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Facebook is tilting the political playing field more than ever and it’s no accident

<p>As the US presidential election polling day draws close, it’s worth recapping what we know about how Facebook has been used to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3834737/">influence election results</a>.</p> <p>The platform is optimised for boosting politically conservative voices calling for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/10/26/facebook-algorithm-conservative-liberal-extremes/">fascism, separatism and xenophobia</a>. It’s also these voices that tend to generate <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/radical-ideas-social-media-algorithms/">the most clicks</a>.</p> <p>In recent years, Facebook has on several occasions been made to choose between keeping to its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards/introduction">community standards</a> or taking a path that avoids the ire of conservatives. Too many times, it has chosen the latter.</p> <p>The result has been an onslaught of divisive rhetoric that continues to flood the platform and drive political polarisation in society.</p> <p><strong>How democracy can be subverted online</strong></p> <p>According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/20/us/politics/russian-interference-trump-democrats.html">The New York Times</a>, earlier this year US intelligence officials warned Russia was interfering in the 2020 presidential campaign, with the goal of seeing President Donald Trump re-elected.</p> <p>This was corroborated by <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-evidence-shows-how-russias-election-interference-has-gotten-more">findings</a> from the US Brennan Centre for Justice. A research team led by journalism and communications professor Young Mie Kim identified a range of Facebook troll accounts deliberately sowing division “by targeting both the left and right, with posts to foment outrage, fear and hostility”.</p> <p>Most were linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA), <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions/u-s-blacklists-individuals-entities-linked-to-leader-of-russias-ira-idUSKCN26E2HO">the company</a> also behind a 2016 US election influence campaign. Kim <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/new-evidence-shows-how-russias-election-interference-has-gotten-more">wrote</a> the troll accounts seemed to discourage certain people from voting, with a focus on swing states.</p> <p>This month, Facebook <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/06/technology/facebook-qanon-crackdown.html">announced</a> a ban (across both Facebook and Instagram, which Facebook owns) on groups and pages devoted to the far-right conspiracy group QAnon. It also <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-takes-down-network-tied-to-conservative-group-citing-fake-accounts-11602174088">removed</a> a network of fake accounts linked to a conservative US political youth group, for violating rules against “coordinated inauthentic behavior”.</p> <p>However, despite Facebook’s <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/facebooks-latest-fix-for-fake-news-ask-users-what-they-trust/">repeated promises</a> to clamp down harder on such behaviour — and <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-removing-qanon-pages-and-groups-from-its-sites-but-critical-thinking-is-still-the-best-way-to-fight-conspiracy-theories-147668">occasional</a> efforts to actually do so — the company has been <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/samantha-power-facebook-reduce-spread-misinformation/2020/10/23/d54c1bda-1496-11eb-bc10-40b25382f1be_story.html">widely</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/oct/14/facebook-greatest-source-of-covid-19-disinformation-journalists-say">criticised</a> for doing far too little to curb the spread of disinformation, misinformation and election meddling.</p> <p>According to a <a href="https://comprop.oii.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/93/2019/09/CyberTroop-Report19.pdf">University of Oxford study</a>, 70 countries (including Australia) practised either foreign or domestic election meddling in 2019. This was up from 48 in 2018 and 28 in 2017. The study said Facebook was “the platform of choice” for this.</p> <p>The Conversation approached Facebook for comment regarding the platform’s use by political actors to influence elections, including past US elections. A Facebook spokesperson said:</p> <p><em>We’ve hired experts, built teams with experience across different areas, and created new products, policies and partnerships to ensure we’re ready for the unique challenges of the US election.</em></p> <p><strong>When Facebook favoured one side</strong></p> <p>Facebook has drawn widespread criticism for its failure to remove posts that clearly violate its policies on hate speech, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/06/28/facebook-zuckerberg-trump-hate/">posts</a> by Trump himself.</p> <p>The company openly <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2019/09/elections-and-political-speech/">exempts</a> politicians from its fact-checking program and knowingly hosts misleading content from politicians, under its “newsworthiness exception”.</p> <p>When Facebook tried to clamp down on misinformation in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential elections, <a href="https://www.bushcenter.org/people/joel-kaplan.html">ex-Republican staffer</a> turned Facebook executive Joel Kaplan argued doing so would disproportionately target conservatives, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/02/20/facebook-republican-shift/">reported</a>.