Confirmation Bias and the internet

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Chickensoupprof

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 10:33 am

sequoia wrote:

When russia brings back the death penalty and actually starts executing people for likes and shares rather than imprisoning them for ten years as they do now, you’ll all still be discussing Biden, who will literally be gone in a year.

The prevailing opinion according to some here is sadly that Putin and Trump are good lads who are being slandered by the left/new world order or whatever. 🙄

Rubber Ducky

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 10:34 am

ora_43 wrote:

You literally just said all those things. Should we start the countdown until The Government comes in and erases this post?

The government doesn't have to. Social media will do it for them.

Do you know that there's a forum here for "G***** censored threads"? Read this: https://www.imamother.com/foru.....96668

edited for typo

Last edited by Rubber Ducky on Fri, Apr 21 2023, 2:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

shoshanim999

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 11:08 am

[quote="Trademark"]Which political opinions?

I did not make a single political statement or engaged with any political posts on this thread!! This is total projection from your side.

When I opened this thread I wasn't thinking of politics at all, I was thinking along the lines of health and medicine, when people make "research" online and are convinced of certain "facts." The internet is used for way more than just politics. I wanted to have an interesting discussion (hence it being under interesting discussion, not politics.) about that, and some posters just feel a need to shoehorn politics into everything.

Just because you're so political doesn't mean everyone else is. Some people don't even think about politics at all. Surprised

(and PS if you really want to know I'm right leaning and like to listen to the daily wire hosts for example.)

I don't know why this thread was made so political...

Deliberate misinformation or government control is a total different topic.

This is what you said. It seems that you are very concerned that algorithms don't allow people to think and form opinions based on proper research and facts, yet you also seem to feel that government coordinating with big tech companies to literally control what the entire country is allowed to see and ultimately think is a completely separate issue and not related. They certainly appear to me to be very similar.

I'm just trying to understand why the algorithm issue concerns you yet government censorship doesn't? Do you really not feel there is a huge overlap? At least the algorithms aren't used with evil intentions. They just want people to use more frequently and feeding users content they align with serves that purpose. Government censorship is about brainwashing to maintain control and power. It would seem to be much worse.

giftedmom

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 11:43 am

Government censorship certainly veers into the field of medicine as well. And example of this would be the back to sleep campaign. It is based on faulty research but aggressively pushed. I’ve had to dig through pages of Google results to get to a study or article that disagreed with the narrative.
I’d imagine there’s similar regarding the Covid vax.
That said, this thread title apparently attracted some very politically obsessed posters.

Trademark

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 12:05 pm

giftedmom wrote:

I don't deny that government plays a role in this and it's definitely something that needs to be discussed.

But I'm so tired of politics on Imamother, it's always the same thing, and I simply wasn't thinking of politics when I opened this thread.

If I choose to post on the politics forum, I know what I'm in for. I wasn't in the mood for it over here. Let's just keep politics in politics for everyone's sanity and so we can have normal discussions too.

That's all.

#BestBubby

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 2:09 pm

Chickensoupprof wrote:

This thread gives me a 'telling me you have an confirmation bias on the internet without telling me you have' vibe Laugh

Of course they do.

Both Trademark and Fleetwood falsely claimed
That other posters prove their claim that we have
Confirmation Bias.

But when I asked them for their proof, they are silent. That is proof of their confirmation bias.

#BestBubby

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 2:12 pm

Chickensoupprof wrote:

The prevailing opinion according to some here is sadly that Putin and Trump are good lads who are being slandered by the left/new world order or whatever. 🙄

Can you show me where anybody said that about
PUTIN???

You can't because nobody here ever said that.

You are repeating Democrat propaganda.

shoshanim999

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 2:29 pm

Chickensoupprof wrote:

The prevailing opinion according to some here is sadly that Putin and Trump are good lads who are being slandered by the left/new world order or whatever. 🙄

This is the fakest of fake news. There's exaggerations and then there's just made up baloney. This is the latter.

#BestBubby

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 3:04 pm

jkl wrote:

This! Also to add though is that you need to have a foundational understanding of the topic on hand. I find that the Dunning Kruger effect has really taken a hold on society now in the internet age. People read a handful of papers and now believe they are experts on a subject. They overestimate their knowledge on it.

I am trained in one science field and see this happening quite often. I actually experienced this just last week with an aquaintance. Without going into too much details, the conversation was about DNA, and he was building his case based in the fact that humans have about 30 trillion cells in our bodies. He was bringing papers he read on the internet to support his position and explaining to me why it all makes sense. I asked him one question - Are you aware that not all human cells have DNA? I.e. blood cells make up 70% of our cells, and red blood cells don't contain DNA. Skin and hair cells don't have DNa either,so there would be no such number as 30 trillion in any of his equations. I suggested he take back that info and redo his 'research' with this in mind, and see if he still comes to the same conclusion.

