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Thank you for your work and your gift link. It is always a delight to read you.

Some facts I think u should know! Alex Karp & Peter Thiel wrote a paper at Stanford on how to get people to commit atrocities in facilitated environments! I can't think of a more facilitating environment than social media! Karp's dissertation: How to use jargon to get people to commit atrocities!

It’s a major challenge certainly. We have plenty of sheep in the UK who will believe pretty much anything put in front of them - that said many are too lazy (or believe the conspiracy theories) so don’t turn out to vote….Liebour here in the UK got in with just over 30% of the popular vote…..

a close up of a cartoon sheep with big eyes making a face .ALT: a close up of a cartoon sheep with big eyes making a face .media.tenor.com

In one word, the answer is NO

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ArticleExcerpt “Freedom of speech also means the right to receive information…social-media companies operate behind a curtain. We don’t know if they are promoting or suppressing…points of view, curbing or encouraging…political campaigns Above all, we don’t know who is paying for misinformation”

So why can't these social medua moguls accept reasonable regulation? Greed, vanity, cowardice, power hunger.

Yes, we CAN stop them. It's just a matter of public will. And history, unfortunately, teaches that it takes many years of abject subjugation and suffering before that happens.

a close up of a cartoon character wearing a green hat and mustache .ALT: a close up of a cartoon character wearing a green hat and mustache .media.tenor.com

Sure woulda been nice to have articles about stopping corrupt, lying, oligarchs before the election.

What's the purpose of a gift article when I have to register to read it?

I think they can be reigned in but the EU needs to work with others like CA some US states along with Latin America. Pretty much have to forget the USA in the interim, they will moan groan and bully on behalf of the Tech crowd.

As per usual, you have your finger right on it. Thanks again for your work. KK was on dogshirt tv discussing something similar the other day. I am glad you all are on top of it.

No, they don’t. Let’s hear what scientists know and think about this huge problem and what can be done about it.

Ow - just hit the paywall 😕

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Loved seeing @anneapplebaum.bsky.social on #DeadlineWhitehouse … Do you think there is more to tech billionaires and Trump/Vance Greenland ambitions?

This is an excellent piece. My only concern is that it may overemphasize the role of transparency & digital literacy. Don’t get me wrong—these are vital, but are meaningless in the absence of platform accountability. There is no internet freedom w/o responsibility. contentcafe.org.au/articles-sto...

EU and UK and world, ban Twitter/Swastika before you are also doomed. Signed, America

There is only one power for stopping Musk. Yup, China. EU is an spectator only.

American social media spreading Russian disinformation and propaganda, what a world we live in.

The only way to stop the influence of (the algorithms of) social media companies is to stop them from generating income from advertising. With a simple subscription scheme, plus interoperability requirements, social media can stop being feudal cash and power generators.

'Clear and present danger' to democracy - from the US of all places!

Yeah easily, oh wait #CDU #CSU #SPD

At least now we are more aware of what are they doing than ever

The EU better address the threat of people like Musk, or they will become just like Merikkka.

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Citizens United and others alike must be reversed. The bifurcation of wealth will only amplify this problem.

Of course. It is easy to ban twitter if they want to.

Boycott everything he is about. Ban sales of Tesla’s

Gift link www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

Europe’s Elon Musk ProblemHe and other tech oligarchs are making it impossible to conduct free and fair elections anywhere.www.theatlantic.com

Shared on LinkedIn. Thank you!

Thank you, Anne Applebaum, very informative and important read. Your reporting is excellent.

Honestly we can all stop Elon. Just get off his platforms. Just stop. Delete your profile. Same with all Meta platforms.

Open up the algorithms

Tell me why EU paid regulators and what their job was?

Great article.

Musk is a KETAMINE addict!

There needs to be a tremendous more regulation on social media. It's ridiculous how powerful the owners have become.

Great article! And what do you think of this? Not pretty, but effective. I fear regulation won't be enough, IF it's coming. It already isn't, Fb is still full of fake news and bots. youtu.be/sgHHRVH0NFo

How to Fight (and Win) an Information War | Peter Pomerantsev | TEDYouTube video by TEDyoutu.be

Has the OG Oligarchy (Federalist Society) met their match in the Broligarchs? www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Broligarchs Are Trying to Have Their WayThe antidemocratic politics of having it allwww.theatlantic.com

I sure hope so. I read The Chaos Machine, and Zuckerberg is bad enough but you add this nazi maniac into the mix and... JFC. Can you please let the Europeans know that it is simply that Trump is insane so they should act accordingly. But whatever you do, don't baby him.

