Europe @feddit.org Cat @ponder.cat 1mo ago

In Germany, social media algorithms are pumping out huge amounts of far-right, pro-AfD content.

www.niemanlab.org In Germany, social media algorithms are pumping out huge amounts of far-right, pro-AfD content

A new study found that, on TikTok and Elon Musk's Twitter, nearly 3/4 of all partisan content being pushed algorithmically to German users favored the party best known for its ties to neo-Nazis.

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BAAAAANNNN THEEEEEEMMMM

Jesus fucking christ if I could go back in time and destroy the internet I would.
- I knew a time before the internet. We don't need it. It has brought us great things, but the cons are outweighing it.
- Yes ban tiktok and X... And meta too... All social media is infected! They're all impure!!! The state must attack! smh \s
Chinese and American propaganda platforms have been pushing Nazi content for years.
So after years of this happening in plain sight for everyone to see, people now notice days before an election? 🤣
- AfD will make massive progress. These social media algos had to be banned years ago. Same thing will happen with Canada.
Please, please god crush these clowns. I don't know if I'll be able to mentally recover from an AfD sweep. The U.S. needs to be the end of the spread of fascism, not the first domino in a falling chain.
- The AfD won't sweep but they will likely become the 2nd strongest party, after the conservative CDU whose right wing loves the Republicans:
  
  Among others in this image: Former traffic minister Andreas Scheuer, a prominent CDU member (CSU to be more precise but it's basically the same party).
  
  If AfD + CDU achieve a majority it's not unlikely that they will form a coalition - or at the very least vote for the same bills.
  
  Fascism is on a global rise. The fascist Reform UK is surging in British polls, Italy has a fascist government, the fascist ~~ÖVP~~ FPÖ has gotten the most votes in the recent Austrian election etc etc
  
  Fascism is on a global rise and actively supported by Russia, China and the US. I doubt that democracy can survive efficient Russian disinformation + the full resources of China and the US.
  
  I'd say it will only get worse from here.
  
  No disagreement, just ÖVP should be FPÖ.
  
  Fascism is also supported by many billionaires, because they won't be targeted anyways.
  
  We are literally experiencing US disinformation. Trump is on the news telling lies, passing them off as facts. It's being reported, spread, reaching many people.
Same warnings Americans got. “Hey, look! Social media is infested with right wing propaganda!”

Yet here we are with King Cheeto in charge.
Even my lemmy feed on Boost is full of AfD adverts, it's enfuriating.
- How do you get ads on Lemmy?
  
  You get ads on Boost
- Change apps!
  
  Other than the ads, is there a compelling reason to?
- Wtf? How are there still people using this kinda garbage app? Lemmy and the fediverse is free, run and developed by volunteers. There are plenty of open source clients to choose from. Why in the fuck are people actively choosing to look at ads?
  
  I don’t get it either.
- https://adaway.org/
  
  No need to thank me.
  
  Ooh, I'm on trackercontrol - is adaway better or pretty much the same? I get ads on tiktok but not much else 😅
No shit.

I mean, really, how is this a surprise? Just look at the inauguration photos and who is on stage.
Didn't Vance's speech the other day hurt the AfD? Didn't it make some people deluded by their supposed "patriotism" wake up and see that we were all sold out to the Russians?

I am not German and I do not know the reality on the street in Germany, but I am scared of what could happen and how it will affect the European project.
- that we were all sold out to the Russians?
  
  No. In the mind of the AfD fanbase, being under the control of a strongman-led Russia is by far preferable to whatever they perceive is currently the case. I mean, for most of them, at least in the eastern part of Germany, that's something like "the good old times".
  
  A key facet of fascism is the desire to return to a mythical 'better time'. They are willing to bow to a dictator who promises them this myth, especially when mixed with the promise to put the racists in power over others in the process.
  
  Innuendo Studios covers it well in his endnote series: https://youtu.be/5Luu1Beb8ng
  
  Ok, so we have a big problem there. It's not one or two, there are many who vote for that, if we were talking about complaints about the economy or about migration from an economic point of view (they always hides racism behind it, but if they hides it it's because they knows it is wrong) we can work with that.
  
  But if they just want a strong man to guide them so they don't have to face the problems, what can you do with something like that?
- The AfD morons already ran around years ago with Russia Flags, Putin Pictures and Banners begging him to be their president. Those people are beyond any recovery to sanity
- I very much doubt even 0.1% of AfD voters heard about the whole thing.
Ok, so shut them down. Block them nationally. I know people will get around it but take some kind of protective measures before it is too late for you.
Do something?
Capitalism -> Fascism.
Sounds like those algorithms can go fuck themselves!
- Am I the only one thinking Tiktok and xcom among all the others are getting paid handsomely to boost right wing propaganda?

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