This happens repeatedly in all areas. If you don't have core foundational info, you often lack the ability to find holes in theories ir recognize when you're going down a rabbit hole.

Please explain why you trust "experts"

Who say men can get pregnant???

It is obvious that Government controls most
Experts, scientists, doctors.

Many lies told by so called "experts" during
Covid

That the Wuhan Lab leaked Covid was a conspiracy theory

That natural immunity from Covid doesn't exist

That hydroxycloriquine is horse medicine
And ineffective for treating covid.

Again, these scientists also say men can get pregnant...

jkl

Fri, Apr 21 2023, 4:48 pm

#BestBubby wrote:

Please explain why you trust "experts"

Who say men can get pregnant???

It is obvious that Government controls most
Experts, scientists, doctors.

Many lies told by so called "experts" duringCovid

That the Wuhan Lab leaked Covid was a conspiracy theory

That natural immunity from Covid doesn't exist

That hydroxycloriquine is horse medicine
And ineffective for treating covid.

Again, these scientists also say men can get pregnant...

Huh? I have no idea how you've made this leap from my post. All I pointed out is how important it is to have foundational knowledge when doing research.

How did that translate to trusting experts and political stuff?

shoshanim999

Sat, Apr 22 2023, 10:33 pm

Trademark wrote:

Which political opinions?

I did not make a single political statement or engaged with any political posts on this thread!! This is total projection from your side.

When I opened this thread I wasn't thinking of politics at all, I was thinking along the lines of health and medicine, when people make "research" online and are convinced of certain "facts." The internet is used for way more than just politics. I wanted to have an interesting discussion (hence it being under interesting discussion, not politics.) about that, and some posters just feel a need to shoehorn politics into everything.

Just because you're so political doesn't mean everyone else is. Some people don't even think about politics at all. Surprised

(and PS if you really want to know I'm right leaning and like to listen to the daily wire hosts for example.)

Banging head

Are you aware that even in regard to health and medicine it is difficult to do proper research because whether we like it or not politics is involved? Can we hear dissenting opinions about whether 5 year old children should get the covid vaccine? Can we easily access opinions about whether schools should have been closed during covid? Can we have an open discussion about whether natural immunity is effective against covid? Can we honestly discuss whether kindergarteners should be masked in school? Don't you see that a certain party has shut this down?

I obviously can't speak for you personally, but these days very often those who claim to be "right leaning" are people who used to vote R but couldn't bring themselves to vote for you know who, and voted D instead.

I also find that people in that category have decided they don't want to discuss politics anymore. I think they find it impossible to reconcile their vote with basic human decency and so they remove themselves from the discussion entirely. How could decent people possibly defend what's going on? They can't. So they don't participate in the discussion here and only lurk instead. Or they might go to reddit and create an echo chamber where dissenting opinions are blocked because if enough people repeat the same lunacy without any pushback, it makes them feel a little normal in their insane asylum.

Laiya

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 12:30 am

I'm confused about the premise of this thread. Which algorithms are being referred to?

Because at this point it's uncontroverted that google does not merely respond to search inputs but skews results with the intent of influencing voters to the left. Many, if not most or all, of the other large search engines do the same.

giftedmom

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 12:33 am

shoshanim999 wrote:

This may come as a shock to you but not everyone is obsessed with politics. Some people just live their lives and focus on things they can actually control, things that bring them joy, meaningful relationships etc. etc.

Laiya

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 12:44 am

giftedmom wrote:

This is true, but it doesn't change the fact that those topics are still political. I would argue that if one isn't aware that a particular topic is political, they'll be more susceptible to being influenced by the leftist-supporting algorithm.

shoshanim999

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 2:15 am

giftedmom wrote:

I completely agree with you.

The op brought up the topic of people unwittingly not having access to information because of algorithms which leads to them being uninformed about various important issues. So clearly the op cares about this issue. She started this thread about it.

With that in mind I mentioned that this problem is excentuated and worsened by the unapologetic censorship by the government which has openly taken many steps to ensure the public stay uninformed about many hot topics.

Specifically to the op, it doesn't make sense that she cares about internet algorithms but doesn't care about government censorship. They are exactly the same. They both serve to keep people in the dark, uninformed and ignorant. The fact that the op is trying to say they are completely different topics likely tells me where she currently stands politically.

ora_43

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 2:52 am

Rubber Ducky wrote:

... and now we've come full circle, and are back at the topic of this thread. Yes, social media 'censoring' by controlling what people see is a problem. As I've said since my first post on this thread.

