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Zuckerberg Acknowledges 'Risk of Civil Unrest' After US Elections, Promises Newsfeed Updates (zdnet.com) 314

ZDNet reports: Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told analysts on a conference call Thursday evening that the company plans to post notices at the top of users' news feeds on November 3rd discrediting any claims by either candidate in the U.S. presidential election that they have won the election if the site deems the claim premature... The move, said Zuckerberg, is being made because "There is a risk of civil unrest across the country, and given this, companies like ours need to go well beyond what we've done before."

The conference call with analysts followed a third-quarter earnings report Thursday afternoon in which Facebook's results topped expectations, helped by gains in active users that also were higher than Wall Street expected.

Zuckerberg said Facebook "helped 4.4 million people register [to vote] exceeding the goal that we set for ourselves this summer."

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Zuckerberg Acknowledges 'Risk of Civil Unrest' After US Elections, Promises Newsfeed Updates

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  • This is a joke? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Droidie ( 7346304 )
    Him and buddys are the cause of it
  • He thought the maga moron calvary in Texas was a "hot thing" and should be trending #1 on Twitter. Jr incited the incident and told them to "have some fun". Trump has more sway than Twitter and Facebook combined.

    • But Trump and Jr are saying this shit on Twitter and Facebook, and the chuds are spreading it far and wide.

      It seems that thanks to them many are convinced that the only way Trump could lose is if Biden is cheating. Even theough the polls are already showing this is the most likely outcome, millions are probably going to refuse to acknowledge the results. Hopefully this won't go further than that.

    • The most ironic thing about that whole Trump convoy thing is, think about what other group comes to mind when someone says a convoy of pickups flying flags. A group that is hyper violent, seeks to take the world back centuries, and is hostile to science. Yup, ISIS.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        . A group that is hyper violent, seeks to take the world back centuries, and is hostile to science. Yup, ISIS.
        Bruh, you stopped short, you forgot what group believes in using violence for political ends, tearing down statues that don't comport with its dogma, and policing people for wrong think? That's right, SJWs are the new ISIS.
        • by Nidi62 ( 1525137 )

          . A group that is hyper violent, seeks to take the world back centuries, and is hostile to science. Yup, ISIS.
          tearing down statues that don't comport with its dogma.

          Yeah, nothing says patriotism like protecting statues of people that literally declared war on the United States. No wonder Trumptards can't get over the whole Hillary thing from 4 years ago when they can't even get over the Civil War 135 years ago.

  • I wouldn't put it past him to glibly keep those notices up for the entire term of a Biden administration, even in the advent of a landslide.

    You know - to minimize the 'risk of unrest', because he's so 'neutral'.

    Ryan Fenton

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Sunday November 01, 2020 @11:59AM (#60672030)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
    • by XXongo ( 3986865 )

      https://fortune.com/2018/02/17... [fortune.com] >Russia has interfered in American politics, while they appear to have a preference in candidate, it is more clear that they have a desire to incite conflict.

      ^^^

      Exactly.

      This is the point partisans seem to miss. Mostly, what the Russians want is to create disorder and conflict in America.

      • My MAGA MIL routinely forwards posts that most likely were created in Russia for this purpose... oh the irony.

    • Re:Not enough. (Score:4, Insightful)

      by nagora ( 177841 ) on Sunday November 01, 2020 @12:34PM (#60672122)

      Russia has managed to successfully organize protests and counter protests in the US that were attended by a small number people. They have been practicing and experimenting.
      https://fortune.com/2018/02/17... [fortune.com]

      Russia has interfered in American politics, while they appear to have a preference in candidate, it is more clear that they have a desire to incite conflict.

      Just as well the US would never stoop to that level. Other than every Russian election ever, obviously.

      Seriously, this is what spies do. This is what the CIA does; it's what GCHQ does; it's certainly what Mossad does. They are paid by their governments to advance the country's interest by "other means" which includes trying to get elections skewed towards candidates sympathetic to them.