</p> <p>The Conversation asked Facebook whether Kaplan’s past political affiliations indicated a potential for conservative bias in his current role. The question wasn’t answered.</p> <p>Facebook’s board also now features a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/technology/peter-thiel-donald-j-trump.html">major Trump donor</a> and vocal supporter, Peter Thiel. Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has himself been accused of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/business/media/facebook-donald-trump-mark-zuckerberg.html">getting “too close”</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/22/surprised-about-mark-zuckerbergs-secret-meeting-with-trump-dont-be">Trump</a>.</p> <p>Moreover, when the US Federal Trade Commission investigated Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/jul/12/facebook-fine-ftc-privacy-violations">Republican votes</a> that saved the company from facing antitrust litigation.</p> <p>Overall, Facebook’s model has shifted <a href="https://www.theverge.com/interface/2019/4/11/18305407/social-network-conservative-bias-twitter-facebook-ted-cruz">towards increasing polarisation</a>. Incendiary and misinformation-laden posts tend to generate clicks.</p> <p>As Zuckerberg himself <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/mark-zuckerberg/a-blueprint-for-content-governance-and-enforcement/10156443129621634/">notes</a>, “when left unchecked, people on the platform engage disproportionately” with such content.</p> <p>Over the years, conservatives have accused Facebook of <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2019/04/10/ted-cruz-threatens-regulate-facebook-twitter-over-alleged-bias/3423095002/">anti-conservative bias</a>, for which the company faced <a href="https://www.thewrap.com/trump-campaign-halts-twitter-spending-over-disgusting-bias-against-mitch-mcconnell/">financial penalties by the Republican Party</a>. This is despite research indicating <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/facebook/study-analysis-top-facebook-pages-covering-american-political-news">no such bias exists</a> on the platform.</p> <p><strong>Fanning the flames</strong></p> <p>Facebook’s <a href="https://www.livescience.com/49585-facebook-addiction-viewed-brain.html">addictive</a> news feed rewards us for simply skimming headlines, conditioning us to react viscerally.</p> <p>Its sharing features have been found to <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146">promote falsehoods</a>. They can <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/10/can-voting-facebook-button-improve-voter-turnout/">trick users</a> into attributing news to their friends, causing them to assign trust to unreliable news sources. This provides a breeding ground for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-05/conspiracy-theories-coronavirus-5g-conspiratorial-psychology/12722320">conspiracies</a>.</p> <p><a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0207383">Studies</a> have also shown social media to be an ideal environment for campaigns aimed at creating mistrust, which explains the increasing <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/516412-polls-show-trust-in-scientific-political-institutions-eroding">erosion of trust in science and expertise</a>.</p> <p>Worst of all are Facebook’s “echo chambers”, which convince people that only their own opinions are mainstream. This encourages hostile “us versus them” dialogue, which leads to polarisation. This pattern <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/21/concerns-about-democracy-in-the-digital-age/">suppresses valuable democratic debate</a> and has been described as an <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Age-Surveillance-Capitalism-Future-Frontier/dp/1610395697">existential threat to democracy itself</a>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Facebook’s staff hasn’t been shy about skewing liberal, even suggesting in 2016 that Facebook work to <a href="https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2016/04/facebook-employees-asked-mark-zuckerberg-if-they-should-try-to-stop-a-donald-trump-presidency/">prevent Trump’s election</a>. Around 2017, they proposed a feature called “<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/23/18154111/facebook-common-grounds-feature-conservative-bias-concerns-shelved-joel-kaplan">Common Ground</a>”, which would have encouraged users with different political beliefs to interact in less hostile ways.</p> <p>Kaplan opposed the proposition, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebooks-lonely-conservative-takes-on-a-power-position-11545570000">The Wall Street Journal</a>, due to fears it could trigger claims of bias against conservatives. The project was eventually shelved in 2018.</p> <p>Facebook’s track record isn’t good news for those who want to live in a healthy democratic state. Polarisation certainly doesn’t lead to effective political discourse.</p> <p>While several <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/10/preparing-for-election-day/">blog</a> <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2020/08/preparing-for-myanmars-2020-election/">posts</a> from the company outline measures being taken to supposedly protect the integrity of the 2020 US presidential elections, it remains to be seen what this means in reality.</p> <p><em>Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/michael-brand-290376">Michael Brand</a>, Monash University. Republished with permission of <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-is-tilting-the-political-playing-field-more-than-ever-and-its-no-accident-148314">The Conversation.</a></em></p>

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"The most terrified I’ve ever been in my life": Passengers hurt as cruise ship tilts 45 degrees

<p>The Norwegian Cruise Liner which tilted on a “45-degree angle,” on Sunday night, according to one cruiser, is blaming the incident on a strong, sudden gust of wind.</p> <p>The Norwegian Escape began slanting over at roughly midnight, shocking passengers who were enjoying their trip in the piano bar.</p> <p>“Just before midnight on Sunday, March 3, Norwegian Escape encountered unexpected weather in the form of a sudden, extreme gust of wind, estimated at 100 knots, which resulted in the ship heeling to the port side,” the cruise line wrote in a Twitter post.</p> <p>“Several injuries were reported, and those guests and crew received immediate attention or are being treated by the ship’s medical staff,” the statement continued.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjunmar.beltrano%2Fposts%2F10213907759358579&amp;width=500" width="500" height="681" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>The ship, which is capable of carrying over 6,000 people, says it was pushed suddenly by a gust of wind about 185km – a burst similar to that of a wind from a Category 3 hurricane.</p> <p>The cruise line said the ship sustained no damage during the incident.</p> <p>Not only passengers of the vessel were injured, crew members were also wounded, but the exact amount has not been disclosed.</p> <p>American publication <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.wesh.com/article/cruise-ship-headed-to-port-canaveral-after-sudden-extreme-gust-of-wind/26650652" target="_blank">WESH</a> reports around a dozen ambulances were at a Port Canaveral, Florida port on Tuesday morning when the ship arrived back to shore.</p> <p>Aaron Black, one of the cruisers onboard, told <a rel="noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/05/us/norwegian-cruise-line-ship-passengers-hurt/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> he was at the piano bar on Sunday night when the ship started to slope. Tables, chairs and even passengers slid across the room, as other terrified passengers watched.</p> <p>In a video Black recorded, screams, shattering glass and items sliding and being thrown by the wind can be heard.</p> <p>“I remember thinking about how calm it was for sailing out of New York in March and suddenly we got hit by a large gust of wind and the whole ship kind of just tilted to the side for about 30 seconds,” he said in a video he recorded from aboard the ship Tuesday afternoon.</p> <p>“Suddenly everything around me was starting to move.</p> <p>"I was used to some movement, but it was a very surreal escalation to, 'Oh this is normal' to, 'This is very unusual and probably shouldn't be happening,'” he said, explaining he had been on many cruise ships before.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"> <p dir="ltr">Honestly, <a href="https://twitter.com/CruiseNorwegian?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CruiseNorwegian</a>, the gust of wind that threw all of the shattered glass all over my bed and floor is all on mother nature, but where my pro-rated premium plus discount for all the bottled water I was going to drink tonight? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/norwegianescape?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#norwegianescape</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nclescape?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nclescape</a></p> — AJ Black (@aaronjosef) <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronjosef/status/1102445860074516480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 4, 2019</a></blockquote> <p>Passengers on the Escape shared their terrifying experience onboard the vessel Sunday night, reporting damage to interior cabin and common areas of the ship.</p> <p>“The scariest s---t just happened on this cruise. Chairs, tables, glass, people went flying to one side of the ship,” one passenger wrote.</p> <p>“Everything in our room falling and sliding ...I have never been so scared in my whole life,” Samantha, another cruiser wrote in a Facebook post.</p> <p>“All the plates and glassware smashed on the floor. A lotto machine fell on a lady. Blood everywhere.</p> <p>“Hands down the most terrified I’ve ever been in my life. Can’t wait to hit solid ground...”</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10213908155728488%26set%3Da.2411388614568%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="594" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Photos from inside the ship also show glass and debris on the ground, as well as passengers running away from the indoor pool area, which showed tilted water.</p> <p>“There’s no exaggeration on statements and pictures posted online. Ship was like at 45 degrees angle … freaked out everyone … but they said it was normal lol,” claimed a separate passenger.</p> <p>The ship is due to stick to its schedule on its next voyage on Tuesday for the Bahamas, the cruise line reports. </p> <p>Have you ever been on a cruise during rough conditions? Let us know in the comments below. </p> <div class="body_assets"></div> <div class="details"><span class="detail_tools"><span> </span>just now<span class="who_watched"><span class="people_count_container"><span class="people_count current">2</span></span></span><a class="likebtn"><span class="post_like_button icon icon-dapulse-thumb"></span></a></span></div> <div></div>

Travel Trouble

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Why do dogs tilt their head?

<p><strong><em>Bondi Vet’s much loved veterinarian, Dr Chris Brown, explains the reason why dogs tilt their heads… and why it may make you love dogs even more.</em></strong></p> <p>Sure, it might be the move that can melt even the coldest heart. But for years, we've been trying to understanding why they do it. Finally, we have the answer. And ironically... it's all to understand us better.</p> <p>The tilt serves two functions. First of all, it directs what they're HEARING into their ears at a different angle and often around their long ear flaps. And as canine psychologist Stanley Coren recently discovered, a tilt is also especially useful at shifting their snout out of the way to help with what they're SEEING. After all, seeing is believing; especially if it's with both eyes.</p> <p>In fact, you can try the tilt for yourself. Just put your fist on your nose to mimic a dog's snout and try to look straight ahead. Your fist blocks your vision unless you tilt your head to the side. Then it all becomes clear. Crazy, huh?</p> <p>Does your pet tilt their head when you talk? Let us know in the comments below.</p> <p>For more tips on your pets, follow Dr Chris Brown on <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="https://www.facebook.com/dcbpets/?fref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook here.</a></strong></span></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/06/do-our-pets-dream/"><em><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Do our pets dream?</span></strong></em></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/05/dr-chris-brown-secrets-to-dealing-with-allergies-to-pets/"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em>The secret to dealing with pet allergies</em></span></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/05/reasons-your-dogs-health-is-as-important-as-your-own/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>6 reasons your dog’s health is just as important as your own</strong></em></span></a></p>

Family & Pets

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Why dogs tilt their heads to the side

<p>It’s enough to make anyone cave: big brown eyes, an innocent yet inquisitive head tilt and that gorgeous face. To say the least, we can be putty in our dog’s paws sometimes.</p> <p>But have you ever wondered why pooches cock their heads to one side? Is it just an adorable canine quirk and do they know how a simple head tilt can melt a human’s heart in seconds?</p> <p>Well, apparently they do! Experts say that the head tilt has to do with your dog’s ability to empathise. Yes, they’re trying to tell you that they care (and yes, our hearts are melting right now). As you already know, dogs are good at reading and responding to our body language and vocal cues. While they may not understand exactly what we’re saying, they are quite capable of reading our emotions.</p> <p>The head-tilt may also have to do with how dog’s ears are constructed. Although they have great hearing, their ability to locate the source of sounds is not as good as ours. So their head tilting may allow them to hear our voices more clearly.</p> <p>Look, whatever the reasons is we can all agree that the head tilt is one of the most adorable canine traits ever.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/shelter-dog-joyful-reaction-to-being-adopted/"></a></strong></em></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/shelter-dog-joyful-reaction-to-being-adopted/">Shy shelter dog’s joyful reaction to being adopted</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/shelter-dog-joyful-reaction-to-being-adopted/"></a></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/01/dogs-with-no-concept-of-personal-space/">These dogs have no concept of personal space</a></span></em></strong></p> <p><strong><em><a href="/lifestyle/family-pets/2016/02/shelter-dog-joyful-reaction-to-being-adopted/"></a></em></strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/family-pets/2015/12/dont-feed-pets-table-scraps/"><strong><em>Why you shouldn’t feed your pet table scra</em></strong>ps</a></span></p>

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