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Hate Speech and Social Media Comments

Forestwood

Lately, you and I have been chatting about comments on blog posts and I realized I have been duped.

Duped into thinking that readers are mostly good-hearted folks whose comments add something to the conversation.

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Blog comments at StPA range from kind messages of thanks, or information, to good-natured friendly banter and jibes, (yes, M-R, I am looking at you!). However, in ten years of blogging, I’ve never experienced abusive, slanderous language or worse still, threats of lynching in my comments.

This is the stuff of high school novels and bygone times from troubled areas, not something in my little sub-tropical state floating in the Southern Pacific Ocean.

It seems it’s a different reality for some people.

Whilst listening to a FB live stream of a state politician giving a Covid update – who happened to be female, I glanced at the comments, posted thereunder.

I was actually disgusted by the nature of many of the comments. Many, many of them. In particular, a comment from someone named Kevin.

hate messages
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com

A dodgy or even derogatory comment from someone with an opposing political ideology would not be that surprising, given it was a politician speaking, but a serious threat, hate speech and people laughing and “liking” that hate speech was shocking. Not once, but twice, with others chiming in.

Disgusting. Immoral.

I can only imagine what it would feel like to read and stomach that kind of rubbish, day after day – even if you have a P.A to do that for you.

I may dislike certain politicians, but I could never even contemplate how I would murder them! I won’t repeat what this offender wrote, but it shocked me beyond belief.

Needless to say, I reported ‘Kevin’s’ shocking comment to FB – (to a possible complaint bot). I say bot because surely no human could post a message such as this, in reply : –

Great! – if threats of lynching and death, meet the community standard you uphold, FB – I want nothing more to do with you.

But I was curious about Kevin. So I looked him up:

Kevin – apparently- hails from Ontario and has, little if any, connection to my sub-tropical corner of the universe. Assuming this is just a sh_t stirrer/potential troll it’s, completely irrelevant to matters here. An impotent person/bot thousands of miles away condemning one of our female politicians in a cruel, disgusting way. That would be like me, an Aussie, making a similar comment on a thread of a male Governor in South Carolina, or perhaps, yes, Ontario.

As I say, completely irrelevant.

But I have now learnt a thing or two about FB and the standards it upholds. And I won’t forget that.

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Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

127 thoughts on “Hate Speech and Social Media Comments”

  1. Oh, I LOVE people realizing what a piece of merde is Facebook – sorry, Meta. (?)
    I’ve never had an account, and I do understand that most people use it to keep family members up-to-date; but I’ve never been tempted as I’ve been reading negative things about it since a very short time after its commencement. It’s the same with Twitter, of course, Amanda; and every other social networking software: there are those who spend most of their lives working out how to spread ordure, basically.

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    1. As usual, your observations are accurate. I knew Twitter was full of rants, but disgusting hate message I have so far been lucky to avoid. I must have been lucky to avoid them so far, but more concerning to me that they promoted this hate speech by deeming it to be within standards. It makes me wonder what they would consider a breach of standards?

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      3. Well noticed, m’dear ! – these days one has little choice of landing while searching: it’s bloody DONE FOR US by the algorithms of which you speak. Makes me furious !

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  2. I only use facebook to keep in touch with my family and avoid any other kind of content found there. Twitter is a different matter and I have tried to report so many times tweets that are hateful, abusive, threatening and found the process impossible. I don’t think I’ve managed to get any of those tweets down. It’s frightning to see how some people have no issue with spewing hate for a few pennies and not bother about the consequences. The UK is full of them.

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    1. Oh dear, it is not a good record for social media nor the populace. If a large organization/s can not be held to account, it sends a powerful message that normalizes this kind of behaviour to the general public who in turn repeat it again and again. Truly awful that they appear to have no conscience.

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      1. It’s a massive problem. Too much information, everyone has a voice but people are lazy, small minded and easily controlled. That’s why there’s so many bots, because it’s worth it.

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      2. You have a way of clarifying things, Sofia. It is about control, and influence, which leads to money. The public is getting less and less aware and analytical. Or perhaps still analytical but not in a deep, big picture way.

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      3. I can see a generalised lack of engagement in politics here. Men are just interested in football and women are kept in a pink state of shopping as a hobby. With a society like this it’s easy to understand how Boris Johnson gets to be PM.

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      4. Oh dear! It is sad when both men and women are disenchanted with politics and see it as unimportant, unworthy of their attention. The offerings of representatives and their moral compasses have contributed to this, no doubt. In Scotland, I imagine there is also a level of disinterest due to what some consider English domination perhaps?
        I hear that apathetic complaint – “oh both sides of politics don’t offer me anything. They are all scum.” here too. If you as a voter, don’t like what they are doing, why not get involved and change it! Voting here is compulsory so you get lots of donkey/informal voting.

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      5. In Scotland we are a bit better in terms of engagement, but still have a lot of women brainwashed into thinking politics are boring. The wish for independence makes people a bit more involved.

