Citizen’s post to Facebook

Jon Chesterson

4 years ago

ABC NEWS, 22 Februry 2021 – ‘Government to escalate Facebook feud by pulling advertising spend potentially worth millions of dollars’.

Yay! That means we all benefit as we no longer have to put up with federal government (small ‘f’ and ‘g’) ads on Facebook – Awesome. Less Murdochian, News Corp, mining magnate, IPA, government, ministerial bullshit, spin and disinformation. Now Facebook will be an even better place to socialise without being hunted down and intruded upon by partisan government, corporate and electoral ambitions, and I know you are really interested in the problem of fake news and disinformation – funny that.

Any chance, Mark you could get Facebook to block ministerial and politician (small ‘m’ and ‘p’) pages too – I mean that would be a great response and clean up Facebook enormously. Think about it Mark, these are the bastards who on their pages are not only flaming Facebook and social media freedoms, but spread propaganda, fake news and disinformation on what is a free platform for them. They block debate, argument and facts that are oppositional to their cause on their pages and this is where you will find most of the political trolls and sycophants, the fundamentalists and calculating close-minded political missionaries (you know like your friend Josh from Harvard) intent on poisoning public opinion. Mark, get rid of them, social platform not political, unfriend them!

Apparently, the ABC are saying this will be a loss of millions to FB, more specifically $10 million. Hell, that’s nothing, it’s costing Google $30 million to buy off Murdoch’s attack and many other big players every year. ABC News is telling us Google have spent $60 million already and they’ve only just begun on this rancid Media Bargaining Code/Legislation – Who needs it? You’ve got yourself a bargain by opting out and all perfectly legal, but PM Morrison (self-righteous prat) seems to think otherwise.

Simon Birmingham, minister (small ‘m’) for finance says the ban will extend across government – I expect he means whole of government, bit of truism really. If he wants to play chess with himself, so what! I can think of other things he might like to play with, but that would be private matter, hey.

Simon says you are still having conversations with that wombat Josh. Can’t believe you take him seriously, we don’t. You are wasting your time – Block him, he’s not worth it.

We are being told by ABC News today these two wombats are saying “We’d urge Facebook to acknowledge it should behave as we would expect any other re-publisher of content to behave.”

Hmm… a number of thoughts there – Is Facebook a re-publisher? Can I publish a book or some of my poetry with Facebook or a freelance article like this, it would be welcome income? Geez I thought the news feeds and clicks were just free links, no obligation. Funny that free advertising and traffic to the people who are biting your hands and your bum. Something to do with loss of advertising revenue, shouldn’t they be paying? I really don’t think they’ve got it!

I am not sure I’d be too keen on expanding on what these two wombats would ‘expect’, given their affairs with coal and property diggers like Morrison (Scomo), Dutton (dead meat potato), water and environment hackers like Joyce (barnacles) and McCormack (doormat) and those spellbinding nutters on the government back bench – Let’s not mention their names it’s kind of disturbing. But one thing’s for sure, what these clowns would expect beggars belief. I think they want you to give heaps of dough to Rupert, so he can spend more money stabbing you in the back and destroying our democracy. None of us like being told what to think and believe. Not a good idea, Mark.

I hear you’ve been working on an industry ‘disinformation code’ with other digital giants, Twitter, Google (although frankly I am surprised you still talk to them unless you cooked up a plan with them, which you haven’t told Josh or Scomo about), Microsoft, Redbubble and TikTok (oooh! 抖音 Douyin, don’t think the government likes them much) – developed by Australian internet and social media industry group FIGI. Don’t suppose you’d like to talk to Murdoch on that one, or Seven and Nine or any of the banana radio stations and shock jocks we have here in Australia. Have you thought of blocking some of those awful jockstrap radio stations who love to make money pissing on Facebook while squeezing shit tax breaks, tax payer’s donations and corporate welfare out of our government finance department in Canberra? We’ve all got haemorrhoids here in Australia and we can’t afford the toilet paper, if we can get our hands on any. Worth a thought on your next sitting.

