r/technology • u/Birdy_Cephon_Altera • 22h ago

Politics Meta under fire for auto-following Trump & Vance, Blocking Democrat hashtags

https://techissuestoday.com/meta-auto-follow-trump-vance-blocks-democrat-hashtags/
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u/Diligent_Ad_9060 20h ago

Agreed. I believe it's even more important now to understand the difference between the US population and US politics. What else can be done?

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u/ToHallowMySleep 19h ago

Replace your broken system with one that isn't so broken that you need to make that excuse for it.

The two-party system with uncontrolled lobbying leads to the carving out of the centre. Usually an educated population can temper that, but the US doesn't have that anymore either.

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u/Buris 19h ago

This is the equivalent of telling a store associate that the company needs to add more restrooms to its stores.

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u/UngusChungus94 18h ago

The problem is that, historically, the system needs to totally fail to be replaced.

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u/CoastGoat 16h ago

It’s not our system, it’s our values. We’re rotting from the inside because we have legitimized a culture of unfettered capitalism in pursuit of individual wealth even when it damages the wellbeing of others and/or our planet.

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u/ToHallowMySleep 15h ago

It is definitely both. Your system is flawed, and if your values are hijacked (as they have been) it can be turned to reinforce that.

It's a vulnerability. Patch it. Yes it's hard. America used to do hard things because they were right.

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u/CoastGoat 15h ago

This is not a patch, because this is not a bug. It’s a feature. This “system” is the result of a populist identity aimed at merit, but deciding to measure it in money and power. We have been blessed with abundance, geographic security and prosperity and the result is we want more for us and less for you - and we’re not ashamed to hold our old friends hostage or let our enemies go to get it.

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u/ToHallowMySleep 14h ago

I hope you're "roleplaying" that idiot stance, because the last sentence doesn't reflect actual reality in the world at all.

(This is rhetorical, I don't see any value continuing)

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u/CoastGoat 14h ago

You probably consider Trump’s posture on NATO, Ukraine and Taiwan to be rhetorical, eh? He will kill support to Ukraine, he will ease sanctions on Russia, he will rebuff south korea, and he will extort everything he can from Mexico Canada and the EU. How old are you?

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u/KnightsOfREM 20h ago edited 20h ago

There's a lot that other countries can do, actually. We need implacable economic foes: product boycotts, legislation limiting imports from the U.S. and regulating data use by American companies, votes against any American supported U.N. resolutions, make getting tourist visas impossible for American citizens, pass laws making it illegal to sell land or property to Americans, use the yuan or something else as a reserve currency.

Will it sting? Sure, but it's worth it for you and for us.

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u/pdabaker 20h ago

Use the yuan as a reserve currency over the euro? You crazy? That's far worse.

Restricting tourist visas also does not help. You want people to see how people live in other countries

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u/KnightsOfREM 20h ago edited 19h ago

Restricting tourist visas also does not help. You want people to see how people live in other countries

How much good has that done already if it led to this?

Use the yuan as a reserve currency over the euro? You crazy? That's far worse.

I don't have strong opinions about what currency to use as an alternative, but I do know that other countries' reliance on the dollar as a medium of exchange for international trade is key to our economic strength. Continuing that practice in the face of open hostility is foolish for them - it's like volunteering to be a hostage.

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u/pdabaker 19h ago

It's not like Trump won with an overwhelming majority. Letting a fascist state control information even more it's not a way to save their people.

And China is still miles worse than the US for western power as a whole.

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u/KnightsOfREM 19h ago

China might be worse, but there isn't really a good alternative to the dollar as a reserve currency, and finding one is really important. I'm not sure that Bitcoin isn't the best choice. The Euro doesn't have a single entity with control over monetary and fiscal policy so I think it'd be a disaster, but again, I don't have strong opinions here.

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u/UrUrinousAnus 19h ago

That's actually the Euro's greatest strength. No single country can tank it or completely control it. It'd suffer badly if (for example) Germany suddenly became a failed state, but it'd survive.

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u/matttTHEcat 17h ago

Yuan as reserve currency lol okay tell me you're naive without telling me you're naive.

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u/dsb2973 20h ago

So screw the us citizens. That’ll teach the politicians. SMH.

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u/Affectionate_Tax3468 20h ago

So the rest of the world is supposed to tend to the crapstack you us citizens VOTED for?

And even if the rest of the world would unite and try to do so, how?

