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Author: Edward S

CBC goes there too now: Tells asthmatics to stop using inhalers

CBC goes there too now: Tells asthmatics to stop using inhalers

CBC makes a fool of itself. Geesh. Some calculations I did a couple of years ago suggest that for an asthmatic that uses an inhaler every day, this accounts for perhaps 1-2% of their household’s daily greenhouse effect. This is not a high priority area for the CBC to freak out over. Two years ago, Time Magazine insultingly said asthmatics were “choking the planet” thinking that was a funny play on words. Not only was it rude and inconsiderate, it was not true.

FB content that caused emotional responses ranked higher in The Algorithm

FB content that caused emotional responses ranked higher in The Algorithm

Years ago I suggested that FB was designed to create a “culture of perpetual outrage”. People who are emotionally engaged are more susceptible to advertising messages – plus, they are likely to stay connected to FB for more minutes. Internal documents reveal that FB not only knew this but gave emotional content posts higher leverage in The Algorithm that decides what you see online.

Simple Facebook experiment demonstrates how FB amplifies left and right extremist perspectives

Simple Facebook experiment demonstrates how FB amplifies left and right extremist perspectives

A simple research study demonstrated how FB’s algorithm readily amplify extremist political viewpoints on the left and right. The root cause is that FB optimizes for time spent engaged with FB – and does not optimize for what you may wish to see. The result is FB optimizes to keep you perpetually outraged.

The media’s “missing white women syndrome” problem

The media’s “missing white women syndrome” problem

Academic research confirms the media’s obsession with “missing white women” (specifically, young, blonde, blue eyed women). When someone goes missing, coverage is extreme for missing young white women, drops significantly for missing women of color, and is almost non-existent for men, with coverage of missing white men receiving the least amount of press.

Ouch: Science communicators assume you are stupid

Ouch: Science communicators assume you are stupid

Science communications is performed precisely as a propaganda function: “The first is what science communicators call “the deficit model,” which assumes the public is deficient in their understanding of science and need scientists as the learned elites to help the benighted masses.” and “The second limitation is that the goal of health communication is not to inform others, but to change their behavior.”