How Much of the Internet is Fake?

Undertoad · 12-27-2018, 12:19 AM

Really good take from NY Magazine: How Much of the Internet is Fake?

TL;DR: the nets these days are full of shit. fake people making fake clicks; fake followers/subscribers; fake users; fake metrics about the users; fake content; fake politics.

real people employed to appear to be real viewers/clickers. omigod this is not sustainable, not in the least bit

Clodfobble · 12-27-2018, 05:48 AM

Yep. I'm convinced that digital-age privacy will not be solved by enforcing privacy. It will be solved by flooding the system with bad data.

My YouTube history, for example, is heavily tainted by all the bullshit that the kids watch. For a while they were really into this weird string of Japanese-language songs, and during that timeframe I got two telemarketing calls in Japanese. Maybe it was a coincidence, but either way, the money that firm spent buying my information was a waste. Even at the best of times, my advertising profile is an amalgam of three people, two of whom are insane and have no buying power anyway.

xoxoxoBruce · 12-27-2018, 06:51 AM

Toad is real folks, honest, I've seen him.

fargon · 12-27-2018, 07:18 AM

All Hail the Toad!!!

Griff · 12-27-2018, 08:37 AM

Guess I'll hang out here with my fake friends then.

sexobon · 12-27-2018, 09:30 AM

I've always suspected that tw is a malicious AI.

Clay · 12-27-2018, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Yep. I'm convinced that digital-age privacy will not be solved by enforcing privacy. It will be solved by flooding the system with bad data.

I've thought the same. Is there a good way to automate it? I've considered going through and planting false info throughout my online footprint but it seems like a pain in the ass.

Flint · 12-27-2018, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Yep. I'm convinced that digital-age privacy will not be solved by enforcing privacy. It will be solved by flooding the system with bad data.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clay

I've thought the same. Is there a good way to automate it? I've considered going through and planting false info throughout my online footprint but it seems like a pain in the ass.

You're gonna need a pretty big tinfoil hat to protect yourself from all the "smart" devices cross-referencing your conversations, biometric and face-recognition based logins, and usage patterns.

There is no privacy-- the time to plan for privacy was in science fiction books written fifty years ago.

Clodfobble · 12-27-2018, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flint

You're gonna need a pretty big tinfoil hat to protect yourself from all the "smart" devices cross-referencing your conversations, biometric and face-recognition based logins, and usage patterns.

Sure--but if a company can sell fake users to a corporation, who's to say I couldn't hire a similar company (or better yet, utilize a free open-source app created by anarchists for just this purpose) to pepper my conversations, logins, and usage with fake conversations, logins, and usage?

If you're suggesting that Amazon, Google, and Netflix will form an alliance to pool their data and deduce that since I bought A, B, C, searched for C, D, E, and watched C, F, G, then the "real me" must truly be interested in C... I'd still maintain that it's just a question of noise volume--with enough noise there is no meaningful signal. And in the end, it's not about the reliability of their data anyway, it's about whether other entities trust them enough to pay for it. Like UT said, it's not sustainable, and I personally think we've already hit the "trust" tipping point.

Flint · 12-27-2018, 05:19 PM

Are we going to pretend that anything produced by consumer capitalism needs to make sense in order to continue existing, or that any amount of reasonable concern can stop make-believe things from being the central assumption of the systems embedded in our schizophrenic culture?

lumberjim · 12-27-2018, 07:25 PM

I had a customer email me her electric bill in pdf format as proof of residence one day last month. The other day, My Google assistant alerted me that I have a bill due in 2 days. When I clicked the alert, it took me to her email of her bill. Nothing in the actual email about the due date. Just the attached pdf.

She had a payment due in 2 days. In case you doubted that Google reads your email.

glatt · 12-27-2018, 07:53 PM

Facebook and Instagram think I want to buy hockey goalie pads. They are very excited to send me ads about them.

tw · 12-27-2018, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Toad is real folks, honest, I've seen him.

Nonsense. Have you ever seen him croak?

tw · 12-27-2018, 08:25 PM

'Who' never matters. In fact 'who' says little about honesty. Only relevant are facts that must always have reasons why and with numbers. Otherwise nobody can confirm that statement.

A famous scam that almost everybody believed: smoke cigarettes to increase health. No facts said why. It was the first thing told. So an overwhelming majority knew it was true. Scams are that easily promoted because so many forget what is always required to know something.

Does not matter how honest a statement. If it does not provide perspective in those reasons why, then it is a lie.

We all saw this with Saddam's WMDs. It was clearly a lie. Numbers repeatedly said those could not exist. Every WMD claim came without the required reasons why and without numbers.

