According to The Times 34 percent of the population get their “news” from Facebook. To see a Moto Guzzi user group, I had to get on to Farcebook. My goodness it is rubbishy. I don’t get the attraction on Farcebook, but it seems that I am in the minority. Baffled.
I think 34% of the population at least, get unverified opinions from other people and think its news, or other rubbish that has been forwarded on. Complete muppets. Trouble is that the BBC push their own agenda so much these days you can't get a decent cross section of what has actually happened rather than their spin on it. Sends people of to F'book where they think their friends posts or re-posts are actually factual. The whole news gathering/publication world is in a shit state *waits for people to disagree*
Intelligence lets decide whether to look at something or not, don't worry about other people believing it, that is not your responsibility.
On FB there is a chance that some of the info is true, and its also free. Compare that to the Daily Mail. Express or the Mirror. Its rare that their content is not a pushed agenda and you pay cash to read their lies. Facebook for the win!
I use FB to connect with friends and see what they're up to, some of whom pedal their own view of the wider world (which I usually ignore). Otherwise anything else that I see on there is regarded with the scepticism and disdain that it usually deserves. It's not a reliable news service, far from it. View it as such as it still has its merits.
And the brainwashing continues, a huge percent of the readers think that 100% of what The Times prints is true and without bias.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram et al... There are people who will 100% believe everything on there that they see, read and/or are sent. These people are idiots. I have lost count of the number of ridiculous things I have seen posted and re-posted by friends and family - things that can be shown to be utter nonsense if you spend 30 seconds checking. Snopes and HoaxSlayer are always a good place to start checking... I use Facebook for keeping in contact with friends and family, and for various car and bike interest groups. I definitely don't believe everything that gets posted on there - but then I don't believe all the stuff that the news media punts out either. Facebook is a useful tool - nothing more, nothing less. Yes, a lot of garbage is posted on there but amend your settings and you will only see what you want to see, it's not difficult.
It's because they are lazy and it takes no effort or thought to just believe what they see there without questioning it. That, and the fact that they will tend to see things that they agree with and that match their own bias...
I always find it odd when people say they are totally against FB. If you have a modicum or intelligence, it’s a very useful tool. I’ve found people, reconnected with others, found organisations & clubs etc that I’m interested in. I’ve organised events with a big group of people & used it to make people smile or to smile at myself. It’s so easy to check anything “newsworthy” nowadays that if you choose to believe anything you’re not sure about without spending ten seconds googling it, that’s on you.
