Who saw that coming
On the positive side, the fediverse has just been given a new use case for a lot of disaffected TikTok users.
On the negative side…
People who have lived half a decade on algorithm-fed short-form video feeds are not looking to replace it with text message boards and still image memes.
They’re going to stay exactly where they are and just have the nutrient mix of the IV adjusted.
Each batch of crazy at Twitter moved people off Twitter and to Mastodon and Bluesky. Loops won’t catch them all but it’ll get some.
Tiktok alternatives can be developed to. The one and only issue is always just network effects.
and you think those TucTuc users with an attention span of 15 seconds will be able to figure out how to get the best out of the plethora the decentralized Fediverse has to offer?
fuck, for most beginners learning what instances federate with which other ones is a tough learning curve.
I’d trust Redditurds more, until they can’t find the same subreddits because no-one has created them yet and no one seems to want to be a mod for free (well except them).
at least here most mods get recognition and aren’t tied to a corporate platform.
and do we even want TucTuckers here?
Who would you need to know who federated where? Are you expecting that they have communities and instances they want to make sure they can view from just one account before they even switch?
Just pick an instance, live the life, and create another account if you want one.
Yeah the damage has been done. Half these kids lives have been spent on short form brain rot. There is no going back. Its a generation of idiots.
How is this NOT government censorship? How is this NOT a direct violation of everyone’s freedom of speech rights???
edit: yes I Know tikkk tokkk is a private company, but they are doing the censorship at the direction of, and for the benefit of the white house.
So the reason why Tik Tok was not allowed to run as a Chinese company, was not to prevent Chinese propaganda but to allow for US propaganda
Yes, that is literally the point.
Save reason grok is allowed to generate CSAM but not unflattering images of Trump.
Yes, they literally explicitly said this. There also wasnt even “Chinese propaganda”, the just didn’t care to censor pro-palestine content and that’s unacceptable to the US.
There absolutely was loads of Chinese propaganda. That you think there wasn’t is evidence that it worked too. Tiktok was a major win for China in PR and soft power.
I guess it might help if you clarify what sort of content was propaganda to you?
I don’t know what the guy asking you meant exactly, but in europe tiktok has been a big reason for the rise of far right Parties all across europe. China stands to gain from a divided europe.
First part may be true, but I really don’t think you can directly blame China for that. The app itself is a tiny factor is the rise of the far right which has a lot more to do with the “in real life circumstances”.
I would also disagree that China gains much from a divided Europe. The argument could be made in theory, but it doesn’t align with what i’ve observed From Chinese foreign policy in practice.
The approach of amplifying divisions in other countries is more of a Russian tactic than anything. Russia stands to gain more from a divided Europe, and it would be in alignment with their foreign policy in practice. That said, I also think the Russian influence on these matters is a bit overstated at times, to the point where the actually issues aren’t being discussed. I notice it on the American side of things as well.
Nk 2.0
Freeze peach, amirite? So cool how no one saw this coming.
/sarcasm
Done been time to delete that app and unplug yourself from social media as much as possible.
Is it really a surprise to people that a largely unregulated and widely used tool would be hijacked by the oppressor? Like did people honestly believe such a valuable communication asset would actually be in our hands and under our control…for free?
Can’t say I’m sympathetic to anyone who uses TikTok, that platform has been a vacuum of people’s intelligence and attention span for years. You reap what you sow.
With that mindset, we are all doomed.
But for every person who knows about the manipulation and censorship, I guarantee there’s another who’s ignorant of it
I wish it were 1:1. Probably more like 1:20.
Tell people. Save this article and share it. Remind people of the fuckery behind the scenes whenever you get an opportunity.
The idea is sound until you consider that people get into their own bubbles. People who avoided tiktok because they saw the imminent danger are NOT in the same space as people who are all-in. So telling the people around you is great, but 9 times out of 10 you’re going to be preaching to the choir. The vast majority who need to know will never hear, and even if they do, it will immediately be met with a response ranging from “ok boomer” to “leave me alone.”
This is legitimately a HUGE problem, and we’re seeing lots of protests NOW because of the young people who grew up in a media environment that drove home how important values, respect, and human decency were, but given 10 or 20 years, the children who grow up in this new media landscape are going to be VERY different.