Lies are soundbytes. Does not matter is accurate or not. Soundbytes never provide perspective that must always say why a fact is believable and can be confirmed.

Problem was never the internet. The problem has always existed. So many are so emotional as to not do what is required to be logical. Logical means supporting facts with numbers.

Extremists liberals and conservative do not know how to do that. Some are so emotional (illogical) as to also be KKK, Nazi, or White Supremacist supporters. They believe only what they were ordered to believe by their political biases. Not by concepts we were all taught even in school science. That is why propaganda and 'fake news' works. It is not the internet. Problem is found inside so many minds.

tw · 12-27-2018, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sexobon

I've always suspected that tw is a malicious AI.

I am Google's greatest creation. Invest in my father.

12-27-2018, 12:19 AM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	How Much of the Internet is Fake? Really good take from NY Magazine: How Much of the Internet is Fake? TL;DR: the nets these days are full of shit. fake people making fake clicks; fake followers/subscribers; fake users; fake metrics about the users; fake content; fake politics. real people employed to appear to be real viewers/clickers. omigod this is not sustainable, not in the least bit

12-27-2018, 05:48 AM	#2
Clodfobble UNDER CONDITIONAL MITIGATION Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 20,012	Yep. I'm convinced that digital-age privacy will not be solved by enforcing privacy. It will be solved by flooding the system with bad data. My YouTube history, for example, is heavily tainted by all the bullshit that the kids watch. For a while they were really into this weird string of Japanese-language songs, and during that timeframe I got two telemarketing calls in Japanese. Maybe it was a coincidence, but either way, the money that firm spent buying my information was a waste. Even at the best of times, my advertising profile is an amalgam of three people, two of whom are insane and have no buying power anyway. __________________ My book My other book My spirit animal

12-27-2018, 06:51 AM	#3
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Toad is real folks, honest, I've seen him. __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

12-27-2018, 07:18 AM	#4
fargon Person who doesn't update the user title Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: La Crosse, WI Posts: 8,924	All Hail the Toad!!! __________________ Annoy the ones that ignore you!!! I live a blessed life I Love my Country, I Fear the Government!!! Heavily medicated for the good of mankind.

12-27-2018, 08:37 AM	#5
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Guess I'll hang out here with my fake friends then. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

12-27-2018, 09:30 AM	#6
sexobon I love it when a plan comes together. Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 9,793	I've always suspected that tw is a malicious AI.

12-27-2018, 05:19 PM	#10
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Are we going to pretend that anything produced by consumer capitalism needs to make sense in order to continue existing, or that any amount of reasonable concern can stop make-believe things from being the central assumption of the systems embedded in our schizophrenic culture? __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

12-27-2018, 07:25 PM	#11
lumberjim I can hear my ears Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 25,571	I had a customer email me her electric bill in pdf format as proof of residence one day last month. The other day, My Google assistant alerted me that I have a bill due in 2 days. When I clicked the alert, it took me to her email of her bill. Nothing in the actual email about the due date. Just the attached pdf. She had a payment due in 2 days. In case you doubted that Google reads your email. __________________ This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality Embrace this moment, remember We are eternal, all this pain is an illusion ~MJKeenan

12-27-2018, 07:53 PM	#12
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Facebook and Instagram think I want to buy hockey goalie pads. They are very excited to send me ads about them.

12-27-2018, 08:25 PM	#14
tw Read? I only know how to write. Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 11,933	'Who' never matters. In fact 'who' says little about honesty. Only relevant are facts that must always have reasons why and with numbers. Otherwise nobody can confirm that statement. A famous scam that almost everybody believed: smoke cigarettes to increase health. No facts said why. It was the first thing told. So an overwhelming majority knew it was true. Scams are that easily promoted because so many forget what is always required to know something. Does not matter how honest a statement. If it does not provide perspective in those reasons why, then it is a lie. We all saw this with Saddam's WMDs. It was clearly a lie. Numbers repeatedly said those could not exist. Every WMD claim came without the required reasons why and without numbers. Lies are soundbytes. Does not matter is accurate or not. Soundbytes never provide perspective that must always say why a fact is believable and can be confirmed. Problem was never the internet. The problem has always existed. So many are so emotional as to not do what is required to be logical. Logical means supporting facts with numbers. Extremists liberals and conservative do not know how to do that. Some are so emotional (illogical) as to also be KKK, Nazi, or White Supremacist supporters. They believe only what they were ordered to believe by their political biases. Not by concepts we were all taught even in school science. That is why propaganda and 'fake news' works. It is not the internet. Problem is found inside so many minds.

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