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  3. I have no idea how politicians etc cope with all the verbal abuse out there. The reply from FB just shows how unregulated a site this is and that they have zero concern about any standards on its platform. Personally I never signed up and as the years go one even less inclined to change my mind. An interesting post, Amanda. I still feel it is a different world here on WP although recently there have been issues with people copying my work and posting as their own whilst the WordPress happiness engineers say they are unable to help in any way!

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    1. I don’t think you are missing much not being on FB. I used to engage them a lot to talk to friends and manage groups for my art and hobbies but I am questioning their worth.
      The re-blogging tsunami covers a huge area of WordPress content. Perhaps the engineers should remove the re-blog function all together, or allow only a link no the whole post. I suppose the folks that reblog without adding anything of their own could still just copy and paste our content. It is happening more and more frequently to me as well, Annika. Do you block the site who copies/steals your content?

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      1. I’ve taken away all the reblog and press it buttons etc but they still get through. I had no idea I could block sites from my blog – I’ll take a look at that suggestion. I’m sorry you’re having the same problems. Good to chat here, Amanda.

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      2. Do indeed block the site if you feel they have stolen your content as it is likely they may do it again.
        I don’t the value of re-blogs anyway. It doesn’t seem to offer the original author very much.

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  4. Social media is like that. Anything can provoke them to use hate speech, obnoxious language and filthy remarks

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      3. They are, I think trying to fit in with the crowd they move in. Otherwise, there’s no logic to their actions.

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  5. And this is exactly why I left FB, maybe three years ago. And do you know what? Aside from all the ‘Fake noos’ and hate speech propagated, I realise that I have plenty of other ways to communicate with those I care about, and I don’t miss it one little bit. Meanwhile, back in the UK, our increasingly Trump-look-alike PM is refusing to apologise for a statement he made about the Leader of the Opposition (shown long before he gave it the oxygen of publicity to be false) which resulted in Starmer being mobbed and obliged to take refuge in a police van, Thank God my own MP, who is a Tory, and who doesn’t normally put his head above the parapet has condemned his leader. Trolls are one thing. Public figures promulgating hate is quite another. I’m beyond angry – and yes, scared.

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    1. Oh, Margaret what a truly awful world the social media dark side is. As I mentioned to another reader, if large organizations permit such disgusting comments and leaders refuse to condemn what amounts to a death threat, then such remarks became part of what is seen as acceptable in society. In what world would stating how you plan to would murder someone and put it in writing, be socially acceptable? I thought it was a crime up til recently.

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      1. I don’t know how we can scramble back from the awful place we seem to be in. The mild-mannered majority seem to go increasingly unheard .

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    2. I, too, am scared at what is happening to our country. I looked across at the USA and saw what Trump and his supporters there were getting away with and though “How awful, thank goodness that could never happen here”. But then along came Boris Johnson, the mini-Trump with the capacity to lie and cheat his way through life and still find supporters, and I find we have people just like them, right here in the UK. Like you, I’m beyond angry.

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      1. It’s devastating, isn’t it? Realistically, this isn’t a huge number of people. But the reach their views have is astonishing and worrying. I never expected to see this here. I thought that on the whole, we did moderation and good sense.

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      2. We never expected it – no, Margaret. The internet has made various national and cultural differences even smaller and conversely, voices that were once insignificant in our community – such as a crazed ultra radical opinionated stirrer – now has a big voice. The public gets not only to hear this more often, but pays more attention to a negative report, than to a positive feel good story, don’t they? Unfortunately, our brains are geared that way.
        These “nefarions,” (if I can use a made up word to generically describe and label them), take full advantage of that.

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    1. There was mention of these protesters in this same thread as I encountered this ugly person, Peggy. I am sure though, these protesters are far too entitled and wingey to last up there without a meal for too long. Hopefully they will get so hungry they will head to the nearest servo for a chiko roll.

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  7. Great topic of discussion, Amanda. Hate speech is immoral, and it can be vicious, harmful and a form of bullying. There’s a fine line between speaking your mind aka freedom of speech, and defining hate speech. We are all entitled to our own opinions and expressing these opinions even if it isn’t a popular opinion. I think nothing is ever really ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, rather we can learn from all sides.

    I think where it crosses the line is when the opinion attacks someone personally, which sounds like the comments you read. An example I was thinking of would be a peaceful protest for a cause versus a protest for a cause and the protestors deliberately vandalize everything in sight.

    Sometimes people say something online but they wouldn’t have the guts to say it to you face-to-face in real life. They think they can get away with attacking others online, and that really is just sad – and the sad reality of what social media can do.

