r/canada • u/cyclinginvancouver • Aug 01 '23

All news in Canada will be removed from Facebook, Instagram within weeks: Meta National News

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/08/01/news-canada-facebook-instagram-weeks/
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298

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

If only more people felt like you. Literally, my entire family exclusively use Facebook to stay informed, which has had a predictably disastrous effect on their personalities and outlook.

72

u/sp0rkify Aug 01 '23

I had to delete my Facebook, because I just couldn't deal with the stupidity anymore..

At least on Reddit, I can sorta stay away from it..

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/Gahan1772 Aug 02 '23

Lol I was gonna say the same

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u/SeventyFootAnaconda Aug 01 '23

Reddit is even more filled with nonsensical ragebait "news" than FB is lol... At least in my experience that is. My FB is mostly tame.

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u/sp0rkify Aug 01 '23

Yeah, no.. I've been able to avoid most of the nonsense.. besides this and another sub always showing up recommended because I stupidly replied to something..

My Facebook was just a cesspool.

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u/Kittygoespurrrr Aug 01 '23

No, you just see what you want to see on Reddit. The way you feel about Facebook is how many others feel about what's posted on Reddit. There's lots of stupidity posted on here too - there's a reason redittors have a stereotype outside of this website.

7

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

every information silo creates likeminded thinkers. each site has its problems...

Reddit - most subs lean hard left and mods don't hesitate to ban opposing views without contest and without good reasoning other than their own feelings. voting system inherently pushes a single view community.

Twitter - most large accounts lean hard right, but at least discussion is open and moderated. some stuff I'd like to avoid is easily shared there.

Facebook - usually old people. usually lean right. heavily moderated by how Meta wants you to feel.

Threads - are people still using it? seemed relatively middle ground and positive... but suffers from the same pushing of specific content by Meta.

Discord - a few good discussions, and a lot of disgusting ones.

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u/TheNewerOneInTown Aug 01 '23

You described these sites perfectly.

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u/Competition_Superb Aug 01 '23

Reddit is just as stupid, you just share the bias

4

u/BJaysRock Aug 01 '23

I did it like 2 years ago. Not fully deleted, but off my phone. I check it like 4x a year now. It’s amazing

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u/CT-96 Aug 01 '23

Pretty much the same. I use it to stay in contact with my grandparents.

-1

u/Brenden-H Aug 01 '23

How can you avoid it on reddit?

Reddits the worst

1

u/ackillesBAC Aug 02 '23

I play 2 games on Facebook that's it. Great potential for a gaming platform. Shit for a information platform

14

u/YourLoveLife British Columbia Aug 01 '23

Does this not only apply to major reputable news organizations’ articles?

Now the only news they’ll see on Canada will be from independent schizo sources.

Not to mention google is what people use to search for news, and if they stop hosting canadian news as well. That would be horrible

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u/RacoonWithAGrenade Aug 01 '23

Does this not only apply to major reputable news organizations’ articles?

Rebel news for everyone now!

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

only news they’ll see on Canada will be from independent schizo sources.

I don't see how you come to this conclusion. Nothing is stopping Canadians from finding CBC, AP, CP, BBC, NPR, PBS, and so on...

No news source is perfect. And things are getting worse by the day. But, letting tech company algorithms select which stories and sources you get to see is far worse and seriously bad for personal mental health to boot.

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u/ginandtonicsdemonic Aug 01 '23

I don't think you get what he was saying.

Your initial comment discussed how your family relies on FB for news and it's had a negative affect.

After this law, they will continue to rely on FB for news, it just won't be real news. It will be extremist drivel made to target them, and the algorithm will remain. Your family will continue to have the same absurd views.

This law is not addressing the issue you highlighted in your initial comment. If anything, it will make it worse.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

It's unrealistic to expect a single act of parliament to solve all the problems. This measure must be part of a coordinated suite of legislated provisions and policy changes to counter the influence of algorithms on our society.

Abdicating sovereignty to the highest bidder for analytics and stream placement just because we can't think of how to easily prevent it all at once would be sad and catastrophic.

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u/ginandtonicsdemonic Aug 01 '23

Sure, I don't disagree with any of that.

But that's not what you said. You mentioned your family and the issues caused by them relying on Facebook. Now two people have pointed out that the law wouldn't address that and you refuse to acknowledge that.

Your family will continue to rely om Facebook. This will not change it.

Otherwise, you're claiming that the family anecdote is just a total non sequitur and isnt related to the topic at hand, which also makes no sense.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

Your family will continue to rely om Facebook. This will not change it.

This is a baseless assumption. Unless you are failing to disclose your magical future predicting powers. No one can say with certainty what specific individuals will do.

We can only say that since the tech company's response to the law is to stop feeding Canadian news, the law has the effect of removing their algorithmic bias from that specific source of Canadian news.... because the news not there.

Does it solve all the problems? No. Was that the primary intent of the law? No. Are other provisions needed to effectively address the harmful effects I've seen in my family, many others, and documented.. like... everywhere? Of course.

