Posted in Essay — 19 Sep 2020

Telling people to delete Facebook won’t fix the internet

Adi Robertson for <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/4/21419993/the-social-dilemma-jeff-orlowski-netflix-movie-review-social-media-algorithms">The Verge</a>:
<blockquote>WhatsApp works almost nothing like Facebook. It’s a highly private, encrypted messaging service with no algorithmic interference, and it’s still fertile ground for false narratives</blockquote>
After picking through <a href="https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/9/16/21437942/social-dilemma-netflix-review-orlowski-sarah-zhang-memo-facebook-buzzfeed">Casey Newtons pick apart</a> of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaaC57tcci0">The Social Dilemma</a> I then fell on the linked post by Adi — and despite disagreeing on some major points throughout both posts — I found an interesting topic I had not considered. Where exactly does Whatsapp fall into these issues?
You can jump up and down about algorithms and Facebooks willingness to manipulate engagement. You can worry about Mr Zuckerbergs <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/opinion/facebook-trump-free-speech.html">free spech bubble</a> all you like, but the simple fact is Whatsapp doesnt have any of these inputs, but is a top contender for spreading Fake News.
It is not as simple as simply blaming Social Media for eveything, undoubtedly it is a leading cause of social issues, but it is infinitely more complax than the surface level issues pointed at.