I have long maintained that no invention, intended for the benefit of humanity, has not been corrupted and exploited for evil purposes. Clearly, one of those inventions, having the greatest impact on modern society, is Facebook. Originally intended as sort of electronic bulletin board by which people could keep in touch with friends and relatives, it has become a weapon for spreading lies intended to influence people’s behavior for the benefit of the liars. In particular, Facebook has become a political weapon for influencing the outcome of elections, and has been used by foreign and domestic agents alike to defame political opponents of those in power. Facebook CEO’s refusal to fact check political ads that are outright lies is testamony to the intent of its creator to exploit his invention for all he can get. By allowing false advertising, he can influence voters to vote for officials that will benefit his business. At the same time, he increases his profits by doing so as any restriction on false advertising will result in less advertising. All the while, he can falsely claim that it’s others, not he, who is spreading the lies. But this is patently BS because, while others create the lies, it is Facebook that is spreading them and it is Facebook’s CEO who permits (and possibly encourages) it to do so.
If the Trump impeachment fails, you will be able to attribute much of the cause to Facebook’s disinformation campaigns1. If Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren come close to winning the Democratic nomination or the general election next year, I can promise you that Facebook will be flooded with disinformation about the threat of Socialism and even Communism should either be elected. It will also be flooded with dire predictions of runaway budget deficits and economic collapse caused by their irresponsible spending2.
Whether it be the failure to impeach Trump or the defeat of Sanders or Warren in the next election, those in power will spare no expense or effort to ensure that their avarice remains unconstrained. And Facebook will be one of the primary weapons used secure their hold on our government.
1 The failure of the Trump impeachment will be the result of a very successful advertising campaign carried out not only by Facebook, but by Twitter and Fox “News”.
2 It is interesting to note that while I am predicting what the false prophets will predict about irresponsible government spending by a Sanders or Warren presidency, there is a total absence of any such concerns about the present administration’s spending that has an average annual budget deficit on the order of $1 trillion and has raised the national debt by over $3 trillion.