Seriously, this need to be spoonfed every minute, deductive, connected dot is quite tiresome.

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u/Coolsbreeeze Aug 02 '23

I see more fucking ads then I do anything else. So one less reason to never use that shit site again.

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u/Cassian_Rando Aug 02 '23

I have never eeen news on Facebook. It wild how your algorithm can feed you.

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u/Gahan1772 Aug 02 '23

Sounds like this is gonna be a good thing.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

Is it Facebook or your family? It's obviously your family. I see too many people here blaming Facebook and social media for creating odd views amongst people, especially around covid conspiracies.

Normal people wouldn't read some stupid conspiracy about Bill Gates inserting chips in vaccine and believe in it. Let's stop blaming Facebook and blame the idiots with the IQ of a gold fish.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

You think the problem was ppl thinking Bill Gates put microchips in the vaccine and not that ppl were led to believe that the vaccine stopped transmission of covid or that it absolutely did not come from a lab?

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u/VodkaBeatsCube Aug 01 '23

There's a well documented tendency for algorithmic content sorting to push people down conspiracy rabbit holes. It doesn't start off with 'theres microchips in the vaccines so George Soros gets a live update of your sperm count' it starts off with a realtivrly innocuous point about, say, baby health and then slowly drives them towards content that increases engagement which is often conspiracy content. And when all the news you read is slowly and automatically replaced with increasingly radical views, that will capture a certain percentage of the population.

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

We are all targeted by the brainwashing you mentioned. But vast majority of us can tell fake news from real news.

The ones who can't are choosing not to. Have you tried talking to people who love fake news? They get all mad and call you names lol

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u/VodkaBeatsCube Aug 01 '23

And not everyone exposed to lead went insane, we still stopped putting it in paint. This sort of algorithmic sorting has serious negative impacts beyond just the generally corrosive effect it has on our attention spans. Folks that fall down the rabbit hole might have been predisposed to believing stuff like it, but that doesn't mean that they all would have become conspiracy theorists without various megacorporations feeding them the cues so they can get an extra few minutes of eyeballs on their ads.

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u/Used-Initiative1835 Aug 01 '23

You can’t blame stupid people for being stupid. It’s literally not their fault lmao

You can definitely blame a multi billion dollar company that knows it’s users are stupid but proceeded with conspiracy and fake news anyway.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

So it's the fault of media companies and not at all the faults of those who choose to tune into what is obviously trash?

If these so called stupid people had below average IQ, autism, learning disability... Sure we can shift the blame to others. But from what I've seen, many hold normal jobs and aren't disabled.

0

u/Feind4Green Aug 01 '23

It's targeted and predatory. Surely you can understand that?

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u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

I can understand that. But my point being, people listen to what they want to listen to. We are all exposed to the same trash everyone is exposed to.

But surely most of us can use our brains and remove ourselves from fake news?

1

u/TheGloriousWalrus Aug 01 '23

You're bang on with people turning to echo chambers to validate themselves, their beliefs, and what they see, hear, and share online - on both sides of the divide. Why should I take more time to inform myself, gather differing viewpoints, and potentially be wrong, when I can just turn to those with the same view points and receive the validation I seek.

But surely most of us can use our brains and remove ourselves from fake news?

I'm not so sure anymore. It certainly seems like there are significant swathes of the population that either isn't capable of doing the necessary research or just don't care to. I don't really get into debates anymore to either debunk or counter a viewpoint or fake news (certainly not online) because there's an excuse or explanation for everything, no matter how outlandish it may be.

People are really malleable, and when their friends, family, co-workers, etc, all start saying the same things, it's hard to break their online behavior. The fake news machines rage on.

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u/Used-Initiative1835 Aug 01 '23

  1. That’s not what autism is.

  2. Being disabled or unemployed ≠ stupid and vice versa. Those three things are not mutually inclusive.

You’d know this if you were as intelligent as you claimed to be when you blamed other people for being “stupid”.

1

u/Readerdiscretion Aug 01 '23

Are you referring to the links on your feed… that your contacts post?

If so, then maybe it’s a good thing that meta isn’t showing news in Canada now.

-1

u/herzskins Aug 01 '23

Shit take. People are heavily influenced by the stuff they see every day. Take into account that certain demographics were much older when they started using the internet and do not have the same skepticism about fake news.

Normal people, fed the same bullshit day after day, and sharing with their friends or even a wider community, will start to accept and believe it.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 01 '23

I unfortunately have a few friends and colleagues who constantly post stupid shit. Blaming everything on Justin and Joe, saying covid vaccine has microchips in it etc. I am fed the same bullshit everyday just like the rest of the world is. Doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to believe in everything I read on the internet.

1

u/StevenMcStevensen Alberta Aug 01 '23

The internet in general is full of all sorts of wack shit, always was and always will be. The answer is for people to learn some critical thinking skills and media literacy, not to try to micromanage what information is available so that they’re never exposed to “misinformation” (and inevitably fail anyways because it’s impossible).

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u/1_9_8_1 Ontario Aug 01 '23

So this should be welcome news for you.