      It's not new and it's not unusual. If you think a bit of this happening is a reason to invalidate an election then you'll need to go back to George Washington and declare the whole thing null and void.

    • It doesn't take much of a propaganda mastermind when the chief covid advisor to Trump is out there willingly giving interviews to RT.

  • ...Facebook may post an item overruling them? How much would that ad placement cost?

  • Claims made by any candidate? He means Donald Trump. He doesn't have to worry about Joe Biden acting like a petulant child.
  • That makes sense (Score:5, Insightful)

    by slashmydots ( 2189826 ) on Sunday November 01, 2020 @01:06PM (#60672240)
    Yeah, well, his website helped radicalize people, helped lunatics find each other, showed them nothing but one sided fake information, and then refused to remove their blatant threats of violence made publicly so I guess he would know.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      Let's be fair: so-called 'Social Media' *overall* did all this. 'Social Media' is a failed experiment, and it failed because our entire species is too immature and irresponsible overall to be trusted with something that powerful, it got subverted into a weapon against civilization in general. All 'social media' was supposed to be was a place for people to chat virtually, share their kids and grandkids photos, and talk about their vacation in Barbados. It was NEVER supposed to be a political tool. It's been
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • Since I don't use 'social media' at all, not since Livejournal was relevant (yes that long ago) I guess I don't know (or care) what else is out there, but Twitter is apparently enough for Trump to use as C&C communications for issuing coded directives to his ranks of irregulars.
        • by _xeno_ ( 155264 )

          There's only so much you can pack into 280 characters, and it's hard to follow your racist stepbrother on Twitter when he won't tell you his handle is 'Trump42020'.

          First off Twitter will try and mine your contacts for people to follow, so it can find your stepbrother that way (unless you block access to your contacts), but secondly, it's not just that which really differentiates Twitter: Twitter, for the most part, only shows you stuff people you follow do. (Well, in the "latest tweets" view, but more on that later.)

          Facebook is fairly unique in this: their real names policy and the fact their advertising system rewards "engagement" (which is why Facebook charged the Clinton campaign significantly more per ad than the Trump campaign in 2016) and uses personal information about each of their users against them.

          It's this, in one really insidious way: Facebook doesn't limit the content on your timeline to content you've said you want to see or that your friends ha

      • Well, in Germany no one is using FB as a "political tool" - the only adds I see are for products, not for parties.

  • by tiqui ( 1024021 ) on Sunday November 01, 2020 @06:47PM (#60673206)

    The guy creates a site that allows people to form bubbles of people with group-think and easily coordinate messages and activities. Democrats use it to get Obama elected, which makes it even more popular with its target audience. Years later, people working for Trump figure out a way to use it to get elected, and suddenly people who previously loved it hate it - but keep using it. Then, for four straight years that site hosts an endless stream of false accusations that Trump is guilty of treason (a crime against the American people, and punishable by death) and accusations that Trump "cheated" to get elected and is illegitimate.

    - and all along, by its very nature, Facebook is watching as the people on the site in all the associated thought bubbles are making connections with each other and ranting and raving - this includes all the people who've spent four long years pouring hatred onto Trump and his supporters and fantasizing about killing him and his supporters, killing cops, burning and looting business, and planning a revolution.

    and just now, right before an election, and after YEARS of knowing and watching exactly what's been transpiring on his site, he's concerned? Remember: this guy can see what's happening in on his site in realtime.

    Is he concerned because he knows his users very well and knows which way they might vote (and that Trump might get elected) and also knows them well enough to know Trump haters will not react well? (he can see the left, the right, and the center, to the degree all those groups are present on his site).

    Republicans in America have never reacted to the election of a Democrat with violence. Democrats in America have often reacted to election of Republicans with violence. In 1860 they most famously reacted to the election of Lincoln by starting an actual civil war, and when they lost they assassinated Lincoln. Also note: every presidential assassin or would-be assassin who was not legally insane has been to the political left of his/her target.

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. -- Henry J. Kaiser

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