Connect with us

NEWS

Misinformed through social media, Trump supporters take to the streets to challenge election result

Published

on

misinformed-through-social-media,-trump-supporters-take-to-the-streets-to-challenge-election-result

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (CNN Business)In the capital of Pennsylvania — the state that ultimately tipped the election in favor of President-elect Joe Biden — supporters of President Donald Trump gathered to protest the election result this weekend.

The past four years in America have been an education in how grievances and misinformation on social media don’t just stay online — they spill out onto the streets, can manifest as violence, and, as seen in Harrisburg, this weekend, be used in attempts to undermine the bedrock of American democracy: free and fair elections.

Trump supporters here gathered under the banner “Stop the Steal,” convinced the election had been stolen.

One woman told me she had seen so much “evidence” that the election had been rigged she would support a total re-vote.

“When you have video footage of people taking bags of ballots and showing that they are for Donald Trump and lighting them on fire,” she said, “there’s a problem.”

But the video she cited as evidence of a rigged American election is not real.

Advertisement

    It has been circulating on social media for days, even being retweeted by Eric Trump, the President’s son, but the video does not show Trump ballots being burned, as some have claimed.

    Election officials in Virginia, where the papers that looked like ballots appeared to be from, have explained that what you see in the video are sample ballots. They have been trying to correct the viral misinformation for days.

    “Note the absence of the bar code markings that are on all official ballots. The ballots in the video were sample ballots,” the City of Virginia Beach said in press release last week.

    Trump supporters’ use of false information in this way is not unique; it is not a one-off.

    Other protesters I spoke to in Harrisburg cited a sudden change in an online result map in favor of Biden on election night in Michigan as evidence that something had gone awry. Trump had amplified that claim himself on his Twitter account. But that too has been shown to be misinformation (a thorough debunk here). Twitter labeled Trump’s post with a message that read “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading”

    The use of false information didn’t start with “Stop the Steal.” Trump and some of his supporters have weaponized misinformation throughout the election campaign. CNN has previously shown how deceptively edited videos of Biden had contributed to some Trump supporters’ belief that Biden was not fit for office.

    This, of course, does not happen in a vacuum.

    Advertisement

    The President himself, his allies, and Fox News personalities, embrace misinformation. Sometimes Trump will retweet a post with false claims that is already going viral. At other times, Trump will create his own misinformation by posting false claims. Trump and his followers have used misinformation as “evidence” to prove the validity of more misinformation.

      Social media exacerbates the problem — serving as an engine for misinformation to spread.

      Over the past week, Twitter, and to a lesser extent Facebook, have taken aggressive steps to label as misinformation false posts from the President as he seeks to undermine the integrity of the election.

      But those labels won’t convince Trump supporters who have already embraced conspiracy theories about the election. Some view labels and fact-checks as proof that they are actually correct and that Big Tech is trying to censor them.

      “I think that’s not their place. That’s not their place to determine what the truth is for the people. We have a mind of our own. We can determine what the truth is,” the woman in Harrisburg, who had cited the fake burning ballots video, told me.

      The middle-aged woman told me her name was Melissa but did not want to share her full name citing “cancel culture.”

      Although she might have been wrong about that video, she did identify the role platforms like Facebook play in shaping American political discourse as catalysts for confirmation bias.

      Advertisement

      “We’re like one big science experiment for social media,” she said. “If I’m seeking a certain viewpoint and they seem to see that I favor that viewpoint more, that’s the viewpoint that they’re going to feed me and then the other side’s going to get a different viewpoint,” she said.

        Asked if it concerns her, “I mean it concerns me, yes. Because of the fact that, unfortunately, people fail to think for themselves. They feed into everything that they’re seeing without questioning it.”

        Read More

        Keep an eye on what we are doing
        Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
        We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
        Invalid email address

        FACEBOOK

        Facebook Faces Yet Another Outage: Platform Encounters Technical Issues Again

        Published

        on

        By

        Facebook Problem Again

        Uppdated: It seems that today’s issues with Facebook haven’t affected as many users as the last time. A smaller group of people appears to be impacted this time around, which is a relief compared to the larger incident before. Nevertheless, it’s still frustrating for those affected, and hopefully, the issues will be resolved soon by the Facebook team.

        Facebook had another problem today (March 20, 2024). According to Downdetector, a website that shows when other websites are not working, many people had trouble using Facebook.

        This isn’t the first time Facebook has had issues. Just a little while ago, there was another problem that stopped people from using the site. Today, when people tried to use Facebook, it didn’t work like it should. People couldn’t see their friends’ posts, and sometimes the website wouldn’t even load.

