How Do I Invite Someone to My Facebook Group Again
For years, rumors have circulated around the net almost the existence, and employ, of paid protestors. In the wake of anti-constabulary brutality demonstrations, detractors have claimed that the protestors involved in the global Black Lives Matter movement are hired hands and, in June 2020, these claims spread like wildfire on social media due in part to the website ProtestJobs.com. While folks on Facebook went wild with this "discovery," information technology'south abundantly clear that ProtestJobs.com is a satirical site.
A quick glance at the services the site offers — for $99 you can mock-request an "EZ-Anarchism," which, among other things, includes "5-25 masked rioters guaranteed to cause havoc and confusion" — establishes that satire in seconds. Not to mention, it boasts a very explicit disclaimer — "Existent: 100,000+ Americans are dead. Faux: This website." Jean le Roux, a research associate and fact checker, told BuzzFeed News that "It's a very fine line between disinformation and an actual, established literary device." That is, in a world where fact is frequently decried equally fake news, a satirical website is now being held upwardly by protest opponents every bit "proof" of the illegitimacy of said protests. It's all but very, very dystopian — perchance fifty-fifty more so than George Orwell imagined.
The Dangers of Social Media Echo Chambers
In 2018, BuzzFeed News published an commodity titled "How Facebook Groups Are Being Exploited To Spread Misinformation, Plan Harassment, And Radicalize People" — and the title says it all. In the lead upward to the 2020 Presidential Election, Facebook and other social media sites that don't regulate the spread of misinformation came under heavy attack.
In essence, these sorts of sites not only make information technology difficult for users to differentiate between imitation news and facts, but Facebook Groups, much like old-school internet forums, help conspiracies spread like wildfire and, in some cases, radicalize believers. We all call up the "Plandemic" conspiracy theorists — people who called the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax and spread misinformation about the incredibly serious (and incredibly real) public wellness threat.
According to BuzzFeed'southward investigation, "[Westward]hile Facebook groups may offer a positive feel for millions of people around the earth, they accept also become a global honeypot of spam, fake news, conspiracies, health misinformation, harassment, hacking, trolling, scams and other threats to users." In putting an emphasis on Groups, Facebook is essentially reinforcing the like-minded chimera mentality, keeping users locked in social media echo chambers, which, at their very worst, are "fueled by a torrent of fake news and extremism" (via Mon Note).
To make matters more than puzzling, Crowds on Need, an American publicity firm, has made waves by hiring actors to "staff" events. While the house was founded around the thought of giving folks the "celebrity feel" — say, if yous desire a paparazzi-style crowd at the airdrome to make you look more than of import — the site now claims to get across just PR stunts, suggesting customers utilize the firm to bolster numbers at "protests, rallies…[and] political events."
This, of class, feeds into the questionable practice of "astroturfing," in which sponsors or organizations mask their intent by making it seem as though their bulletin has originated from grassroots efforts. "[The commercialization of the procedure of hiring crowds] just contributes to the air of unreality that exists in this day and historic period with essentially not being able to believe your ain optics or ears," California-based political consultant Garry S told the Los Angeles Times in 2018. "I don't think it's particularly good for you. But it probably inevitably was going to come to this."
"No i can pay for someone's lived experience." — Ana Maria Archila
Unfortunately, this kind of misinformation isn't cordoned off in a dark corner of the internet. In 2018, Brett Kavanaugh'southward appointment to the U.Southward. Supreme Court was i of the most contentious in history, compelling many of his detractors to protest. Trump tweeted about the protestors, digging his heels into the conspiracy theory that the protestors had been paid by wealthy liberal donors, including George Soros.
"The paid D.C. protestors are now set up to REALLY protestation because they haven't gotten their checks," Trump tweeted. "[I]northward other words, they weren't paid! Screamers in Congress, and outside, were far too obvious — less professional than predictable by those paying (or not paying) the bills!" But, every bit reported past Politico, Ana Maria Archila, a cocky-identified sexual set on survivor who confronted a Republican senator, wrote in a statement that "No ane tin pay for someone's lived experiences… The pain, the trauma, and the rage that I expressed when I spoke with Senator Jeff Fleck in an lift were my own, and I held information technology for more than 30 years to protect the people I honey from it."
In other words, the one-time President'due south unfounded claims were yet another instance of misinformation, and, given his immense platform, his attempt to discredit Americans who were concerned most Kavanaugh's past and lack of accountability was all the more than unsafe. Normalizing conspiracy theories and spreading misinformation on a national stage only emboldens others to exercise so and clouds the truth from Americans who just want the who, what, where, when and why of current events.
All of this to say, while firms like Crowds on Need practise be to swell crowd sizes, jumping to conclusions every time in that location is a protest or rally isn't helpful. While the ascent of social media has made it easy to spread information and jump on trends, we should all practice our part to be equally diligent equally possible — to confront the fact check earlier tumbling downwards the rabbit pigsty.
Source: https://www.ask.com/culture/paid-protestors-investigated?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740004%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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