@quinnsentialOne I'm really glad to hear you share that there are similar opinions, AND misconceptions on BOTH sides of that particular (and very personal) issue. The data shows, strongly, that most Americans agree on the basics. This honestly shouldn't be a contentious issue, but it has such a way of energizing voters, that they will continue to use it politically rather that letting the people have the legislation we actually want and agree on.

@PeaceMob It shouldn't be. At all.

Propaganda, the social media algorithms, and the people abusing it, are making it contentious.

@quinnsentialOne The mainstream media helps as well. It's manipulation, straight up, and the way it intersects with social control makes it downright evil, if you ask me. It's proof that the people we elect are not going to Washington to do our work, they are just concerned with power.

@PeaceMob I would love to put a ban on social media algorithms.

A lot on the right say, "Show everything and pick what is real!"

And they, like me awhile ago, have no idea how influential the algorithms are in giving you exactly what you see and hear and just reinforcing it more.

There's zero freedom in algorithm-based social media.

@PeaceMob It's a self-reinforcing information prison.

@quinnsentialOne You are 100% right about algorithms, and AI. That's not the most terrifying aspect by far, but very, very dangerous as you point out.

One can not "Pick" what is real. At the end of the day, we rely on experts to tell us most things that we consider fact. If we move everything into the realm of "opinion", when we are not really talking about opinions, the whole web of trust dissolves.

@PeaceMob Yes.

And the biggest problem of this, there are so many sites out there now that appear to give you objective data.

They look legitimate, they look scientific, they look professional.

If you're in the red bubble, good look telling one from the other. You can't.

@quinnsentialOne

It's a little frustrating sometimes to be insistently told that you believe one thing when you actually believe another, and to have your ability to define your own opinions denied. It would be fine if people would just listen to the actual variety of opinions out there, instead of somebody else's representation of them.

@DavidSalo That is the evil of the red bubble.

To the majority of moderate Republicans, there's no dissenting opinions to be seen. The algorithm perfectly defines what they see and hear.

You would think they see it via social media, but they don't.

@RunningResister Yup.

But how are they going to "think critically" when everything they are presented with tells them they are correct?

They do a Google search, they will get 1000 articles that align perfectly with their views because that's how the social media algorithms work.

That was my experience in the MAGA Republican bubble. There was no dissenting opinion to be seen to let me think critically about it.

@RunningResister More so, why would they consider other people's opinions and information when they're called crazy or stupid for what they believe..... when the person calling them crazy or stupid and arguing with them doesn't understand why they believe the crazy in the first place.

Understanding the problem is the important part.

You can't solve the problem without really knowing what it is.

@quinnsentialOne The problem is, no matter how nicely you try to talk with them, no matter how much evidence or data you show, they don’t want to hear it. I have tried many times.

@RunningResister Like I said, Republicans trust Republicans.

I got out of MAGA with the help of some very persistent friends who were there to reach out when my bubble cracked.

I'm now a traitor to my family.

I can't talk to them either. But when the first cracks appear, I will be the one there reaching out to them. Like I said many times. If it won't be me, it'll be someone else who will keep them in the bubble.

@quinnsentialOne I’m glad you’ve escaped the bubble. I’m sorry about your family. You’re not the only one experiencing this. I hope it gets easier.

@RunningResister I'm terrified that unless we, as a people, can pass laws to ban these algorithms across the globe, it will only get much worse.

That doesn't mean I stop trying though.

@quinnsentialOne I agree. Social media algorithms and the decline of mainstream shared news sources and factual standards have made us much more vulnerable to propaganda.

@quinnsentialOne There are many good sources of objective research and data-based information. Social media is not a reliable source unless it references reliable, objective, peer-reviewed or government data. And where are all these satanic and demonic people? Have they ever met any? Why do Q’s predictions never come true? Why is their NO evidence of any substantial voter fraud that stands up in court? At some point it defies credibility to not question it. They don’t WANT to question it.

@RunningResister Here's the problem, it's just not social media.

All of these networks are datamining and sharing with each other.

You can't find all that reliable, objective, peer-reviewed data if Google and other search engines aren't letting you find it.

You don't know what it's like to be bombarded, reinforced, and lied to from every direction as if it's truth..... and then expected to find information otherwise in a system that creates information prisons.

@Boyceaz They believe it.

Everything around them is telling it's true.

I believed it, whole-heartedly, until I finally didn't.

First hand experience.

@quinnsentialOne No wonder they hate us. We'd have to be monsters.

@Boyceaz @quinnsentialOne Uh huh. They have effectively culled every voice or dissent from inside or outside.

@Boyceaz Yup.

Now you are getting the picture of why they hate Democrats so much.

And that division is exactly what bad actors and grifters want.

Divided angry people don't talk, they yell. Divided angry families don't talk, they yell.

And the hatred distracts everyone. 😩

@bluesbaby Yup.

That's what I keep trying to say.

Of course we have to fight the fascists themselves. The ones grabbing power for evil. Of course we have the grifters and trolls and abusers and racists who are taking advantage for their evil.

Fight the fascism and the ones directly responsible and I'm all in. I'm there with you now.

But if we are taking that hatred to families stuck in an information prison just trying to get by. I'm getting off at the next stop.

@bluesbaby I got out of one hate machine.

I will not step my feet into another.

Hate is infectious. It starts with hating one group and inevitably spreads to the next.

And people saying "my hating people I don't know is better than their hating people they don't know just because it's a different/lesser hate" is just a sad excuse. It's still hate.

@quinnsentialOne

I hear you.

@bluesbaby Don't get me wrong though.

I hate Trump.
I hate MAGA leaders.
I hate the GOP leadership.
I hate the Oath Keepers.
I hate the Proud Boys, especially.

Prison isn't good enough for any of them.

But I'm not gonna hate random MAGA Mom stuck in their info bubble trying to raise her kids.

I want MAGA Mom's kids to have a chance for a better life and perspective, even if she doesn't. 😞 That's never gonna happen if the kid sees me hate on their family.

@quinnsentialOne

Yes, and I think that is the takeaway for all of us. Let's not lump everyone into one basket. Have some empathy.