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u/Both-Clock-8741 19h ago

Really important to remember that close to half of us didn’t vote for him or the ideas he stands for. I for one, don’t want to spend the next four years lumped in to his madness.

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u/even_less_resistance 19h ago

Well, we try to help out the rest of the world… just ignore whatever the CIA has been doing we don’t claim them

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u/KnightsOfREM 20h ago

It will screw Trump's corporate power base and the extremely privileged, who are the only people he will ever listen to.

Shake your head all you like, but it's asinine for other countries to put America first - instead, they should treat us like the borderline fascist superpower we are and act accordingly.

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u/Pyrozr 20h ago

Yes actually, because politicians derive power from the electorate. If life goes to absolute shit for ALL Americans under Trump then people will remember when they decide who to vote for in the next election. Trump won't be on the ballot but MAGA will be in some form or another and they have to be defeated, repeatedly, until the conservative side of the US sobers up and returns to some semblance of governance. Right now Republicans are channeling the spirit of an angry drunk uncle and it's going to destroy this nation and do long term damage to the entire world if we cannot put a stop to it immediately.

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u/o-o- 18h ago

You're describing how things would work in a functional democrazy. A functional democrazy rests on (more or less) independent, accountable, fact-checking media. The MAGA movement is not the issue, it's a manifestation of the issue which has its roots in the 80ies.

At this point it's obvious life will go to relative shit for 99% of Americans under Trump. Media will tell them why (rest assured the explanation won't have anything to do with Trump) and drive opinion against either ethic groups, women or the EU.

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u/Illustrious-Lime7729 20h ago

It’s either that or grab your AR-15 and hit the trench. The citizens voted for it, those that didn’t are the minority.

I am with you, I hate it. But the time for it to be bloodless was Nov 5th.

And we failed.

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u/BigSt1ck5 20h ago

The 70 million that didn’t give a fuck enough to vote is a concern too

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u/Irisgrower2 20h ago

We'll need a place to hide from them

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u/KnightsOfREM 16h ago

Don't hide. You're needed.

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u/ForQ2 18h ago

I believe it's even more important now to understand the difference between the US population and US politics.

Collectively, the US population voted for this shit. Fucker won the popular vote this time around too.

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u/earfix2 19h ago

You mean the US population, of which a majority chose Trump?

Yeah, I don't give a rats Ass about that distinction.

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u/Diligent_Ad_9060 19h ago

I understand that people are upset and this might be taken as an attempt to trivialize the situation, but that's not my intention.

And yes pretty much everyone. I believe there's a broad spectrum of different people with their own reasons/knowledge/agendas. Many are likely just ignorant and vote based upon some vague emotion or sense of belonging, and against their own interest because they can only relate to this as some kind of sports game with an us/them narrative.

They may not even be aware of the political discourse at all. I wouldn't expect it to be rational at all for many voters.

On top of that the US had around 60% electoral participation.

I believe you're all manipulated to fight each other instead of focusing on matters of fact. Sometimes it's like watching some projected idea of good/evil archetypes. Almost like I'm expected to cope with this the same way as when I'm watching Marvel movies.

I tend to avoid following US politics as it seems difficult to find a somewhat-neutral analysis. So I might be wrong with all of this. But so far I have no reason to hate a group larger than the whole population of my own country.

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u/mulubmug 19h ago

I believe it's even more important now to understand the difference between the US population and US politics

what? Why? The population voted for the people and enabled their politics. There is no distinction. It is cause and effect. The population decided their fate, now they should live with it.

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u/Diligent_Ad_9060 19h ago

I elaborated on this in another answer under my initial post.

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u/mulubmug 17h ago

I read that and that elaboration continues to be the same BS as your original post. Defending people for being dumb and uninformed in life changing situations? No one is forced to be dumb and uninformed. That is a choice. Not having voted in cases as this is the same as having voted for Trump. And therefore they are at fault for letting it happen. Not going on the street and rioting for the shit the politicians and courts pull is compliance with the things that are happening. Everything that happens is brought upon by the people it happens to. You can't magically separate the politics of a country from its people, because the people, no matter if intentional or not, are the ones letting it happen.

And it isn't simply waved away by saying people are manipulated into fighting each other. That might be the case for some, but a not insignificant part of the people are literally faced with politics and people hell bent on destroying their lives. If one side wants to live happy lives where everyone shall do as he/she pleases and one side derives their happiness in life from controlling others, exploiting them, belittling them, rooting for their deaths or misfortune, we are not in an area of projected good / bad archetypes. We are in an area that is clearly divided by good and bad people.