• MangoCats@feddit.it
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    2 days ago

    I’d like to believe that most of the dumb stuff you see posted online is by bots trying to draw suckers to their echo chambers.

    Unfortunately, I’ve met too many of the idiots in real life, they’re definitely not all bots.

    • Raiderkev@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Yes, but the line of thinking originates there, and they were programmed to be more hateful and stupid than they ever would have been in a pre-zuck era.

      • MangoCats@feddit.it
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        1 day ago

        Programming people to be hateful and stupid goes waaaaaay back before Zuck and Xitter. The Spanish-American War is a pretty solid example, but there are so many others.

          • MangoCats@feddit.it
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            15 hours ago

            It is different, in lots of ways. “Back then” there were a lot more captive audiences, people who had no access to any other sources of information. So, while we’re in 24/7 saturation, we also have the option to “switch the channel”

            Unfortunately, once somebody has decided what they want to hear, they can “switch the channel” until they find one that reinforces whatever that may be, from “The Earth is Flat” onward… Still, “The Truth is Out There” and you can access more of it, if you really want to / know how to, than ever before.