Tag: FACEBOOK

SECURITY: BBC reporter creates fake Americans.

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

https://apnews.com/article/us-elections-misinformation-social-media-BBC-americast-6749e362c3b3a5c8db7b3276a8a5bd91?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email

BBC tries to understand politics by creating fake Americans
By DAVID BAUDER — November 1, 2022

*** begin quote ***

NEW YORK (AP) — Larry, a 71-year-old retired insurance broker and Donald Trump fan from Alabama, wouldn’t be likely to run into the liberal Emma, a 25-year-old graphic designer from New York City, on social media — even if they were both real.

Each is a figment of BBC reporter Marianna Spring’s imagination. She created five fake Americans and opened social media accounts for them, part of an attempt to illustrate how disinformation spreads on sites like Facebook, Twitter and TikTok despite efforts to stop it, and how that impacts American politics.

That’s also left Spring and the BBC vulnerable to charges that the project is ethically suspect in using false information to uncover false information.

“We’re doing it with very good intentions because it’s important to understand what is going on,” Spring said. In the world of disinformation, “the U.S. is the key battleground,” she said.

*** end quote ***

This is easily prevented by requiring a credit card and charging for access.  Elon’s 8$/month will do more to eliminate, or down grade bots, than can be imagined.

The fee would eliminate fakes PDQ.  Surprising that no one mentions it in the article.

Of course, there’s no way to comment on the site, because they are just interested in attracting eyeballs.

—30—

POLITICAL: “Private” companies have become the propaganda arm of the party in power over the US Gooferment

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2022/07/27/bokhari-big-techs-blueprint-to-stop-a-red-wave-in-2022/

Bokhari: Big Tech’s Blueprint to Stop a Red Wave in 2022

Allum Bokhari 27 Jul 2022

*** begin quote ***

Republicans think a “red wave” is inevitable in November. But the Democrats still have one big advantage: the ever-tightening grip of Big Tech censorship, which will be used to prevent undecided voters from encountering even the most mainstream conservative news in the runup to the next election. Republicans will have a strong message — but what if voters are prevented from hearing it?

In the runup to the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Google completely suppressed Breitbart News from its search results. Compared to 2016, Breibart News went into the 2020 election with a 99.7 percent reduction in visibility for its links on Google search. The censorship was so severe, no-name blogs with plagiarized headlines and content would appear in search results before the original Breitbart News articles. On searches for the term “Joe Biden,” Google cut visibility on Breitbart News links to zero.

Then, a few weeks before the election, Big Tech teamed up to suppress one of the biggest stories of the cycle: the Hunter Biden laptop story. A post-election poll found that 17 percent of Biden voters would have reconsidered their decision had they been aware of the laptop story alone, not counting the hundreds of Breitbart News stories voters didn’t have access to due to Google censorship.

Biden’s margin of victory in three swing states was less than a percentage point, making tech censorship a pivotal factor in the outcome. There is no law preventing Silicon Valley from not only repeating this plan in 2022, but scaling it up to a massive level – and that’s exactly what they are doing. The groundwork is already being prepared, in a number of ways:

#1 “Independent” Watchdogs Downgrading Conservative Media — NewsGuard Discredits The Right

#2 Facebook Suppressing The News — If The Wrong Side Is Winning, Call Off The Game

#3 Taxpayer-Funded Censorship — NPR Creates Misinformation Bureau

#4 Regulatory Gridlock — No Recourse For Citizens

#5 The Institutionalization of Censorship — Facebook’s $150 Million ‘Oversight Board’

*** and ***

Like the “misinformation” panic, the point of the Oversight Board is to give a veneer of process and legitimacy to Facebook’s suppression of non-progressive viewpoints.

Going into the 2022 midterm elections, if Silicon Valley gets its way, voters online will see only what the elites want them to see. That January 6 was the worst attack on democracy ever. That Republicans killed people by pointing out masks don’t work. That women in red states are being driven to coathanger abortions.

In short, Silicon Valley will ensure that the misinformation of the establishment gets a megaphone, while any conservative counterpoints are silenced. We already know from 2020 that this works. The question is, what are Republicans going to do about it?

*** end quote ***

As a little L libertarian, “private companies” should just make a profit and stay out of politics.

In these examples (i.e., Disney, Google, Facebook, Big Media), they have become propaganda arms of the Big Left wing of the Democratic Party and using their control of Gooferment to silence their opposition. 