Still, what a great idea – An industry disinformation code. Don’t think our government (small ‘g’) is going to like that very much. They just love to run roughshod all over Facebook.

‘A code that requires signatories to develop and implement measures which aim to reduce the propagation of and potential exposure of ‘users’ to misinformation and disinformation’.

Not keen being called names, ‘users’, way not kool.

‘A code committing companies to robust safeguards against harmful misinformation and disinformation that also protect privacy, freedom of expression and political communication’.

Ohhh! The Liberals won’t like that and the Nationals (apologies for big ‘L’ and big ‘N’, party VIPs you know) won’t understand it, you do know they head up our government (small ‘g’)?

‘Political communication’, hmmm… that’s a tricky one, can you do jockstraps, climate deniers, coal diggers, cashless welfare card minders, corporate welfare bludgers, gangsters, KK, proud boys, wall builders, border force, refugee abusers, news sharks, big sharks, big banks, arms dealers, rising dictators, anyone who regularly appears on TV with an incongruent or arrogant smirk on their face telling us lies, real estate agents and fake religion too? We get you can do this!

Still, you’ve got my vote, sounds after all like Facebook is going to be a much nicer place to talk. You know, Apple seem to have a pretty good customer centred business model, yes, I know, they can be a little expensive and they are American but – I didn’t see them in the line-up on your Big Bite. I mean I can block trolls like News Corp and customise my news feeds, it’s great not being controlled by some big wig media mogul, politician or evangelist or simply not knowing who is controlling my news feeds, pulling my strings.

I see the industry disinformation code was a recommendation of the 2019 ACCC enquiry. That’s great, considering our government have ignored practically all the public and private submissions except Murdoch (nearly forgot ‘dead-start Davros’, but some over here know him as Rupert and yes it should be small ‘m’ and ‘r’); he must have made a submission, right? Still, he didn’t need to, he has them all on show, tip tap – you remember the Muppets, Miss Piggy, Kermit and those two old fartful dodgers in their royal box? They’re over here too, over the Hill, you can find them sometimes sitting on their arse at Question Time blowing fake bubbles in a circus that would make a municipal donkey of your industry disinformation code – Codes are for others, not them. Yes, the ABC do televise this shit.

Okay, I think that covers citizen’s post for now, Mark. But just before I forget, I have a humble request. Can you bring back the small independent media agency pages and links? I know it’s a big ask. I wonder if you are aware, some have clearly stated they don’t want your money unlike Murdoch. Yes, yes, I know they are not going to get it anyway. But they do provide a source of reliable news, pesky facts and it is all for free. Scomo and wombat Josh really don’t want us to listen to them anyway – Now there is a lot of common ground there! We might even get fair elections under the new industry disinformation code, but bring back these small independent news groups indigenous to local Australian values on to FB. It would be a wonderful public interest gesture and community service, it might help them and us survive the Australian drought.

Quick tip – Have you thought about working on an industry ‘defamation code’ – Might come in handy with over-reaching governments and of course dead-start Davros, the courts don’t seem to do anything useful or constructive now.

But so happy our government has withdrawn their advertising as they have really been getting on our nerves here in Australia for a long time now, spending our money and they won’t shut up just like those pop up Google ads spitting shit – you end up hitting the wrong button and lose all your work and the news feed you were on. Happy, just not gone quite far enough for my liking.

PS I went onto the Brisbane Courier FB page yesterday – Quiet as a dead mouse. Loved it. That’s the way it should be. I left them a copy of their front page from 20 February 2021 and a few comments like giving someone a lift to the supermarket for free and ‘Gran’ (big ‘G’ at 90 whose family kept being charged a fee each time she got out of bed and stepped on a secret mat. You know life is full of small ironies – Just not big enough for us plain citizens to chew on, but we know you are working on it.

All good down here.

Citizen Barddy