Researchers studying Facebook's impact on democracy decry lack of data access, warn: We'll walk... Researchers studying the influence Facebook has on democracy are threatening to quit over a lack of access to the antisocial network's data. Earlier this year, Facebook agreed to provide anonymised data about how stories are shared across its platform. Some of the research has been looking at the possible effect the platform …
You've gotta hand it to The Zuck, he knows how to delay and faffle about and tire everyone out.
First he ignores convocations, then he says that nothing was wrong, then he says the issues don't concern FaceBook, then he grudgingly accepts a modicum of oversight only to turn around after a long period and, hands helplessly held apart, states that giving up the required data might affect people's privacy and that, in conscience, he can't allow that.
That is a master waffler, no doubt there.
to fix all the links to how they obtained the data in the first place. After all they really don't want to be caught one more with their fingers where they should not be found.
Don't trust a word that they say and you may well have something close to the truth.
Posting AC just in case. You never know where their tentacles have reached. time to cut them off!
I'm not sure if I should upvote or downvote your post - so I'll just comment. It is unlikely that FB impacted the outcome of the election, but I'd be surprised if there weren't some people who went to the polls instead of staying home, or who changed their vote due to some fake news posted by a 'friend'.
When there are enough airheads out there who can't think for themselves - and our schools are producing them in mass quantities, then fake news from the platform of-the-day will impact the outcome.
Democracy isn't something that is deserved, it is something that is earned and must be protected. Sadly, the boomers have done a piss-poor job of protecting it.
One of my college professors taught us that companies that decline transparency invite the public to draw their own conclusions, and that it's virtually impossible to change to those conclusions afterward.
I don't want to disappoint my old professor, so here goes:
Could it be that, instead of hurting the progressives (DNC) as is commonly assumed, Facebook (as a social medium) actually ended up hurting the conservatives instead? And that they won the presidency despite this, overcoming the disadvantage Facebook presented to their campaign?
If so, that would explain why Facebook is reluctant to provide transparency... Kind of like when it was discovered that the DNC was in fact undermining Bernie Sanders' campaign in favor of Hillary Clinton - costing the Dems the election in the end.
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