“We, The Sheeple” must recognize that the game is rigged and punish all involved.

As painful as it is, consumers must boycott Disney, Google, and Facebook.  Until they change their ways, they are PNG.

—30—

VOCABULARY: A ‘brand tax’ on future job searches

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-pays-brand-tax-hire-talent-fears-career-black-mark-2021-12

*** begin quote ***

Facebook’s reputation is so bad, the company must pay even more now to hire and retain talent. Some are calling it a ‘brand tax’ as tech workers fear a ‘black mark’ on their careers.

*** end quote ***

Like with those who worked at Enron, and their auditors Arthur Andersen, were stained in future job searches.

—30—

LIBERTARIAN: NVIC should not be deplatformed

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

https://sharylattkisson.com/2021/03/censored-national-vaccine-information-center/

CENSORED: National Vaccine Information Center
DATED: MARCH 8, 2021 BY SHARYL ATTKISSON

*** begin quote ***

In October 2020, NVIC sponsored the pay-for-view Fifth International Public Conference on Vaccination: Protecting Health and Autonomy in the 21st Century held online with more than 50 speakers presenting information on vaccine science, policy, law and civil liberties, and now conference presentations are available for free viewing. Following the conference, NVIC was targeted by political operatives and global non-governmental organizations and corporations that are working with governments to silence criticism of vaccine safety and one-size-fits-all mandatory vaccination policies and laws.

*** end quote ***

As a payoff to Big Pharma, the Federal Gooferment prevents them from being sued when a “vaccine injury” occurs.

I’d like to see that protection revokes and the truth set free.

I’m not an anti-vaxer extremist.  But I don’t believe the politicians and bureaucrats when they say “it’s ok, Nothing to see here.”.

“Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That Santiago’s death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.” Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men played by Jack Nicholson

I think we are all ENTITLED to the truth on vaccines.

—30—

RANT: The “social media” ARE utter frauds, regressive cheats, and petty censors

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

Letter from L. Neil Smith
Dear Ken,

Twitter, it says here, has kicked the amazing actor and articulate political pundit James Woods off its vaunted platform for no other reason than that he writes truths that make the left all butt-squirmy. To me, this is the absolute last straw. These “social media” things originally presented themselves as futuristic channels of free and open communication. They are, instead, utter frauds, regressive cheats, and petty censors, stuck in the discredited and obsolete collectivist past, determined to drag everybody else back there with them.

They are also corporations, and, as such, fully as subject Bill of Rights limitations as any other tentacle of the government.

As a lifelong libertarian thinker and writer, I hate, loathe, and despise regulation of any kind. But I hate this elementary school neo-puritanism even worse. I hate some snotty asshole snatching my mail out of my mailbox. I want to hear what James Woods has to say, and I don’t buy a single syllable of the pseudo-tech bullshit they spew as an excuse for trying to control people’s lives.

I have fought censorship all my life. If Twitter fails to restore Woods’ account and never bothers him or anybody like him—Alex Jones, for example—ever again, I will begin to advocate publicly that it—and other enterprises like Facebook, Youtube, and Google itself be seized by Federal Marshals and turned over to the US Postal System. At least they pretended to mind their own damned business, and you could be locked up for messing with a mailbox.

Please pass it on.

L. Neil Smith, author of The Probability Broach 
and The Lando Calrissian Adventures, et al. 
lneil@netzero.com

# – # – # – # – #

I agree!

# – # – # – # – # 2018-Sep-25 @ 11:19

CLOUD: FACEBOOK has new “forgot password” hurdle

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

2016-May-28 1020

Last night I was playing “tech support” and helping a noob get setup on my “loaner chromebook” while his win doze machine was at the Geek Squad for some kind of service. (Sounds like a motherboard failure.)

Of course, like most people — even those who should know better — he doesn’t remember his passwords.

(Of course, he doesn’t use LASTPASS, KEYPASS, or any other the other countless utilities. Argh!)

So we walked him through “forgot my password” on GMAIL, FACEBOOK, etc. etc.

All was going well, until FACEBOOK allowed him to reset his password, but then locked him out for 24 hours. 

(I could not get a screen shot of it. Others were at the controls “to learn” cause I go to fast. Argh!)

So be advise, FACEBOOK has put another wrinkle in your way.

https://lastpass.com/getlastpass1.php

Argh!