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    1. No doubt you are right about the person who wrote that disgusting comment on the facebook live stream, Mabel and about the sad reality of social media. Even more surprising is that the female politician wasn’t even saying anything controversial at the time. Just giving an update of Covid numbers. I think the fact that he was located overseas speaks volume about his behaviour and intentions. Someone impotent seeking to get attention and make a mark, even if it is done in a way that hurts others. That appears to give a sense of empowerment to the person making these foul comments. It sickens me to think that people are so damaged that they think this is the way to feel empowered.
      Lodging a protest or counter-argument doesn’t have to be done negatively, as you pointed out. In reality, the attention derived from logical argument lasts longer than a knee-jerk horrified reaction, which only lasts as long as a person reads those awful words. They move on with their lives pretty soon. The reason why I felt compelled to write about it was also the reaction of FB as a monitor of such comments. Perhaps the FBots seem to not be able to distinguish between a threat or a valid comment if it doesn’t contain keywords? Perhaps “Kevin” knew this and was careful with his words? I don’t know. Kevin is not relevant, just merely the trigger for me examining the attitudes and activities of META – and now reducing my activities with them as much as I can do so. Moving to other platforms would be an effective way for us to protest in a morally sound way.
      I am reminded of participating in a street protesting against the misogyny rampant in parliament house regarding the Brittany Higgins case. It was my first street march, and we all acted in a civil way. It was orderly and well conducted, and we got our voice across without deriding or threatening any specific person.

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      1. That’s a very interesting way to put it, ‘gaining attention’ to ‘feel empowered’ because of making hurtful comments. You do wonder where they are coming from and why. Agree with you that people generally are horrified by these things in the moment – and the next moment they would have moved on.

        Facebook/META is a minefield and it doesn’t surprise me that the bots are hard at work. It’s worth thinking about what role is Facebook/META and social media platforms in all of these, such as thinking about how responsible should they be for incidents like these. It would be great if there could be more policing of such behaviour however at times there’s only so much they can do – or want to do perhaps.

        Peaceful protests like the one you were a part is a good way to raise awareness of important things we should think about. Here in Melbourne there’s a protest pretty much every other weekend in the CBD. They’ve been mainly peaceful, thankfully.

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      2. If only the policing of social media would keep up with the level of aberrant behaviour. I am not sure if it is possible as it takes so long to legislate against this complex issue. And how to control it. How and who would enforce it? It is much easier if every individual takes responsibility for their words and action posted on social media.
        The weekly protests in Melbourne, Mabel: I am curious. Are they always about the same thing: Mandates and covid restrictions?

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      3. Policing on social media is something very tricky given that it transcends borders. It’s something that will probably come up more and more in the future.

        Many of the weekly protests in Melbourne are mostly about mandates and restrictions. When there are bigger protests (usually around the full moons), you see people joining in protesting about anything and everything, such as refugee rights and equal rights for all.

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      5. I don’t think people deliberately choose the full moon to protest. Rather it seems there’s a kind of energy in the air around the full moon that makes people more emotional and reactive – and that’s reflected in what you read in the news too.

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      6. The night of the Full Moon is also reflected in geriatric/dementia and mental health wards and admissions.
        There is an associated spike in the number of patients being admitted to hospital. Something I learnt many years ago when training as a Nurse.
        It is curious how the phases of the Moon could affect our mood.

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      7. That is interesting, the full moon having an impact on mental health wards admissions, and you’ve seen that previously as a nurse. I remember when I worked in a call centre, very emotional people tended to call up during the full moon. Very interesting.

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      8. More anecdotal evidence of how the moon’s phases affects our emotions, possibly via our hormone levels. It is also a well known fact that the full moon can initiate the onset of a female menstrual cycle!

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    1. Exactly why I was compelled to write about it, Anne. I suspect that there are so many complaints, a bot is used to handle them and if the threat doesn’t contain certain keywords, it is dismissed. No matter the disgusting context. Shameful.

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  9. Good for you Amanda, that is unbelievable about FB. I still can’t link my blog to my FB page since being hacked because that goes against community standards! It must just be robots who decide and not real people

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    1. How ridiculous, Alison! This shows the priorities of the mega social media giant. A.I. decide what is right for us and even though something is morally wrong – they have no ability to detect or eliminate it. And where does this end? The normalization of aberrant behaviour? A change in moral attitudes about right and wrong? Shameful that a powerful organization that could do so much good chooses clicks ahead of virtues.

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      1. Yes I know it’s so frustrating, so I basically have a page with not much on it. I could copy and paste my blogs I suppose

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      3. True enough, actually I’m quite happy with WP. I can’t see why anyone would bother with Twitter. I post photos on Instagram but mainly for family and friends. That got quite out of hand with following too many people and too many followers. Too much work 😬

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      4. When play becomes too much like work, it is time to reassess. My blog encroaches on my time when answering comments, however for me that is still a joy. I hope it will continue to be so.

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  10. There are no “standards” on Facebook. Unless it is a nice reply or supports something positive. I do have my photography page on there for marketing, but I know of these things you speak. It’s horrendous. Not too long ago my comment “good” and “amen” were taken down from a live stream sermon post for – I got the exact same message as you. It’s very disturbing.

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    1. What? That is so crazy! This is A.I at its worst and although I don’t know the exact context of what you mention, it is disturbing that there is no human filter involved in discerning a moral code. Computers do not have a moral compass, do they?