Government censorship would also be a problem, but
1. the suggestion that government is full-on banning certain topics is largely nonsense - literally every concrete example that's been given so far is something I can easily find in seconds.

The fact that google makes the "mainstream" results one-sided, and you have to specifically look for the other side - that's the more insidious problem, and worth talking about without the same 2-3 posters bringing in their hatred of any and all things Democrat into literally every thread.

2. foreign government interference is also a problem. Hard not to notice that people are just repeating their same talking points without addressing that issue. If human traffickers are deliberately targeting people at the border with misinformation, if Russia is deliberately stirring up debate over topics like vaccines - which both Left and Right agree is happening - what do you think the US government should do?

It's OK if the answer is "nothing" but when people just ignore the question it looks like they aren't interested in real conversation.

Chickensoupprof

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 4:43 am

#BestBubby wrote:

Can you show me where anybody said that about
PUTIN???

You can't because nobody here ever said that.

You are repeating Democrat propaganda.

It is important to approach discussions and debates with an open mind and a willingness to consider different perspectives and viewpoints. Labeling arguments that do not align with one's own beliefs as propaganda or dismissively rejecting them without engaging in constructive dialogue can be counterproductive and limit one's ability to learn and grow.

Furthermore, it is important to distinguish between propaganda and accurate, evidence-based information. Propaganda is a form of communication that aims to influence or manipulate individuals in a particular direction, often through the use of biased or misleading information. Accurate and evidence-based information, on the other hand, is based on scientific research, data, and facts, and is intended to inform and educate individuals.

In discussions about important issues such as vaccine safety or climate change, it is important to rely on accurate and reliable information from reputable sources, rather than dismissing opposing viewpoints as propaganda without considering their merits. Constructive dialogue and open-mindedness can help foster understanding and progress towards finding solutions to complex problems.

shoshanim999

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 9:01 am

ora_43 wrote:

It looks like you're saying that because government doesn't censor certain information ENTIRELY it's not a big deal and it's not real censorship.

Here's Jen Psaki saying the government will be working with big tech companies to flag what they decide is misinformation and have it blocked.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=.....u1oDU

There's quite a list of information that was being considered on big tech to prevent millions from accessing it. Here's some of what government fact checkers decided was misinformation:

1. Origins of Covid where in a Wuhan lab.
2. US funded gain of function in that very lab.
3. Natural immunity eliminates the need for the vaccine.
4. Masks (especially on children) are largely ineffective.
5. 2020 election wasn't fair.
6. H Biden laptop is real and J Biden met with his sons business associates over 15 times while vice president.
7. Joe Biden is showing signs of cognitive decline.
8. Climate change fears are overblown.
9. Cops aren't systematically racist and black people are their own worst enemy.
10. BLM is run by a bunch of corrupt black people who couldn't care less about the fate of black people.

To be honest, I don't know what would happen if these topics were posted today on Facebook. I'm sure that in 2020 (election season) and 2021 the post would be removed with a message saying that independent fact checkers concluded the info is false. I'm sure Twitter would allow it now because yes, it is political, and since Elon Musk owns Twitter the liberals can't get their "independent fact checker" hands on it.

Of course foreign government interference is a problem and should be addressed. But isn't an inside job a bigger issue? I expect foreign governments to meddle and interfere. I don't expect our own government to basically assault the constitution for their own political gain.

Here's an article about testimony from ex CIA chief Mike Morell saying that the Biden campaign reached out to him asking to sign a letter that the H Biden laptop (which showed influence peddling with China and Ukraine to enrich the Biden family) was Russian disinformation.

Once this was achieved they were able to lie and trick the American public into believing the story was a hoax which gave credibility to the social media censorship, and ultimately helped influence the election. All the is 100% verifiable and accurate.

shoshanim999

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 9:07 am

Chickensoupprof wrote:

You're response here reminds me of Biden's press secretary.

Question: many people wonder if the reason Biden doesn't take questions from the press is because he is suffering from dementia and won't be able to answer properly.
Answer: President Biden is working very hard for all Americans. The inflation reduction act will help black and brown people get what they rightly deserve. He also recently passed a law that will help poor black farmers gain equal footing with white farmers......

In other words her answer has NOTHING to do with the question.

You made a very bold statement saying women here support Putin. You were asked about it and went off about propaganda on vaccines and climate change.

#BestBubby

Sun, Apr 23 2023, 9:12 am

giftedmom wrote:

That is vast majority of people.

Problem is Politicians are obsessed with enslaving us.

And this is happening because majority are not
Paying attention.

Quote: the price of liberty is eternal vigilance.

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