#FACEBOOK

# – # – # – # – #  2016-May-28 @ 10:27  

POLITICAL: FACEBOOK gets taxpayer money from BHO44

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-02-15/facebook-gets-a-multi-billion-dollar-tax-break

High Finance

Facebook Gets a Multibillion-Dollar Tax Break

By Peter Coy on February 15, 2013

It hasn’t drawn much attention, but Facebook’s first annual earnings report contains an accounting gem: a multibillion-dollar tax deduction for the cost of executive stock options and share awards.

Even though Facebook (FB) reported $1.1 billion in pre-tax profits from U.S. operations in 2012, it will probably pay zero federal and state taxes—and even receive a federal tax refund of about $429 million—according to a Feb. 14 statement from Citizens for Tax Justice.

The tax-research and -lobbying organization says companies such as Facebook should treat stock options the same in their reports to shareholders as they do in their tax filings. Citizens for Tax Justice calls the tax footnotes in Facebook’s Jan. 30 financial statement “an amazing admission,” but there’s nothing illegal about the breaks the company is claiming. Companies like Facebook are allowed to treat the cost of non-cash compensation, such as stock options, as an expense that reduces profits, essentially the way they treat cash compensation such as salaries.

*****

Can anyone say — “Crony Capitalism”?

Argh!

–30–

SERVICE: FACEBOOK has risks; parents should engage a “Glenda”

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

I found something disturbing aimed at one of my young Facebook “friends”.

(You know they “friend” me when they think it’s “kool” to have some “friends” and want to build up their count. Then forget that the fat old white guy injineer “stalks” them forever. Like Glenda the Good Witch, watching over them and their online presence.)

So, I immediately alerted on it to the “command authority” (i.e., her parents) via the approved channels (i.e., her aunt).

Action was taken.

This post suggests that parents need to have a view into their children’s onine activities.

Of course, I offer my “glenda service” at my usual discount. (LOL!) But, you’ll have to be “kool” about how you get a Glenda on to their friend’s list.

“Wonder what that crazy old koot is up to this week end? You see him on Facebook don’t you, dearest child of mine?” May work?

Or, find a trusted friend or relative that the child has already been “friend-ed” during their naïve days, and assign them Glenda duty.

Forewarned is forearmed. Or in this case, four eyeballed. (Yeah, I know it falls flat. But you get the idea!)

# – # – # – # – #   

INTERESTING: Sneaky Computer Security Tips

Published on by reinkefjLeave a comment

(0) OBVIOUSLY use unique passwords in every instance. (Use LASTPASS, ROBOFORM, or KEYPASS to remember the UNIMPORTANT ones. Do you care if someone can “share” your PORN stash. (Like I’d EVER have porn. You can catch a case of the computer equivalent of a social disease — malware, virus, or data leak. I think the real kind MIGHT be easier to cure.)

(1) Never STORE financial passwords anywhere, but in your head. (And, in a sealed envelope, located in your bank safe deposit box, for your executor.) Never ever! (If you have more than 5 ± 2, you have too many accounts.) Sorry guys, I don’t even trust my most TRUSTED  vendors. (Fact of life. Don’t trust. You won’t be disappointed.)

(2) If you do STORE a profile somewhere, ALWAYS use your real birthday ± 1. (It’ll be our little joke. Play along with all the FACEBOOK birthday wishes. Your real life fans will enjoy the joke. You DO have real life friends; don’t you? So sad if you don’t. You can link to me. I have very few — hi oldest, older, and just plain old!)

(3) If you do STORE — obviously not USE — a credit card number, ALWAYS do a typo with the “secret number” and add ± 1 to the last digit. (Then when someone has a security breech, they have your garbage.)

(4) If you do STORE an address for your self, put a typo somewhere so you know who to blame. (Personally I like middle name. “Hi, I’m F. 37 REINKE.”)

(5) If you can and it’s not needed for credit, add ± 1 to your SSN. (“Oh, sorry, I made an oopsie.”)

(6) ALWAYS mess with the secondary authentication questions. But do it in a consistent manner! (“Where were you born?” “Bayonne158” That’s Our Girl’s and her favorite number.) Caveat: Three sites — CAREMARK CVS, PAYTRUST, BOA — make you remember it from time to time. (If I forget, there is always “call one 800 outsourced service desk”. Reset them to colors. Then go in and immediately change them.) I always record my answers in LASTPASS ± 1. A great tool.

YMMV MTFBWY AMTHOBAIYF

# – # – # – # – #  2012-Apr-07 @ 05:07