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  11. FB has no accountability, yet censors what we can read. A number of left wing posters are being penalised, and, as Jonathan Cook points out in his blog – https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2022-01-22/too-late-goodbye/ – the algorithms are being used to limit the spread of posts which do not follow the mainstream message. In the meantime, it bombards us with ‘informative’ Covid messages and allows hate speech in the real sense of the word to flourish.
    One Coilin Macdomhnail put up a post gloating in the murder of the M.P. for Southend – the gloating seemingly justified by the fact that the M.P. voted to leave the EU – in the most unpleasant terms, but on reporting it I had the message that the post doid not breach their standards! Well, what the blazes does, then!
    Johnson’s comment to Starmer concerned where the buck stops in any organisation…and that is at the top. The Levitt report made clear the failings both of the police forces involved and the Crown Prosecution Service, which he headed at the time, and found that action could have been taken…but was not. I saw the video of the josting of Starmer, and heard him called traitor and asked about the Assange case as well as him being called a protector of pedophiles – which could have included his lack of action on the child abuse cases of, for example, Rotheram as well as the Saville case. .

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    1. I am not familiar with the Starmer case but I do appreciate the link to Jonathan Swift, Helen. I also agree the algorithms are being used to limit the spread of posts which do not follow the mainstream message.
      It is hard to fathom just what does constitute breaches of community standards for Meta. FB and other social media seemingly prefer clicks on sadistic comments over respectful dialogue. The examples of hate speech pushing beyond the boundaries of socially acceptable content aren’t the first and won’t be the last.
      The delay in taking action on livestreaming the Christchurch massacre was another disgusting example of a preference of views/clicks/buzz/attention/news over dignity, respect and decency. Because the internet revolution is a relatively new phenomenon, regulations and authorities have little power to act and are not keeping up legislatively.
      The more algorithms push the boundaries of morality, the more this aberrant behaviour becomes normalized and acceptable. This is not freedom of the press, but the freedom to be cruel, to be nihilistic and to hurt others. Society and community cannot function well if this is an acceptable standard.
      Instead, we can be vigilant for such nefarious intentions and preserve our connections with what independent news sources are possible. Rejecting FB or developing ways to use their own algorithms against them, for good, not evil. It is starting to feel like a propaganda war, isn’t it?

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      1. Thank you for your thoughtful and thought provoking reply.
        It seems to me that the acceptance of cruelty and sheer nastiness of FB is yet another example of the deliberate division of society. We are encouraged to hate those with whom we disagree, to see them as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’ rather than using our own experience where we see people with whom we disagree as people with another point of view, with whom we can discuss.

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      2. Indeed, Helen, a position of being a “hater” has become legitimised. I see also that it is fuelling a dichotomous black or white point of view – the thinking that everything, or everyone, who disagrees with the way we think or feel, is deemed bad and to be reviled. There are shades of grey in most things, and the shades of grey is an area where it may be possible to start to find some common ground between oppositional perspectives.

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  12. Amanda, thanks for sharing. The use of labels, name-calling and insults are purposeful tools when the argument is weak. They are shortcuts by users for people who can be convinced that something should be ignored because of the label. Anything that uses Nazism, Apartheid, or Slavery as descriptors better be talking about a pretty heinous act. Very often, the surrounding comments that include such words can be ignored. The same is true when folks call the other person “stupid” or “loser.” To me, these accusations are more reflective of the speaker not the target, and also can be ignored. I usually leave those comments in as they aid my argument, but once in awhile I will exclude them if they are particularly nasty covering for inane remarks. Keith

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    1. I can see your point in leaving those sorts of comments stand, unanswered, Keith. They can be powerful reinforcers of narrow-minded attititudes which thinking readers could reflect upon, if they so chose. And I also can see where there is a valid point for deleting them.
      I am rather glad we have WordPress as a forum for discussion and that community standard bots do not have determining tentacles reaching and judging our opinion. It seems there is less and less space for common sense approaches on the internet and we are dissuaded from being inclined in that way.
      I feel rather ashamed that I do now know who or what owns WordPress / Automattic and shall have to read up on that so I am aware of what interests they have in allowing us a degree of freedom other platforms no longer appear to give writers.

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  13. I never joined Facebook as rumours about its ethics were rife. I’ve never missed it although friends still try to persuade me to join. It’s evil in its tolerance of Hate Speech, Bullying, and Trolls and its tendency to encourage the wilder denizens of the planet in their conspiracy theories. All we can do is keep pressuring our governments to put some restrictions on its use of the www. It’s a sad world nowadays that gives space to anonymous trouble-makers and spreaders of false and fake news who don’t have to disclose their identity.

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    1. Good on you for rejecting FB outright, Mari. I want to step away from the platform completely, but have an art group that is invaluable so I will look at seeing how that could be taken off the platform without dissolving it.
      It is so important that we do pressure our elected representatives – it is vital.
      To keep more news sources viable and rein in the algorithmic bots that decide what we should see and read.
      People themselves have to become more aware – aware of the ability of the social media pummeling to sway opinions. Reject the mindless scrolling on social media. The hunger for controversy. The public are not stupid but allow themselves to be influenced, duped into clicking on to sensational stories. Why? Why this need?

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  14. One of the problems with FB and other platforms is that they allow anonymous comments, comments with made-up or only partial names. When a person has to sign their real name, they don’t usually go as far in their diatribes. The anonymity gives these people confidence to say whatever they like without having to be responsible for it.