        Downdetector, which watches out for problems on websites, showed that lots of people were having trouble with Facebook. People from all over the world said they couldn’t use the site, and they were not happy about it.

        When websites like Facebook have problems, it affects a lot of people. It’s not just about not being able to see posts or chat with friends. It can also impact businesses that use Facebook to reach customers.

        Since Facebook owns Messenger and Instagram, the problems with Facebook also meant that people had trouble using these apps. It made the situation even more frustrating for many users, who rely on these apps to stay connected with others.

        Advertisement

        During this recent problem, one thing is obvious: the internet is always changing, and even big websites like Facebook can have problems. While people wait for Facebook to fix the issue, it shows us how easily things online can go wrong. It’s a good reminder that we should have backup plans for staying connected online, just in case something like this happens again.

        Keep an eye on what we are doing
        Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
        We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
        Invalid email address
        Continue Reading

        NEWS

        We asked ChatGPT what will be Google (GOOG) stock price for 2030

        Published

        on

        We asked ChatGPT what will be Google (GOOG) stock price for 2030

        Investors who have invested in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) stock have reaped significant benefits from the company’s robust financial performance over the last five years. Google’s dominance in the online advertising market has been a key driver of the company’s consistent revenue growth and impressive profit margins.

        In addition, Google has expanded its operations into related fields such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence. These areas show great promise as future growth drivers, making them increasingly attractive to investors. Notably, Alphabet’s stock price has been rising due to investor interest in the company’s recent initiatives in the fast-developing field of artificial intelligence (AI), adding generative AI features to Gmail and Google Docs.

        However, when it comes to predicting the future pricing of a corporation like Google, there are many factors to consider. With this in mind, Finbold turned to the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to suggest a likely pricing range for GOOG stock by 2030. Although the tool was unable to give a definitive price range, it did note the following:

        “Over the long term, Google has a track record of strong financial performance and has shown an ability to adapt to changing market conditions. As such, it’s reasonable to expect that Google’s stock price may continue to appreciate over time.”

        GOOG stock price prediction

        While attempting to estimate the price range of future transactions, it is essential to consider a variety of measures in addition to the AI chat tool, which includes deep learning algorithms and stock market experts.

        Finbold collected forecasts provided by CoinPriceForecast, a finance prediction tool that utilizes machine self-learning technology, to anticipate Google stock price by the end of 2030 to compare with ChatGPT’s projection.

        According to the most recent long-term estimate, which Finbold obtained on March 20, the price of Google will rise beyond $200 in 2030 and touch $247 by the end of the year, which would indicate a 141% gain from today to the end of the year.

        2030 GOOG price prediction: Source: CoinPriceForecast

        Google has been assigned a recommendation of ‘strong buy’ by the majority of analysts working on Wall Street for a more near-term time frame. Significantly, 36 analysts of the 48 have recommended a “strong buy,” while seven people have advocated a “buy.” The remaining five analysts had given a ‘hold’ rating.

        Advertisement



        1679313229 737 We asked ChatGPT what will be Google GOOG stock price
        Wall Street GOOG 12-month price prediction: Source: TradingView

        The average price projection for Alphabet stock over the last three months has been $125.32; this objective represents a 22.31% upside from its current price. It’s interesting to note that the maximum price forecast for the next year is $160, representing a gain of 56.16% from the stock’s current price of $102.46.

        While the outlook for Google stock may be positive, it’s important to keep in mind that some potential challenges and risks could impact its performance, including competition from ChatGPT itself, which could affect Google’s price.


        Disclaimer: The content on this site should not be considered investment advice. Investing is speculative. When investing, your capital is at risk.

        Source link

        Keep an eye on what we are doing
        Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
        We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
        Invalid email address
        Continue Reading

        NEWS

        This Apple Watch app brings ChatGPT to your wrist — here’s why you want it

        Published

        on

        Apple Watch Series 8

        ChatGPT feels like it is everywhere at the moment; the AI-powered tool is rapidly starting to feel like internet connected home devices where you are left wondering if your flower pot really needed Bluetooth. However, after hearing about a new Apple Watch app that brings ChatGPT to your favorite wrist computer, I’m actually convinced this one is worth checking out.

        The new app is called watchGPT and as I tipped off already, it gives you access to ChatGPT from your Apple Watch. Now the $10,000 question (or more accurately the $3.99 question, as that is the one-time cost of the app) is why having ChatGPT on your wrist is remotely necessary, so let’s dive into what exactly the app can do.

        What can watchGPT do?

        Source link

        Keep an eye on what we are doing
        Be the first to get latest updates and exclusive content straight to your email inbox.
        We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
        Invalid email address
        Continue Reading

        Trending

        Follow by Email
        RSS