Will McAvoy Profile picture
Ombudsman for the Internet on a #MissionToCivilize. Not affiliated with @HBO or The #Newsroom. I mute notifications from nonfollowers.

Aug 27, 2020, 5 tweets

Facebook is just one example of the reinforcement loops that dominate the news intake of the modern conservative. It started with talk radio and then FoxNews, who both claimed that they alone were providing their audience the truth, which led to the tuning out of other media.

What makes Facebook so dangerous is that the selection to only get views that agree with you is done entirely in the background. It’s not longer a choice that the consumer is aware of, but rather one that is made for the user—so they assume the dissenting voices are the others.

This is complicated with younger, more liberal users either abandoning the platform or removing, blocking or muting their more conservative family members to avoid arguments, family drama and/or embarrassment. Which means those voices are heard even less.

The thing is there’s no solution. But it’s also curious that Amanda Carpenter wants to talk about this without discussing her own past on thia subject. Alas.

Liberals have feedback loops too, but there’s more diversity in thought among them which makes them significantly less dangerous, in my opinion. Liberals define themselves by a set of broad beliefs. Conservatives defines themselves by opposition to liberals and fidelity to Trump.

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