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    1. Yes, a valid point, Dorothy. Anonymity gives a user license to be as vile in their comments as they think will get them clicks, as they hid behind them.
      Supposedly, FB and other platforms insist upon users supplying their legal name now. However, that doesn’t seem to stop the trolls.
      In this case, Kevin used his real handle, or perhaps it was Kevin’s profile that had been hacked? There was little action on his own FB Profile, yet he was very active on profiles thousands of miles away. Nevertheless, the author of the comment showed his evil attitude and more importantly, I have now had first-hand experience of how damaging the standards of A.I. used as FB does, cn actually be. If some readers have had innocent or banal comments deemed ‘breaches,’ whilst other nihilistic rants are left and are not considered breaches – it says so much about the slippery slope social media is on. And perhaps the consequences of what information we end up being exposed to via social media. This gives me food for thought about my own use of social media.

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  15. In the beginning all the social media platforms had a credible position – they were a technical platform for content distribution and communication – but they didn’t own the content and as such didn’t regulate it. It was the same as paper mills not being responsible for what newspapers publish on their newsprint.

    When everyone plays nice, the technical platforms are great. Everyone had a voice and with the platform, they had a soapbox and the ability to reach & connect with an audience. It was space for unlimited creativity and free speech.

    But as we’ve seen, the platforms became vehicles for manipulating communication. In the same way that radio broadcasting, and newspapers were used for war time propaganda, social media platforms became tools for manipulating perception and propagating false or hate riddled agendas. What’s the difference between then and now, with FB, Twitter etc? 1) The social media reach is huge (in numbers but also in programmatic targetting the audience) 2) anyone & everyone can write & publish content, with little or no filter or regulation 3) the platforms continue to deny ownership & accountability for the content it allows to be published. To my mind, #3 is the most significant. To make a difference, the platforms need to be responsible for what they alllow to be published.

    So back to Facebook bashing, although personally, I prefer to bash Twitter, but what hey.

    If it’s any consolation, Facebook suffered a record breaking 230B drop in market value last week. In one day Zuckerberg lost $32Billion. The reason? among other things , a decline in membership. Everyone who decides to opt-out of the Facebook & social media frenzy … makes a difference.

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    1. Again, my wonderful community on WordPress here shows its level of clarity, social good mindedness and responsibility. I applaud your points and wish to reiterate them as you have summarised them so well, Sandy : –
      1) the comparison to historical context i.e. not being responsible for what newspapers publish on their newsprint.
      2) social media offering the Pandora’s box of, ‘unlimited creativity and free speech but being used as vehicles for manipulating communication propaganda and a tool for manipulating perception, propagating false or hate riddled agendas.’
      3) ‘anyone & everyone can write & publish on these platforms [yet they]continue to deny ownership & accountability for the content.’
      Yet despite that grim overview you have alluded to the power we still have in the face of megalithic social technological platforms and their power over the public.
      We still and do have the power to opt out. Can you imagine if for whatever reason, everyone stopped using fb – Mr Z.’s FB stocks only exist on paper, is that right? He would be impotent overnight?

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  16. I think you have made some very valid points. I used to use Facebook and enjoyed it as a way to keep in touch with busy people. It also gave a venue for my grandma to stay in touch with friends and family when she had to move and went into a nursing home. It allowed me to let those friends know what was going on with her. After she passed away I quit. I also deliberately cut ties with people who were sharing hate filled posts. Maybe I should be grateful for the heads-up about how awful these people are, but I am happier not being around them. Another, unrelated thing that went on with me was that my life wasn’t being a bed of roses. I don’t resent that others were building their dream homes in Hawaii, but I really didn’t feel like I had anything to add to meaningful conversation except a thumbs up, and so happy for you comment. I dearly loved some of those friends and maybe we would have lost touch anyway, but I felt like the platform had some to do with the loss of intimacy.

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    1. Hmm. It is a double-edged sword isn’t it? A good point against using social media to keep in touch, Xingfu.
      I also formerly found benefits in keeping in touch with friends overseas, via social media – penpals I had made through writing old school letters from days gone by. I loved reconnecting with past workmates, but in reality, how many of these facebook friendship translate to anything more substantial. I propose it would, and must be, only a minority. In some ways, it has turned what was a long distance, absent but fascinating relationship with friends, albeit one that is infrequent, to a repetitive, banal, emoji-riddled commentary on everyday events. I know for instance that my friend in the far north of Lapland has been for a walk in the snow and had a cup of tea. Is that helping her loneliness and fostering a deeper understanding of the big issues of life?
      If we look at social media in its best light, we have made the world smaller so that we might understand our differences and relate better to others, yet there is this dark side of social media, where hate and peddling ill will has been giving a voice that formally it would not have had. I would never, ordinarily, have crossed paths with that Kevin guy in Ontario.
      I am thinking also of the teens who cannot get away from the taunting trolls or online bullies, unless they are to stay completely offline and absent from school. Social media communication has offered a solution to the lonely and friendless, but has given rise to FOMO in others. As with your example of your friends’ houses in Hawaii. Has that bettered your life or theirs by knowing that information? I think not.
      We can really do without knowing these things, especially given that the ultimate price we pay, is not only a loss of intimacy and feeling connected, but also being open to the darker side of the internet. I suggest that price may be too high for us to pay, but many would, no doubt, disagree – once that Pandora’s box is open, it is very hard to close that lid again, is it not?

