It's not hard to predict what the long-term consequences of the increasing destruction of any kind of meaningful content moderation on the most popular social network platforms will be - we already live in a post-truth political environment, where opportunistic political parties make use of dis- and misinformation, dank memes, and the hollowing out of any idea of an Overton window of acceptable political subjects and arguments. Meta, Facebook and Instagram parent-company, will abandon content moderation and fact-checking for community notes, Meta arguing that this will be "a better way [...] that's less prone to bias". Along with this step, Meta is also scrapping some of its restrictions on (essentially) hate speech ( them is summarising the kind of speech that will now be allowed, and how it targets LGBTQ+ communities). Mark Zuckerberg has visited Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago, and revealed a list of things that he expects the incoming President to help him with in a conversation with Joe Rogan (fighting other countries that are policing his platforms, legislation with regards to AI). In addition, Meta will also eliminate its " diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs" ( as have Walmart and McDonald's). So much for Timothy Snyder's call to not obey in advance to tyranny - Trump isn't even sworn in, and it is becoming clear that the billionaire class is all to eager to wring from the incoming government whatever profits it can. This is a great summary of everything that's happening and its context.
And as a further warning to what is coming, the prediction that the targeted, malicious campaign against trans people was never going to stop there, Idaho Republicans are urging the conservative Supreme Court to reconsider Obergefell v. Hodges, the landmark ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
"At first, he joked about Canada being an additional US state. Since, he has threatened to take back control of the Panama Canal. He also reiterated a desire from his first term to own the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland, which is not for sale.The US is unlikely to take control of any of these regions. But these statements could indicate that Trump's "America First" vision includes flexing the superpower's muscle beyond its borders for US trade and national security interests."
BBC: Greenland and the Panama Canal aren't for sale. Why is Trump threatening to take them?
I think this shows where we are right now, in this news environment where facts don't exist anymore and disinformation is everywhere: what does it mean when an incoming US President makes a joke about expanding US territory? The BBC, likely correctly, identifies the Canada one as a joke (as Canada is in turmoil after Justin Trudeau's resignation and will conduct its next election in the political context of Elon Musk's meddling), but it's a different story for Greenland (which has declared that its own long-term goal is independence from Denmark) and the Panama Canal ( Panama was invaded in 1989 by the US to implement a "regime change").
I enjoyed this Rolling Stone deep-dive into Jeopardy (my favourite quiz show) in the new era after the death of Alex Trebek.