Your articles and books are consistently valuable and insightful, thank you for your great writing!

'Social' media is not the correct name is it? Truly, is it Propaganda Media?

I dont have a big following on Instagram and yet somehow when I wrote Gulf of Mexico on a number of Margie Q's posts I got shut down on Insta. Hmmmmmm

Important piece. This is one of those fork-in-the-road moments that will change the world, whether we notice or not. And a lot of powerful forces have their thumbs on the scale for not noticing.

I am sovereign when forming my own political opinions, so yes.

Did they ever? Regrettably the US has an almost total monopoly (a full set with Tiktok?) on data. The EU needs to work at dumping US tech. Windows, Office, Google & Gmail etc as that is where it starts. Everything else is effectively built on top. Then regulate the hell out of SM companies.

Also worth noting that these platforms are absolutely flooded with bot accounts to fill comments sections with propaganda and make unpopular ideas seem vastly more popular than they are. The companies themselves are getting in on the game to create their own AI bots to further blur reality.

WELL, WE DON'T! And evidence is beginning to suggest that WE DIDN'T.

should. Now

People complaining about X mostly continue to use X...

It’s not like this is new, the abhorrent Murdoch family has been interfering in elections for decades.

(Nous devons.)

KUDOS Anne Applebaum Your delivery is perfection! Even, factual, smoothly delivered. i know I can trust what you say and everything you write. Atlantic subscriber. Very low income senior who recognizes a great value. Also supporting Independent Media on Youtube. WE the MAJORITY got THIS

As for the U.S., it seems that the original justification for Section 230 of the CDA has lost much of its force for social media platforms. The use of algorithms means that they have long since ceased to be neutral intermediaries; they control what messages users see or don't see.

Thanks for sharing your article. It's a good way to resist the gangsters who rule the United States.

Good piece, as usual. Important to follow upcoming EU policy decisions on this.

Musk owns the company, Tripp-Lite UPS, that is hardwired into most vote tabulating machines in the US. Probably overseas as well. Just saying.

As long as they spread the misinformation for free but the articles that discuss the problem are behind paywall I would say democracies are doomed…

Authoritarians have always understood the power of information better than democrats I wonder how much Trump/Musk social media strategy is informed by Russia successes (& otherwise) in the information war Hard to see Musk (and X) these days as anything other than MAGA’s chief information warrior

Should U.K., France, and Germany get together to shoot down Starlink?

Points to the Atlantic piece regarding how poorly adept terms left and right are to understand our current quagmire

Trumpism is very familiar to Europeans www.economist.com/united-state... from The Economist

Trumpism is very familiar to EuropeansWhat Donald Trump has in common with Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilderswww.economist.com

Just ban X that’s a start.

regulating social media might be a start

Nope

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They should request Musk be sent over for investigation and prosecution

Kind of what the news media has always done, being as it's owned by the wealthy. Some of us hoped that things-internet would not have to devolve into such a state.

Europe can stop Musk or break his ambitions when we are united and don‘t dare to fight off Trump‘s demands. Musk will try to use his acquired influence on his trophy or bounty Trump in order to get rid of EU regulations!

Is not just algorithms, bots are also part of the problem that we need to tackle.

Best to just cancel Twitter etc and then the Nerd Reich loses some of its influence.

Glad you’re posting here too😍

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I keep thinking how just some data privacy law & antitrust enforcement alone could have averted what’s happened to us here in 🇺🇸. Bought us some time to work on regulation of algorithms, profit model, transparency, etc which are more complex. None of this had to happen. Our gov left us sitting ducks.

As an American I’ve had all my hope on the Europeans to regulate these platforms since my government will not. States can do some patchy regulation but will there be enforcement? Will SCOTUS even allow it? It’s too late for us but not other western democracies. Please avert global crisis 🇪🇺🇨🇦🇦🇺🙏🏻

Over 50% of voter-aged adults lack the ability to question and filter what is true and what is not true and even fewer have the ability to assess the consequences of the policy choices they are being offered. The electorate is being manipulated.

They have to try. Ban Musk, X, Zuckerberg, Meta. They’re danger to democracy.