Beware! There will be even more false information online

“The bottom line is: We take misinformation seriously.  There are many respected fact-checking organizations . . . and, while we have reached out to some, we plan to learn from many more.”

Mark Zuckerberg, personal Facebook post, November 2016

No wonder the world has so many problems.  More and more people believe the false news and half-baked truths they read online.  That's one of the reasons why Donald Trump was elected to the highest office in the land last November.  So many voters were misled or fooled by his lies.  So, Trump will be quite pleased about the recent news concerning social media.

Meta, the social networking giant which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and Threads, has announced that it will end its longstanding fact-checking program.  The fact-checking program was started in order to restrict the spread of false information across its social media apps.  Meta will now allow more speech, and the onus will be on users to correct inaccurate and false posts.  

Obviously, it is impossible to correct all misinformation.  Readers cannot entirely be relied upon to monitor inaccurate information or outright lies. The danger is that some readers will endorse the misinformation, further spreading lies and propaganda.               

Unfortunately, there has been a mass brainwashing in America.  For example, many Americans actually believe that January 6th is of little consequence, that the attack on the Capitol in Washington was as harmless as a walk in the park.  They regard the January 6th insurrectionists as Capitol tourists.  They won't believe or can't believe what is clear to anyone who watches the videos of that horrible day.  A violent mob of white supremacists and right-wing extremists, encouraged by Donald Trump, attempted to overthrow the duly elected government of the United Sates.  That mob called for the hanging of then-Vice President Mike Pence.  It is truly frightening that the man who engineered that attack on democracy will  soon be back in the Oval Office. He wishes to pardon the January 6th insurgents and he regards them as patriots.

To please Donald Trump, Meta has opted for a wild west approach to free speech.  In other words, it has chosen a recipe for chaos.  Unfettered free speech is the law of of the jungle.  Free speech must have limits.   It should also be kept in mind that the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States does not protect the right to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre.

Not surprisingly, right wing Supreme Court Judge and Trump stooge, Samuel Alito, in his 2022 remarks to the conservative Heritage Foundation, repeated the myth that yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is "unprotected free speech."  Alito, however, did acknowledge that the First Amendment doesn't protect all speech, including "extortion and threats," defamation., and "shouting 'fire' in a crowded theatre."

The world certainly has more information than ever before, but is humanity really better off when the truth is more difficult to find?  There's no turning back from the internet, social media and AI.  They are very useful tools when used properly.  Used improperly, they can be profoundly dangerous, especially when there is a lack of critical thinking. 

Like it more not, the internet and social media are the way of the future.  They are locked in forever.  It is foolhardy not to adjust to this reality.  Sometimes, though, books and hardcopies of newspapers seem far more trustworthy.

Meta is obviously positioning itself for Trump's inglorious return to the White House.  It is no coincidence that this decision by Meta has come just before Trump's inauguration.  Could it be that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is trying to curry favour with the Dear Leader?   

According to a report on Semafor. Zuckerberg paid homage to Trump by visiting his Mar-a-lago palace on Friday, January 10, 2025.  It was confirmed to Semiafor that Zuckerberg was spotted at Trump's Florida compound on that day.  It wasn't Zuckerberg's first visit to the compound. either.  According to CBS News, on November 28th, 2024, soon after the presidential election, the Mega chief had Thanksgiving dinner with Trump at the exclusive club.

It is no accident that just days after Mark Zuckerberg's January 10th visit to Mar-a-lago, Meta announced its new policy, ending two sources of aggravation for Trump and his supporters: fact-checking and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.  In a video, Zuckerberg stated that the changes were implemented due to "too many mistakes and too much censorship."

Below is a September 19, 2019 photo of Zuckerberg meeting Trump in the Oval Office.

It is absolutely disgusting how so many bow down to Trump.  It is tragic how he is being allowed to build his authoritarian regime, with very little impunity.  I am sickened.  How can so many seemingly educated people have forgotten the rise of fascism in the 1920s and 1930s?  Trump is using fascist language and fascist tactics.  America, what have you done?

Note:  I will try my best to practice what I preach.  I pledge to aim for the accuracy of the factual information presented on Number 16.  I will reveal my sources.

SOURCES: New York Times, "Meta Says It Will End Fact-Checking Program on Social Media Posts," Mike Isaac and Theodore Schliefer; January 9, 2025; Freedom Forum; "Is It Illegal to Yell 'Fire' in a Crowed Theater?" by Freedom Forum; Reason (reason.com), "Yes, ," by Emma Camp, October 22, 2022; Semafor,"Trump, Zuckerberg meet at Mar-a-lago," by Shelby Talcott, January 10, 2025.

- Joanne

Here is why Alpha males are not real men

 

This may sound contradictory, but it's not.  Alpha males such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu project an image of toughness and aggressiveness, but they are truly weak. Unfortunately, millions of men, and also many women, buy into their false bravado.  Many are attracted to their vision of masculinity.  That's one of the major reasons why Trump won the 2024 U.S.  presidential election, an election in which he should not have been permitted to run as a candidate, given his crimes.  

The truth is that Alpha males like Trump, Musk, Putin and Netanyahu have very little inner strength.  They are weak inside.  They are made of jelly.  They remind me of the Wizard of Oz, all snoke and mirrors.  They pretend that they are larger than life.  They demand unwavering loyalty.  They bully so that they appear to be mighty and strong.  However, we all know that it's a mirage.  It's all a front to cover up their lack of courage and fortitude.  The truth is that they are really insecure cowards.  They have to put others down in order to raise themselves up.  They falsely believe that empathy is a feminine trait.  

Unlike Donald Trump, real men don't brag that they can do anything to women because they are powerful, rich and famous.  They don't dismiss such words as "locker room talk."  Unlike Elon Musk, real men don't attempt to insult the Prime Minister of Canada by referring to him as "girl."  

Real men are secure.  They are comfortable in their own skin.  They have no need to bully and they have no desire to do so.  Real men respect women.  They don't put them down or treat them like chattels, sex objects, playthings or servants.  Real men are not afraid of "uppity women."  They don't think that women should know their place or answer to men.  They are not threatened by well-educated, intelligent, creative or ambitious females.  They see women as equal partners.  In fact, they encourage women to be the best they can be.  They know that life will be better for everyone when it is better for women.  Real men are secure in their masculinity.  They don't need to prove it by knocking down others.

- Joanne