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Month: October 2017

The problem with censoring speech is … who gets to be the censor?

The problem with censoring speech is … who gets to be the censor?

Who gets to be the censor? Crazily, Americans say they favor free speech and censorship! … the survey also found Americans willing to censor, regulate, or punish a wide variety of speech and expression they personally find offensive: 51% of staunch liberals say it’s “morally acceptable” to punch Nazis. 53% of Republicans favor stripping U.S. citizenship from people who burn the American flag. 51% of Democrats support a law that requires Americans use transgender people’s preferred gender pronouns. 65% of…

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Faceback ads reach 4 out of every 3 teens in the U.S.!

Faceback ads reach 4 out of every 3 teens in the U.S.!

Facebook ads also reach 12 out of every 7 young adults in the U.S.! Facebook makes up their advertising reach numbers: According to Facebook, there are 41 million adults between the ages of 18 and 24. However, according to data from the U.S. census, there are just 31 million. Facebook also says there are 60 million between the ages of 25 and 34, while the U.S. census puts its estimate at just 35 million. Source: Facebook Claims It Reaches More…

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Did an Iranian immigrant start California fires? NO.

Did an Iranian immigrant start California fires? NO.

This fake news nonsense came through my Twitter feed today. The story traces back to this fake news web site. Source: Fact check: Did Illegal Muslim From Iran Started California Wildfire – ayupp Answer: NO, the entire story is fake. Note that this item has been shared 471 times and liked 330 times on Twitter. Of the 105 comments, very few pointed out that its a fake news story. The photo, which is easy to cross check, is of a…

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Disney’s “secret army” of Moms spread Disney promotional propaganda #marketing #astroturf

Disney’s “secret army” of Moms spread Disney promotional propaganda #marketing #astroturf

Disney has a secret army of mothers who flood the internet with Disney propaganda While this sounds like a big deal and “secret” and what not, it is just “astro turf” public relations. “Grassroots” organizing is when a group of people supposedly come together to promote something (often political or government policy related). The idea is that it is a movement that arose from the people. In reality, nearly all “grassroots” movements today are “astro turf” operations, carefully orchestrated and…

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Crime is worse than ever – except not really! #crime #media

Crime is worse than ever – except not really! #crime #media

Most of us believe crime is getting worse. How often do we see yet another news report about car prowling, a break in, or especially, a violent crime? Probably every single day. Many TV news casts lead with murders and mayhem, followed by fires and auto crashes. What effect do you think this has on how you view the world? Pew Research took a look at the data and found that “public perceptions about crime in the U.S. often don’t…

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Sharing negative thoughts on Facebook makes you less likable

Sharing negative thoughts on Facebook makes you less likable

Wow! …what Wood and Forest discovered was that sharing negative thoughts or feelings apparently made users less likable … …. “If you’re talking to somebody in person and you say something, you might get some indication that they don’t like it, that they’re sick of hearing your negativity,” Forest said. “On Facebook, you don’t see most of the reactions.” However, those with high self-esteem get more responses for negative updates than those with low self-esteem, the study found. Source: Your…

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Begging the question fallacy: Another illustration today

Begging the question fallacy: Another illustration today

Just days ago I wrote about the “Begging the question” fallacy “sometimes known by its Latin name petitio principii (meaning assuming the initial point), is a logical fallacy in which the writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true” (See Begging the question (fallacy) in propaganda messaging | Occupy Propaganda) I noted classic examples after well publicized corporate gaffes, such as United Airlines dragging a legitimately seated, paying customer off a flight and then issuing a statement…

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