"the neck" with sandra bullockJan 26, 2025
Em 

If you currently use any corporate social media,

be extremely careful what you are feeding your brain with.

Everyone think they are immune to manipulation and propaganda, but the truth is nobody is. Not even me and not even you.

Algorithm manipulation works very slowly and it is easier to get caught in it than you think.

Our only defense is to preemptively curate what we feed our brains carefully. Be very cautious about what you feed to your brain. Favor direct information sources that you trust rather than easy automated feeds and algorithmic recommendations.

Remain vigilant at all time.

Jan 26, 2025 at 7:52pmWeb
Show threadSteven D Rowe 🇨🇦🇬🇧Jan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon I am an individual with a unique identity as is everyone else. I will not let them steal pieces of me via their trackers. I will not let them place subliminal messages in my head to brainwash me.

I expect legislators and companies to adhere to the articles in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights; they don’t deserve to be in those positions if they ignore any of them.

https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

Universal Declaration of Human Rights | United Nations

A milestone document in the history of human rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights set out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. It has been translated into over 500 languages.

United Nations
Show threadSamantha RoseJan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon I feel like limiting this to corporate social media is inaccurate…

Both that mainstream news media are heavily pushing their own narrative, and expecting Mastodon and friends to be immune also seems wishful thinking…

Show threadwanderingmagusJan 26, 2025
@samantha42 @Em0nM4stodon It helps that there's no "algorithm" here.
Show threadPuppy 🌺Jan 26, 2025

@samantha42 @Em0nM4stodon It extends to things like TV shows, articles and education as well.

Just think of how many horrific historical events were watered down via textbooks, misogynistic / racist / white supremacist stuff etc in medical textbooks, misinformation and propaganda spread via movies or TV... (another thing that, sadly, isn't harmless and we are much more impacted by than we like to think)

I think being mindful of how corporate social media impacts us is a great start *especially* for the average person, especially with how prevalent and nearly unavoidable it is in modern society, but yeah I absolutely think we should expand this to look at all the other sources too. It goes so much deeper :(

Show threadStevenSavage (he/him)Jan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon

Yep. I keep thinking of the Tao Te Ching Chapter 12.

The five colors make people’s eyes blind,
The five sounds make people’s ears deaf,
The five taste make people’s mouths brittle,
Rushed hunting make people’s hearts go crazy.
Goods hard to come by make people behave harmfully.
Because of this, the wise person acts for the belly, not the eye,
Hence, he leaves that and takes this.

Show threadCF 🇺🇦Jan 26, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon True!
Show threadflavius_bJan 26, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon You can’t stress that point enough.
Show threadCat 🐈🥗 (D.Burch) ⁠Jan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon Propaganda? Me?

Diligently recycles plastic since the 90s

Oh...

Show threadSimonoidJan 27, 2025
@catsalad @Em0nM4stodon or hating Mondays 😄
Show threadbrankJan 26, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon yeah. was pretty shocked when youtube tried to shove nazi folklore down my throat after watching videos about mediaval instruments and very subtly so. we are living in strange times.
Show threadArchivariusJan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon Recently, I started using corporate social media only to share and popularize narratives and information from Mastodon

*evil laught*

Show threadyunchtimeJan 26, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon

for one thing, I've finally deleted my xitter account. it is quite refreshing. only some mastodon and bsky for me now. and no more hyper-painful doomscrolling, either.

Show threadPelican Dock MusicJan 27, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon

you are what you eat

Show threadJargogglesJan 27, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon
People who think they're too smart to be conned are the best marks. Once they've been suckered, they will refuse to believe they were tricked because their ego is at stake.

Acknowledging that you are just as vulnerable to propaganda as anyone else helps you stay on your guard, but even more importantly, it makes it much easier to realize if you are being manipulated. The sunk cost is much lower and easier to walk away from if you don't see it as a moral failure.

Show threadSimonoidJan 27, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon the only winning move is not to play.
Twitter was bad before Elmo. Instagram is used sparingly. And I have put limits on my ability to view yt shorts or corporate app. Basically short circuiting my brain so I don't dip the dopamine unconsciously.
Screenzen is the app. Highly recommended 👍
Show threadottoJan 27, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon I finally deactivated my FB...I could tell the algorithm had me by the short hairs because my screen time kept rising. I think my ego also makes leaving hard because there is about 14 years of what I think and say in the archived posts and comments. Gotta move on.
Show threadRick OJan 27, 2025
@ottomate @Em0nM4stodon it looks like you can download a copy of your Facebook data if you were concerned about losing those records. No idea how complete this is or what format. https://m.facebook.com/help/212802592074644/#
Facebook

Show threadottoJan 27, 2025
@rickoooooo Thanks. I have done that in the past but the format is unfriendly. It is scores of megabytes so I understand why it is all Zipped up. But they also do things like separate the images from the text in which they were embedded rendering the whole a trackless jumble of content. I probably didn't know how to get it in a form I could search.
Show threadottoJan 27, 2025
@rickoooooo @Em0nM4stodon If I manage to download my posts and comments [I would comment far more voluminously than I would post], I could then just delete it all and poor Zuck will have that much less to feed his LLama.
Show threadBrianJan 27, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon
Agreed, most people are controlled by "getNextVideo()" and don't care about it enough. I recommend for most people to just switch to direct RSS feeds.
Show threadPusher of PixelsJan 27, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon a good test is to watch something entirely out of left field for you....and then notice the changes to your feeds.
Show threadfuzzfaceJan 27, 2025
@pixelpusher220 @Em0nM4stodon Smart idea.
Show threadiveylineJan 27, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon Good advice.
Show threadFurbland's Very Cool Mastodon™May 4, 2025
@Em0nM4stodon obligatory:
Show threadCharyouTreeMay 4, 2025
I straight up consider "engagement" optimizing social media algorithms cognitohazards. The only non-fediverse social media I still use is tumblr, and that's specifically because it provides a chronological feed of what the people I choose to follow posted, nothing more or less.
Show threadMuro deGrizecoMay 4, 2025

@Em0nM4stodon

"Everyone gets their own flavor"

All demographic segments targeted for manipulation get their own flavor or propaganda spooned into their mouth.

All of us.

Me too!

There is no need for message consistency.

Each campaign can be uniquely crafted to manipulate and bend each audience.

Spin them up. Turn them off.

#Propaganda is a terrible weapon.

Show threadGabbo the wafrn dev guyMay 7, 2025
nah Id be good
Show thread🍞May 7, 2025
genuinely though, do people think I don't go on other websites or do and read other things
Show threadVettirMay 7, 2025
Even those can be subject to manipulation and propaganda. Partly because it's very difficult to comprehend direct data in most cases, unless that data is something you have some training in.
Show thread🍞May 7, 2025
true but not me