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  17. Sorry for my soapbox 😉 but I had another point.

    Not all of the hate filled comments belong to ‘real’ people. I agree with Dorothy, that anonymity gives people license to slew vile BUT there’s growing evidence that some of these muckrackers are funded politically to inspire discord and dissent.

    Does it make me feel better it might NOT be someone in Ontario (Canada?) verbally abusing an Aussie politician? Maybe. Not really. Whoever this is, I don’t like that s/he has the ability to share this type of vile message.

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    1. Never apologize for your soapbox, Sandy. As I often say, all comments and opinions are welcome here ( that is, if they are respectful. ‘Kevins’ are excluded!) Kevin might just become my short term male equivalent for the derogatory Karen euphemism.
      The Kevin was definitely someone in Ontario or who claimed they were from Ontario. His FB profile looked for all intensive purposes normal, a few pics of family and friends, a few hobbyist photos but nothing current and up to date – this is different from the other bots I have seen. We have a few haters here in Australia, so the Ontario ruse seems unlikely.
      Having said that, I entirely see your point. And it is possible he has links with political Covid denying type organizations or individuals and is finding topics that FB feeds throw up that could incite rage in others.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I’m sad to say that Canada has it’s fair share of bad actors. So no excuses for all the real Kevins & Karens out there.

        I normally ignore comments in public posts and won’t even glance at them. A lot of time, they’re just pointless or misinformed opinions even when they aren’t vindictive. People who would normally keep their thoughts in their head, feel empowered slew all sorts of nonsense I’ve learnt to just keep out of the spray.

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      2. You are wise to keep out of the ‘spray,’ of misinformed comments and feel sorry for the folks that have to sift through that word vomit to find the valid comment to respond to. I guess I have been fortunate to not pay too much attention to this previously.
        At least I have a new idiom,( though somewhat derogatory), with which to refer to a ‘Karen’s’ male partner: a Kevin.

        Liked by 1 person

      3. I like the idea of a male Karen to be a Kevin … except I already associate the name with Kevin the Minion who’s a very likable character 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

      6. Your attitude seems to be heavily judgmental, possibly with nefarious intentions or to make you feel better about yourself and your situation? It tells me that you haven’t been blogging for long. Most bloggers reciprocate comments with a visit to the other blog. I get that you don’t yet understand that if you are new to blogging. However, the questioning of my use of pictures was not done in a logical, rational or respectful way. You could not know that it was my travel picture that I posted, and it was relevant to the discussion, which I hope you have since read.
        I am interested in all points of view, but if you are disrespectful, heavily judgmental or rude, your comment will be marked as spam and your site will be blocked.
        I hope you can see this kind of comment does nobody any good. It just makes you angrier. When you use anger and accusations to solve differences, there are no winners.

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  18. We have a local politician (a liberal, in a liberal county, in a liberal state) who posts on FB now and then, mostly about city stuff. After the first few positive comments, the following comments usually dissolve into negativity and hate. Recently someone set fire to his house and he, his wife and their child barely escaped harm. Even the stories about the fire and the search for the arsonist generated hateful comments, some actually praising the arsonist and wishing they had done a better job. It really is disgusting how far down we’ve slide into the muck.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh my goodness, Janis. That is concerning. This is a level of hatred unheard of here, to my knowledge and totally revolting to think about.
      Words reflect the intentions behind them. Some words delivered in anger are later regretted and should never be published in a public forum.
      I wonder if the writers are so consumed with revenge they wish to promulgate hatred and anger to many others? That is just mob rule.

      Have these folks no remorse? For if they did, I can not understand the desire for someone to be burnt alive in their own home. Is this the concept of justice that social media has led us to?
      I see many of these kinds of things on facebook, about retribution for some minor infringement. I never look at them. Stupid video pranks seem to be on the rise in social media feeds too. All for the purposes of gaining views.
      One wonders how often these end up with bad outcomes. It seems like a new level of brain rot/ disorder.

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  19. Amanda, you certainly grabbed my attention. I wondered, is she referring to me?
    As I kept reading your post about hateful Facebook garbage, I was relieved not to be the subject of your comments.
    Yes, the “opinions” posted on social media can be offensive, very offensive. Such said “opinions” are posted almost daily by a couple of close family members.
    Images of nazi soldiers and concentration camps. Sheeple, do you know how many times I’ve been called a sheeple? They refuse to be vaccinated because Bill Gates will track them, Trump said it on TicTok so it’s true. Now they support the protesting truckers and their ever changing laments. So committed to the cause, one has been released from his workplace.
    When will it all end?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No Kevin, I am sorry to scare you and id definitely wasn’t you I was referring to. I am glad you read that later in my post. And I have to say that I wasn’t intending this post to be any more of an attention grabber than some of my others. I was though really shocked at the content of the other, “Kevin’s” message.
      I am sorry to hear also that you know of people close to you who would peddle this kind of hurtful message. The friend that is prepared to sacrifice his job is indeed zealous! This level of conviction regarding an issue, one that harbours not any small iota of doubt that their opinion might be incorrect, is concerning. I wonder if there are any longitudinal studies that have examined and or documented changes to the brain function of those who hold zealous opinions? Radicalisation by another name?
      Is it something more than confirmation bias, I wonder?

