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Note on K-pop stans and Tiktok teens playing the algorithms a they fake-snatched Trump tickets. From my 2016 book: Activists etc. are *always* attuned to such algorithms. But also note how Facebook's algorithm had downplayed Ferguson in 2014. Notice the gatekeeping by platforms.
When one group uses these algorithms effectively, supporters tend to celebrate. In 2012, it fell on deaf ears when a few of us tried to warn that the role Facebook was playing in elections wasn't healthy for democracy. It took 2016 to realize tools don't stay in one side's hands.
Instead of short-term celebration of whatever happens to please one group, people should think: Wait how will this be weaponized by someone else? (It will). What will happen to the public sphere? How could we design things for healthier outcomes no matter who the weaponizers are?
I got this same push-back in 2012 from many Obama supporters when I tried to warn about Facebook's potential deleterious impact. That it was about not liking the result or the people used the tool effectively.. for the moment. Look how that turned out. https://twitter.com/BillGarble/status/1274684223522107392
Yes, but. In 2012, Obama was truly much better than Romney at data and Facebook. In 2016, Facebook embedded their own highly-skilled staff with Trump campaign and solved their incompetence problem for them. "We'll always be better at this" is short-term. https://twitter.com/christt/status/1274685986467954689
That's different. Yes, Trump is both dwindling in support and obviously, fewer people are going to risk indoor rallies without mask. What I'm talking about is that "sign up online" is likely dead, and that has a lot of implications we should talk about. https://twitter.com/Kgar_Horrible/status/1274686249639579649
And, more, it becomes for sale. That's what happened to many other online grassroots tactics. They worked for a while, and then they became pay-platforms-to-play. Facebook gave "white glove" treatment to Duterte and embedded staff with Trump. So it goes. https://twitter.com/_m_miles/status/1274687514910097409
And what else? Who knows? What will their algorithm promote? Yes, Facebook is nontransparent and money-driven at the expense of a healthy public sphere—but wait till we get into the weeds of TikTok which is wild and huge and opaque and, yes, Beijing-based. https://twitter.com/Rob_Flaherty/status/1274685844587241479
