Who is Manipulating Facebook? - Smarter Every Day 215
Why Hacker News recommends it
HN commenters cite it for numbers on Facebook's moderation scale and for Destin's ability to get platforms to speak openly about manipulation.
What it is
Destin Sandlin of Smarter Every Day investigates manipulation on Facebook, interviewing the company's team about content moderation. It is the third video in his series on social media manipulation.
Recommended by 1 HN commenters across 1 different months, 2019 to 2020.
What Hacker News said
Recommends xelxebar · 2020-06 · on “America is giving up on the pandemic?”
> no wonder people don’t believe in global warming, these “experts” prioritize politics over everything I read this as a clear expression of your frustration. Completely reasonable given the situation. Are you familiar with the YouTube channel "Smarter Every Day"? There's this three-part series that might offer a new perspective on the distrust and disillusionment you seem to be feeling: [1]: [LINK] [2]: [LINK] [3]: [this video] In particular, the channel creator Destin Sandlin explores how YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are being used as a sort of vanguard in a meta-game to undermine our trust in the social institutions we rely on. It's a pretty dystopian-sounding and bleak theme. However, Desti
Cites dredmorbius · 2019-05 · on “Ask HN: Why not rethink Web Identity with browser sync and push?”
I'd suggest thinking through the Usenet model. What it was, what worked, what did not. And the design and flaws of HTTP basic auth. Keep in mind that FB are now deleting ~1m accounts/dy, employing over 30k reviewers. [this video] (at about 10m50s).
Cites Balgair · 2019-08 · on “YouTube’s LGBTQ Problem Is a Business-Model Problem”
> However, doing that really changes the economics of the platform Getting profit-loss data on Youtube is very difficult. If they are profitable, it can't be by a large amount. So, if the plan is to have a LOT of real people just trying to monitor YT all day long it will really gut YT's economics, not just change it. Destin of Smarter Every Day on YT went and talked to FB and their content mod team a few months back [0]. He talked with Rob Leathern of FB's Cyber Security Department. Rob mentiond that they now use ~30k real people to monitor FB. Soon thereafter, The Verge released a scoop on the horrific conditions these 30k people must endure [1] in that job. YT would likely have to have a p
Cites NoOneNew · 2020-11 · on “YouTube's Fake Animal Rescue Ring [video]”
Yea, that's well known. Not just from federal law enforcement with proof of it, but twitter, youtube and facebook know it and admit to it too. Smarter Everyday interviewed all 3 and their folks talk about this directly. [this video] [LINK] [LINK] The actual social media platforms saying it's happening. At the same time though, it's not all their fault. It takes two to tango and if you're gullible enough to wreck your own life on the words of someone you've never, and will never meet... that's a special kind of stupid. Here's my hope. All of this gets out of our systems. After whoever wins this election, folks are going to go, "Hold on, we're all acting like crazy people. Let's be sensible and sto