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  20. Delete FB. It’s the only way to take a stand against their pretend community standards; hit them in the pocketbook. I left years ago and have never regretted it. People who care about you *for real* will stay in touch. Others who fade away weren’t there for you to begin with, so no loss.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ally you are right that deleting fb is the only way to really exert any kind of effect on the META universe. (This title even sounds like something from a sci-fi movie).
      I will have to find alternatives for a large art group which I founded on that platform before I leave it. I dislike that I am involved there to that extent; I should be grateful that the group has flourished to the level it has, as it would have been impossible to reach this niche group of people any other way. Btw, the group is only information and educational, not profit or commercial and there are no sales conducted through it). So I would need to examine how to move that offsite from FB without losing its benefits before I delete my account. And I hate that I am in so deep as to be somewhat dependent on it, in that small way.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I understand your conundrum. FB is a monopoly and until it’s broken into segments, everyone who is there is stuck. I’d love to belong to a writing group like your art group, but I wait until I can do so without feeling like I’m contributing to Mr. Zuckerberg’s bottom line. The entire situation with FB sucks for all of us.

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  21. It’s curious that Facebook changed the name of their corporate entity to Meta. That’s in reference to metadata, which is something that describes and gives information about other data; that is, data about data. A traditional phone directory, for example, is a piece of metadata in that it provides contact information for individuals and businesses. The music streaming service Spotify is also metadata in that it lists and provides access to musical artists’ songs.

    I don’t know why Facebook didn’t consider the vile comments of that one user you highlighted, Amanda, as worthy of deletion. A couple of years ago I published a brief humorous piece on my blog “Men Are Dogs”. Facebook deleted the link because it said the verbiage somehow was offensive. I protested, but they were adamant. I still didn’t understand what the problem was. I didn’t use foul language nor did I threaten any violence. I also didn’t slur any particular group – unless someone mistook the story as being derogatory about men. If so, that would have been shocking, since demeaning jokes about men and even gratuitously violent acts against men seem perfectly acceptable in media. I waited a week or so before I posted it again, and it remained. That calls into question the veracity of the criteria they utilize to determine what is and what is not acceptable.

    The same type of issue arose when a movie entitled “The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover” came out in 1989. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) initially rated the film X because of some graphic sexual behavior. The director excised some 5 minutes from the movie, and the MPAA then bestowed it with an R rating. That irritated plenty of people in the entertainment community because the fiasco called the entire film rating procedure into question. If only 5 minutes needed to be removed, then what is the criteria for age-appropriate films?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Alejandro. It certainly is curious that after a week, uploading the same information met with acceptance. I wonder if it time might make a difference in the instance with Kevin’s comment.
      Maybe the bots thrive on current info and when it is fresh and topical anything goes. Once it is considered old, they scrutinize it less? So would that work in reverse? Would FB consider the Kevins of the world in breach, a week later? And interesting hypothesis.
      I think it is disgusting the level of hypocrisy we see. No wonder the boundaries of acceptable behaviour are blurred. having nay kind of demeaning jokes about men, women or LGBTIQ folks and even gratuitously violent acts are NOT perfectly acceptable in media. At least in my META universe.

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Hi, Amanda – I was disgusted to hear about ‘Kevin’s comment’ and sickened to hear about Facebook’s response. Can you go higher than the FB Comment Upholder Bot?? I would love to know what a real FB staff member, who actually signs his/her/their name to it would have to say?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Can I, go higher in complaining about FB standards, Donna? That is a moot point. From reading the many comments here, it seems FB has few fans, yet their level of control over what we are able to “see” in increasing, due mainly to the highly accessible nature of their platform and level of community penetration. It seems that even if there are other independent news voices out there, they are diminishing rapidly as algorithms shut them out and their funding (from advertisers looking at stats) vanishes. This is an interesting perspective: https://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2022-01-22/too-late-goodbye/
      I would like to think that

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  23. And yet, when a friend of mine tagged me in a photo of a place we had visited together, and I commented “We had a lovely day” I got a message from Facebook saying my comment had been deemed to breach their community standards. Really??? I have retained my account so that I can use Messenger and Instagram but I am no longer active on Facebook. I had already reduced my activity but that was the last straw.

    How ridiculous for my comment to be unacceptable but Kevin’s is okay.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. You are so right! What a ridiculous scenario. What could possibly be wrong with what you wrote? Clearly the bots have gone haywire, or developed an intelligence that confuses community standards with clickbait priorities.

