BORAT AGAINST FACEBOOK

The biggest propaganda machine in history. Facebook would put ads even of Hitler. This is how actor Sasha Baron Cohen attacked today’s largest and most influential social network in his speech at an event organized by the Anti-Defamation League.

Nearly all the world’s media have aired Baron Cohen’s speech, in which the popular Borat accused Facebook and other social networks of being irresponsible in spreading false news and inciting hatred through their platforms that reach billions of people.

But very few of the media that transmitted Baron Cohen’s speech have penetrated into its core, the reasons and the analysis that led to this powerful speech. The F2N2 team investigated the studies that served as the basis for this inspirational speech, which announces a more serious fight and restrictive measures in spreading false news and inciting hatred on the social networks.

Democracy is withdrawing before the autocracy

“These are times when democracy, which depends on and relies on the truth, loses the battle and withdraws before the onslaught of autocracy, which depends and relies on lies. Hatred is spreading on social networks, which further results in attacks, ethnic or religious assassinations” Baron Cohen said in the speech. All this hatred and violence is made possible by cross internet companies that have grown into the strongest propaganda machinery in history.

Baron Cohen has called on Facebook, YouTube, Google, Twitter and other social networks that reach billions of people to think about their algorithms that empower content that hit primitive instincts in people and cause fear and anger. These algorithms, because of clicks and ads, encourage and recommend videos from supporters of conspiracy theories. This is why false news spreads faster than true news. The lie is spreading faster, that is well known, as established in many scientific studies.

The latest and most powerful propaganda machine in history encourages the oldest conspiracy theory in history

For example, the extensive research conducted from 2006 to 2017 on the distribution of true and false news on Twitter shows that lies spread significantly faster, go deeper into society, spread in all categories of information. The survey contains a sample of 126,000 stories, tweeted by three million people and has over 4.5 million tweets. Checking whether they were false or not was done by comparing the findings of six different fact-checking organizations. The results are defeating. Lies that cause fear, nausea, anger spread much faster than real news that inspires confidence, sadness, joy, or anticipation.

At a time when the latest and most powerful propaganda machine in history encourages the oldest conspiracy theory in history – that there is a lurking danger from the Jews, Facebook man Mark Zuckerberg says it is a matter of choice.

That is ludicrous, says Cohen. This is not about limiting anyone’s free speech. This is about giving people, including some of the most reprehensible people on earth, the biggest platform in history to reach a third of the planet. Freedom of speech is not freedom of reach. Sadly, there will always be racists, misogynists, antisemites and child abusers. But I think we could all agree that we should not be giving bigots and pedophiles a free platform to amplify their views and target their victims.

It is easier to recruit the ones who hate

Science shows that those who support and believe in conspiracy theories, those who unite on the basis of hatred, are easier to recruit, mobilize, and it is actually surprising how easily conspiracy belief turn into violence. Because, for a long time now what the great philosopher Voltaire said is still valid: “Those who will make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”

And the social media allow the autocrats to serve them absurdities to billions of people.

Because of all of the above, Baron Cohen has called that it is the time to fundamentally rethink the role of social media, especially in their role of spreading hatred, lies and conspiracies.

“If a neo-Nazi comes goose-stepping into a restaurant and starts threatening other customers and saying he wants kill Jews, would the owner of the restaurant be required to serve him an elegant eight-course meal? Of course not! The restaurant owner has every legal right and a moral obligation to kick the Nazi out, and so do these internet companies.”