Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t been sufficiently anti-GOP or anti-conservative as of late, which is rubbing a lot of very free-thinking progressives the wrong way. Obviously Facebook isn’t cracking down enough on the Right. For evidence of that, look no further than this from New York Times’ tech columnist Kevin Roose:
For old time's sake, took a look at the top 10 news stories across all of Facebook today. They're from:
1. Ben Shapiro
2. Donald J. Trump
3. Dallas Cowboys
4. Breitbart
5. Daily Caller
6. Ben Shapiro
7. "Intelligence is Sexy"
8. Occupy Democrats
9. Bible Time
10. Delish— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 21, 2019
(past 24 hours, link posts only, ranked by total interactions)
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 21, 2019
Interestingly, 4 of the 10 are stories about transgender issues. (Including 3 write-ups of the same story about a trans woman cyclist.) Seems like conservative sites found a new pocket of high-engagement stories. pic.twitter.com/7xLxJFhurB
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 21, 2019
That thread is a nice little follow-up to his scoop from yesterday:
New by me and @AllMattNYT: Trump’s re-election campaign is running a sophisticated, well-funded digital operation, while Dems struggle to catch up.
It’s like “a supercar racing a little Volkswagen Bug,” one expert said.
https://t.co/XppkDeCe8a— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 20, 2019
We talked to insiders from both sides of the aisle. Dems told lots of stories like this — digital director suggests punchy FB ad, gets shot down by higher-ranking consultant who calls it “cinéma vérité clickbait” and opts for TV-style ad instead. https://t.co/XppkDeCe8a pic.twitter.com/5rujMy5nng
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 20, 2019
Rs, on the other hand, described a culture of relentless testing and experimenting that works more like a D2C e-commerce brand than a presidential campaign, and that follows the data about what works. https://t.co/XppkDeCe8a pic.twitter.com/GQZlym9b05
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 20, 2019
The big winner in this, of course, is the platforms, which cash in on all sides and reward inflammatory messages by design. Experts say FB, in particular, may be even friendlier turf for Trump in 2020, with an older user base and no fact-checking for ads. https://t.co/XppkDeCe8a
— Kevin Roose (@kevinroose) October 20, 2019
And if there’s one thing the Tolerant Left can’t stand, it’s the Right succeeding where they’re not supposed to.
Ugh
— Andrew Kinder (@akinder71) October 21, 2019
Goes to show that Facebook is an antiquated platform primarily used by old, white people.
— John Farrelly (@JpFarrelly_) October 21, 2019
behold the united states of america in all her glory
— adam from philly (@jimmythefrogan1) October 21, 2019
I see it. And this is a problem. What is going on with Mark Z.
— Gayle (@gayle_britton) October 21, 2019
Democracy dies on Facebook https://t.co/ZJ6kpFKqX4
— Molly Jong-Fast (@MollyJongFast) October 21, 2019
Get it? Democracy is dead because right-wing outlets are more popular on Facebook than left-wing ones.
“Democracy dies when the other side wins” pic.twitter.com/AA2KJ6Eft4
— Anders Hagstrom (@Hagstrom_Anders) October 21, 2019
Someone's grumpy his outlet didn't make the list. https://t.co/StQTOMnSes
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) October 21, 2019
Dems are getting smoked on Facebook (which is the entire push by them and proxy media to go after Facebook.) https://t.co/SojQerWfqQ
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) October 21, 2019
I’ve said it before: Someone on the Right has to consume Leftism everywhere they turn. From the movies to school to ESPN. You can’t escape it. A Leftist has to actively seek out opinions from the Right. So they find it shocking when see one. https://t.co/FTl4cTN9zl
— Jesse Kelly (@JesseKellyDC) October 21, 2019
Join the conversation as a VIP Member