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  24. I have zero time for Facebook, Twitter, Google, and all the other social media/internet giants. They make their money off clicks and don’t much care how they get them. To be honest, I actually feel sorry for the ‘Kevins’ of the world, whose lives are so sad and empty that they get some temporary satisfaction from the bile they spew.
    Here in the USA, we’re at a very low point where people think Trump is God, despite the fact that he has no idea what truth is, and is who he has always been, which is a very needy five-year-old. Really, these are very sad times we live in.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. A needy five year old holds the attention of many. Why? Because as crazy as it seems, he has what some consider charisma. Some kind of attractiveness that elevates the interest in his doings above all others. People are interested in what he does and says, because it is laughable, mad, crazy, and to some, a guiding light!
      It was also one of the factors why Adolf Hitler appealed to many people and like Trump, used that fear in the society to his advantage. I remember learning how this principle was used by nefarious individuals in high school history – usually they were dictatorial types, and there were a few of them throughout time. And we continue to venerate them, either deliberately or unintentionally via media exposure. They are not limited to the west either, lurking in North Korea and at times within the Asian continent.
      I also think that yes Kevin’s life is a most likely a very sad one and his fury is directed outwards at others. Like a pyromanic, perhaps they feel omnipotent when they gain attention from strangers. Perhaps also, that is the way to deal with them. Deprive them of oxygen.
      My son who is a bit of an IT trailblazer has experienced the pointy end of trolls in his field. Some of them so relenting they have pushed colleagues of his, to commit suicide. It is a nasty, nasty side of humanity. The latest troll he faced, turned out to be a 15 year old schoolboy who was home schooled, in Italy. Someone who clearly had a multiplicity of personal problems, and continued launching unrelenting personal attacks and harassment at my son – and in the end, silence was the only antidote. It took months but depriving them of oxygen was the only thing that made him lose interest and move on to the next victim.
      Perhaps depriving the FB et al platforms and the five year old who is spitting his dummies is appropriate. Unfortunately, it continue to make news….
      In this, I can understand you keeping away from social media, Graham. I would like to distance myself from non essential use from here on, where it is possible for my circumstances.

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Pingback: Hate Speech and Social Media Comments – The Jedi Mind Trick

  26. I left Facebook a couple of years ago and shifted my blog promotion to twitter. It really sucks to be on such a social media platform with little respect for writers. Anyway, this is a great way and reporting him instead of lashing him out is maturity.
    Thanks for sharing this with us. You could check out my blog 🤗🤗

    Liked by 1 person

  27. On the one hand I have found that the Blogging world (i.e. WP) seems to be very… good mannered,. I’ve only had a couple of instances where I trashed a comment. It seems to me that bloggers are more open.
    On the other hand, other forums, i.e. FB or Twitter are full of hate. Waste of time… (Ours)
    Be good.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Your observations are as I have found them, Brian. Well-mannered and considerate are the majority of bloggers, with the exception of a few spammers. WPress is full of people genuinely interested in other’s opinions, not just exposure and followers. Why that is I am not sure you would find just 1 answer. People are diverse, but I will say reading blogs does take time so perhaps there is a common thread of deeper interest and introspection amongst bloggers to learn from others?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Indeed. Writing and reading do take time. And there is a genuine interest in what others have to say. I have also found -in my case- that i am not interested in arguing. I may disagree with someone. I just let it pass. So much better to write positive things. 😀 Take care “Astrid”

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  28. Nice one, Both freedom of speech and hate speech are notions that spark debate, both in terms of their meaning and how they should be applied. Also visit valiant markets website!

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  30. Facebook is pretty worthless…”community standards,” my foot. I’ve also noticed a disturbing trend on social media of threats of violence towards either political figures, or just people holding different political beliefs. As I live in the States, I see this most often in the form of comments from the political right talking about how Democratic politicians or people who vote Democratic, should be removed from society in some violent fashion. It’s very scary, and feels very much like the kind of thing you would hear before a civil war starts.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for your comment, Eurobrat, and I touch on this subject a little in the comments on my latest post: https://forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com/2022/03/13/spammed/
      This characteristic that is fast being absorbed into the American psyche:
      Might is right and strength is equated with a person with a weapon or verbal threats to their life.
      Was it just Trump’s influence? To crash through and to hell with the cost? Or is it more social media in combination with Trumpism?
      It is scary – as it is not the way most people handle conflict.
      We tend to shy away from individuals who use such violent language as they seem unbalanced.
      But then weak individuals will always be attracted to that kind of rhetoric.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Unfortunately, many people here no longer even shy away from that type of individual…it’s almost considered cool or funny to suggest violence against those “idiots” on the other side. I don’t think Trump caused that kind of thinking…I think it’s been there, under the surface, for a long time. I do think that Trump made people more comfortable with expressing such sentiments openly, though.

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  31. Interesting to read you feel this almost nihilistic thinking and expression of opinions has been evident for some time and more vocal with Trump’s encouragement. They call themselves and feel patriotic and ironically want to tear the establishment down. So foolish!

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  32. This happens on almost every application. Recently on TikTok, I reported a comment that clearly showed bullying and I got the same reply. The world is no longer and will no longer be the same. Everyykeeps doing things for a lil amount of money or some fame. It’s sad though but I’m glad you shared this.

    I’m new here and I must say you have put together a very amazing blog.

    Liked by 2 people

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