John Oliver launches "Make yourself less valuable to Meta" website, suggests Signal, Mastodon, Pixelfed, and BlueSky as Meta alternatives
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I don’t think so. There’s no good alternative to Facebook that is worth leaving it for. When MySpace died, there was a significantly better alternative (FB). Even if people quit using Facebook regularly, they’ll need to keep it.
What do people use Facebook for these days? (I deleted my account about 10 years ago so I'm not sure what it's for now)
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Well, I get that Lemmy is an alternative social media, but it's not really an alternative to Facebook. Anonymous usernames, text-based posts, you can't follow people, Fediverse is somewhat confusing.. I'd recommend it as an alternative to Reddit, but probably not the website where boomers want to check up on their neighbors and friends
That's what Friendica is for
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There was a whole saga of him buying expensive rat erotica artwork at one point, which is a sentence I never thought I'd write.
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I don’t think so. There’s no good alternative to Facebook that is worth leaving it for. When MySpace died, there was a significantly better alternative (FB). Even if people quit using Facebook regularly, they’ll need to keep it.
I'm actually not sure what it is fb offers that people stay on it for. I find that you don't need it to connect with actual friends. Even just making a Slack for close friends is a far better experience. It's not great for finding news, it's terrible for trying to have any sort of discussion. I genuinely don't understand what purpose it serves.
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This is the first time zuck has gone full ass-kisser with curly hair and a gold chain, though
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What do people use Facebook for these days? (I deleted my account about 10 years ago so I'm not sure what it's for now)
I've been gone from FB for about 3 months but for me it was the groups. You could find groups for anything, but personally, I miss my local groups. Particularly the No-Buy and vegan and political activist groups. Finding an equivalent outside of FB is sub par, if it even exists at all.
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They've gone full mask off, which is why there'sthe sudden backlash. The hate speech rules now include a section that explicitly says that it's okay to call LGBTQ people mentally ill. They're the only group with a specific carve-out in the rules saying that it's okay to post hate speech about them.
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I don’t want to get my hopes up but is this Facebook’s MySpace moment?
So much of Facebook is just automated accounts responding to automated accounts in order to milk gullible advertisers. If everyone logged off tomorrow, I don't know if Zuckerberg would notice.
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John Oliver for president
He can't because he wasn't born here, but we could totally elect his wife and let him do the whole first husband thing while still advising if she needs it.
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Why don't stories like this EVER mention Lemmy?
Because Lemmy is nowhere near as ready for primetime as other platforms.
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Why don't stories like this EVER mention Lemmy?
I think we're too weird and niche.
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I don't find Lemmy very palatable. I'm still here because I like to hear different perspectives. Lemmy as a whole seems to hate different perspectives, it's like many go out of their way to keep it closer to a hive mind. 80% of the world's people would not fit in here. I don't either, but I don't give a shit.
Let's hear your different perspectives
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So much of Facebook is just automated accounts responding to automated accounts in order to milk gullible advertisers. If everyone logged off tomorrow, I don't know if Zuckerberg would notice.
i have certainly notices a SHARP downturn of new content being added to insta and facebook by people i actually know over the last few years.
All that seems to be left is AI Slop and ragebait. a venn diagram that overlaps considerably
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John Oliver cited a 5000% rise in search queries related to leaving Meta and deleting accounts. Among the topics mentioned in the analysis, attention was drawn to early Facebook's naivete with regard to moderation requirements, the constitutional framework, and a history of governmental interference.
Oliver debunks common right-wing "cry censorship" talking points, as well as the objective difficulty of moderation endeavors, and how direct threats by Trump may have influenced Zuckerberg's turnaround.
Oliver went on to suggest Signal, Mastodon, Bluesky, and Pixelfed as alternatives that "do not seem as desperate to fall in line with Trump". For those reluctant to completely ditch Meta, Oliver revealed a new site with step-by-step instructions to "make yourself less valuable to them".
The guide was a collaboration with the EFF, and includes settings' tweaks for Facebook and Meta, whose 98% of revenue comes from micro-targeting ads, the host previously cited, to increase privacy, and recommends Firefox, Privacy Badger, as "other measures" to take in order "to block advertisers and other third parties from tracking you".
The segment culminated in a mock advert, in which the new Meta's approach to moderation is coined as "Fuck it", and hints to racism, internet scams, and calls to genocide running rampant on Meta's platforms.
The clip reminds the origins of Facebook as a site to "rank college girls by hotness", and its implication in genocide in Myanmar, which was more thoroughly discussed in an Oliver's previous special on Facebook in 2018.
John Oliver's show is doing amazing things, including the Drumpfinator addon.
What is that URL, though?
I'm guessing I'm know it if I (happily) watch the episode? -
my country they literally helped elect one
Huh? Source? What country?
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I’ve been wanting to try pixelfed but I haven’t figured out what to do: start my own for friends or join an existing one.
I heard there were some issues with a dev or something so I haven’t signed up for the original instance yet
I’ve also been intrigued, but it seems like a harder jump to make than mastodon or lemmy. Like with twitter or Reddit I’m mostly interacting with strangers anyway, but I don’t really want my instagram to be photos of people I don’t know.
Would you try to get your friends to make the switch with you?
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So much of Facebook is just automated accounts responding to automated accounts in order to milk gullible advertisers. If everyone logged off tomorrow, I don't know if Zuckerberg would notice.
Seems like a win tbh. Meta stops influencing people and collecting their data, while dumbass corps waste money on ads nobody will see.
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Because Lemmy is nowhere near as ready for primetime as other platforms.
I reckon Lemmy is actually pretty good. I wouldn't know if the mobile apps are good, because I don't use those - but for me the core functionality of Lemmy on my computer is smooth and functional. I don't see any obvious low-hanging-fruit.
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Let's hear your different perspectives
"People who disagree" saying "things you don't like" energy
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I've been gone from FB for about 3 months but for me it was the groups. You could find groups for anything, but personally, I miss my local groups. Particularly the No-Buy and vegan and political activist groups. Finding an equivalent outside of FB is sub par, if it even exists at all.
Yeah that does actually sound pretty decent.
