Inner Company: Use Passion and Perseverance to Build Your Ideal Business

John Chisholm joins me to discuss how to come up with the idea for a successful business, how to test ideas, scale your business, and more. Plus: how entrepreneurs make the world a better place.
About the Guest
Serial entrepreneur John Chisholm has three decades of experience as an entrepreneur, a CEO, and an investor. In 1992 he founded, and for five years served as the CEO/Chairman of Decisive Technology (now part of Google).
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Book Discussed
Unleash Your Inner Company: Use Passion and Perseverance to Build Your Ideal Business
Guest’s Websites
JohnChisholmVentures.comUnleashYourInnerCompany.com
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@johndchisholm
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5 Paths to an Online Income
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3) Free History Course: The U.S. Presidents — Politically Incorrect Edition. Get access to this 22-lesson course: 22 videos, 22 mp3 files for listening on the go, and a bibliography of reliable books on the presidents. Click here!.
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Source: Inoreader Tagged