Why Donald Trump vented his anger and blamed Facebook
Lawyer Khanh, currently working in the US, shared with VnExpress readers an article about Facebook’s impact on the US.
Facebook’s policy is to allow people to say anything except pornography and violence. But the barriers they have put up have not been very effective. They tolerate political content and fake news, not to mention distorted content.
The US election is over, but its aftermath is still shaking the US and the world. Many people are worried that Trump is about to start a war.
People are also angry about Russia’s interference in the US election. Russia spread fake news, fabricated stories to defame Mrs. Clinton. They also created fake accounts supporting Bernie Sanders and then Jill Stein, in order to attract voters who might vote for Mrs. Clinton. In short, these accounts did everything they could to destroy Mrs. Clinton and sow division in American society.
Of course, Russia flatly denied it, admitting this would be embarrassing. The Americans were forced to believe it, because this was the conclusion of American intelligence and investigative agencies – if they didn’t believe them, who would they believe?
(See more:
There is no evidence of indictment, so why is the US punishing Russia?
)
Social media is a fertile ground for this tactic. Other media outlets must carefully censor content and cannot participate in spreading false information. Facebook and Twitter are not, where anyone can post on their personal pages and anyone can buy advertising at very low prices. These networks do not have effective systems for controlling content.
Facebook has thus come under the scrutiny of US investigative agencies. Under pressure from Congress, Facebook had to release the accounts linked to Russia. Trump, as usual, has lashed out at Facebook, as he does at any media outlet that dares to report bad news about him. This time, it is likely because Facebook is about to release information that is unfavorable to him.
Mark Zuckerberg wrote a letter explaining his feelings. He said that Facebook had done its best to get people to vote, and that the Russian ads were a fraction of the money that both parties spent on the election. These are true, but they don’t explain why the amount of fake news about Clinton was so overwhelming, and the kind of news that would make you sick if it were true.
(See also: The truth about Donald Trump’s immigration policy )
On Facebook during the election season, there were a number of fabricated stories about Mrs. Clinton such as: Mrs. Clinton once protected a child rapist and then laughed about it, Mrs. Clinton received charity money for the natural disaster in Haiti but then embezzled it all, Mrs. Clinton ordered not to increase security in Benghazi, causing the death of the US ambassador, Mrs. Clinton was fired when she participated in the investigation of the scandal related to Nixon…
Then there was even information that both Obama and his wife had their law licenses revoked, that Clinton had been convicted of rape, and that Clinton had her law license revoked. In the United States, to be revoked a law license means to have committed a criminal or moral crime. Of course, none of this is true, but why is this news all over Facebook while the fake news about Trump is not? The bad news about Trump is what the mainstream media says – because it is true.
That said, many other countries have felt it, but now the US has just realized: news on Facebook can affect the whole society. That’s because Americans are used to talking about everything. Media companies will talk about all kinds of bad things, but they have professional ethics so they don’t intentionally spread fake news. Americans are used to this, so they believe news on Facebook. On the other hand, few people in the world dare to interfere in American affairs. Russia’s involvement in spreading information during this election is the first time the US has discovered it.
(See also: Anti-Donald Trump protests: Fears confirmed )
Both major parties in the US are extremely angry about Russia’s interference in the US election. Only Trump has not publicly criticized Russia, but that is his personal business. This time Mrs. Clinton is “on the chopping block”, next time who knows, and now the divisive issues in the US are being further harassed thanks to fake accounts “adding salt to the wound”.
Now, they are using fake accounts of human rights activists to post videos of police attacks on black people. Political scientists in the US say this is aimed at inflaming the anger of the African-American community, making the US even more divided.
>> Share your article here .
The mere fact that Trump is now in the White House is a victory for Russia. Since Trump took office, Russia has enjoyed all sorts of benefits while the US has become a clown. Even China has suffered: Trump’s impulsiveness and belligerence have made the situation in North Korea extremely tense.
Trump’s victory has caused many serious consequences for the US and the Republican Party. Facebook and Twitter have thus become places for the US government to vent its anger. In general, the major loopholes in the operating principles of social networks have caused the consequences we see today.
No one knows how to stop this. Facebook plays such a large role in the lives of so many people, but no one knows how to block false content. Facebook has also offered solutions, such as fact-checking measures. Doing this with billions of accounts – that is, billions of mouths – is almost impossible.
>> See more:
