Facebook played huge role in fueling Capitol riot
Facebook sucks and I'm tired of hearing its defenders talk about how it allows them to stay in touch with Aunt Betty. Ever hear of the phone or video chats?
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The far-right social media platform Parler has shouldered much of the blame for last week's Capitol riot - and may since have been rendered permanently defunct. But watchdog groups say much larger companies like Facebook carry more of the responsibility for the lead-up to the pro-Trump siege.
Amazon Web Services, which hosted Parler, took the platform offline last week after Apple and Google removed it from their app stores, arguing Parler was not doing enough to moderate content that could incite violence. Amazon in court documents detailed extensive violent threats on Parler that the company "systemically failed" to remove. Hacked GPS metadata analyzed by Gizmodo shows that "at least several" Parler users managed to penetrate deep inside the Capitol.
"From what I've seen, people were actually coordinating on Parler, logistics and tactics and things like that," Kurt Braddock, an extremism expert at American University and the author of "Weaponized Words," said in an interview with Salon. "That's a step beyond the pale. So Parler, in terms of planning and coordination, probably was the biggest player in terms of the social media environment."
Parler, which billed itself as a free-speech alternative to social networks that moderated posts and claims to have more than 12 million users, no doubt helped fuel last week's violence. But its role pales in comparison to social media behemoths like Facebook, which is used by nearly 70% of American adults, said Angelo Carusone, president and CEO of the watchdog group Media Matters.
"If you took Parler out of the equation, you would still almost certainly have what happened at the Capitol," he told Salon. "If you took Facebook out of the equation before that, you would not. To me, when Apple and Google sent their letter to Parler, I was a little bit confused why Facebook didn't get one."
Story at:
https://www.salon.com/2021/01/16/despite-parler-backlash-facebook-played-huge-role-in-fueling-capitol-riot-watchdogs-say/
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