Why is it so hard to tear ourselves away from Facebook’s feed? What is it feeding us that makes it so addictive?
The power of artificial intelligence combined with the eternal surveillance of the smartphone made a monster out of Zuck’s social network – but has it divided us more than it united us? How are people using this social network to spread fake news? How is fake news being weaponised to change the way we vote?
All of these questions – and much more – are answered in our special two-part episode, “The Last Days of Reality”.
Part one tells the tale of how we ended up where we are – addicted to Facebook and in the thrall of shadowy firms like Cambridge Analytica. Here’s a taste:
(ANZ listeners only)
And because this isn’t fake news, here’s the links to the stories referenced in the episode:
Buzzfeed reports on Macedonian content farms
https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/how-macedonia-became-a-global-hub-for-pro-trump-misinfo
Facebook exploits ‘insecure’ to sell ads, Darren Davidson, The Australian 1 May 2017
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/digital/facebook-targets-insecure-young-people-to-sell-ads/news-story/a89949ad016eee7d7a61c3c30c909fa6
https://www.forbes.com/sites/paularmstrongtech/2017/05/01/facebook-is-helping-brands-target-teens-who-feel-worthless/
Facebook’s formula for winning with AI
https://www.fastcompany.com/3060570/facebooks-formula-for-winning-at-ai
Experiment shows how to talk women into lower maths scores
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/314/5798/435
May 2017 Observer exposé on links between Cambridge Analytica and Brexit
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy
Cambridge Analytica becomes Emerdata
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/05/02/cambridge_analytica_shutdown/
Jimmy Wales founds WikiTRIBUNE
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jimmy-wales-wikitribune
And, finally, a link to WikiTRIBUNE