Unfortunately everyone else also reaps in this case.
While I do think everyone should avoid short-form video because it’s junk food for the mind, non-users have to care about it because enough people use it that it steers public opinion.
TikTok was the big left-liberal influence platform in a sea of neoliberal, conservative, and outright fascist platforms.
But one too many Tokkers posted bad things about Israel and/or good things about Iran, Venezuela, and our immortal enemy China. So President Brandon had to shut that shit down.
Now the US branch of the platform is back in line with the rest of US media
I don’t care what political affiliation it was to be or whatever.
It’s still all brain-drain to me.
I mean, tell it to the folks watching CBS Evening News. Or reading the New York Post.
For some reason, its only the newer forms of media that ever take flak as “brain rot”. As though the style carries more weight than the substance.
With all due respect, I think the problem is essentially two wrongs don’t make a right. Can we have media that doesn’t suck and enough proles consume it willingly? Idk. I had hope once upon a time, but we’ve sold it hard to kids that it’s uncool to care about anything for more than 5 seconds, and the absolute coolest to fry your brain and consume only impulsive fantasy bs. Beyond that, earlier generations convinced themselves that you don’t have to think critically or feel bad about stepping on others as long as it’s what your in-group is doing. So idk what the answer is, all I’m saying is all those media options suck ass.
Can we have media that doesn’t suck and enough proles consume it willingly?
Definitely. The things that “suck” in media are profit engines that can only exist in parallel with the things that proles benefit by consuming. If you have a channel that’s “Oops, all ads!” your user base shrivels up into a tiny nugget of Home Shopping Channel die-hards. But if you have a channel that’s purely public services, it relies on public sponsorship (either directly through membership or indirectly through state aid). It can’t operate at a large profit or justify outside private investment to rapidly expand.
There’s always a balancing act between content that benefits the audience and content that benefits the broadcaster.
Beyond that, earlier generations convinced themselves that you don’t have to think critically or feel bad about stepping on others as long as it’s what your in-group is doing.
That’s not true. That’s never been true. This isn’t an issue of generational divide. This is an issue of local communities partitioned by their access to modes of communication and the regional influence of the neighborhood’s industrial powerhouse.
One of the most reliable indicators of a voting district’s partisan affiliation is the presence of Oil & Natural Gas industrial activity. Like, if you want to talk about why the Gulf Coast states, Ohio, and central Pennsylvania are bleeding red, it centers heavily on their enormous concentration of O&G facilities and staff. Energy sector workers are uniformly predisposed to the party that supports expanding O&G exploration, exploitation, refinement, and export.
These people aren’t above “thinking critically”. They just see where their bread is buttered (red state plutocracy generally benefits from Oil-Friendly Republican administrations) and vote accordingly. It’s the grim math of “Do I want a five/six figure bonus at the end of the year?” which party organizers and their business allies in the state make abundantly clear during election season.
Your problem isn’t that people don’t think critically, its that they do and the conclusions they reach aren’t favorable to your partisan allies.
You’re barking up the wrong tree. Here’s an idea - leave me alone.
Actually, I’ll do you a favor and block you.
Replies are for the community not just the person you’re responding to. Otherwise there would just be DMs to OP.
UnderpantsWeevil made a good point, you don’t have to take that as them wanting to debate you. You don’t even need to block them. Just stop responding, it’s not complicated.
Then you don’t have to spend the effort being negative and we end up with communities that become a positive corner of the internet.
Do you always announce your blocks?
“Attention everyone, i am replying to fyrilsol!”
“Attention everyone, I am clicking the reply button!”
Yes, gives me a boner. I’m blocking you now.
Get off doomscrolling social media.
Should have removed Tik Tok the moment you downloaded it.
or never download it in the first place…
I confess, i did download and install tik tok 2 times in the last few years.
But i uninstalled it again, right after a quick look around.
Thank you for my new surprised pikachu
I collected a bunch. Here is my other favorite.
Perfect
“But I can search Tiananmen Square again, checkmate commies!”
—Man with pit vipers live-streaming from inside his F-150
“TikTok in the US” = TrumpTok. Controlled by US oligarchs, so by the regime.
Not to be confused with rumpTik.
La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo? What’s that?
American Freedom ladies and gentlemen.
