… wtf is going on over there… What kind of douchebags did you guys elect? I mean, I’m American, I know I can’t throw stones here, but y’alls were better than that. You like, wisely stood against our 9/11 invasion and we probably should’ve listened.
But, wtf?
btw, if anyone was too lazy to dig, this publication is a nigerian newspaper that actually seems legit. Founded in 2020, so pretty new still. Looking at their front page they mostly just do local reporting. Has had run-ins with local power.
We elected him as the “last rempart to the extreme right”. Turns out he and his cronies are corrupted authoritarian fucks. Their shit social and economic policies are opening a highway to the actual far right in the near future, most likely 2027.
You know that America just… does this, right? No bill, no law… In fact it was the first to do this at all. It’s why in crime shows they remove the battery (from phone where you still can, of course.)
No, the “Patriot” Act did authorize stuff like this in the US. There was also the “Freedom” Act, and generally this is all FISA stuff that has very low standards for what’s allowed.
As usual, the younger generation didn’t bother voting, and the older one voted en masse for conservative candidates because they are those our media push for, while at the same time slandering progressive ones.
In the election runoff, we had the choice between an openly fascist candidate from a party literally founded by former Nazis, and a “light fascist” one that people were seeing as the lesser evil. Though it’s pretty obvious now that his fascism isn’t so light (he openly admires Petain, a french leader who collaborated with Nazi Germany), and I hope people will remember that for the next election and understand that voting for a democratic candidate in the first turn if very important.
Yeah, it’s happening all over western liberal democracies. Inflation is going crazy and wealth inequalities are growing at an alarming rate. Because of that, people in power are afraid of a popular uprising, and they would rather see fascists rise to power and protect capitalism, than an economical shift to the left and lose some of their wealth.
It happened many times before. The more commonly known examples being:
Prominent industrialists and agricultural landowners providing financial support to Mussolini’s party because they feared the rise of socialism, and saw in him a means to counter it.
German industrialists who were fearful of the rise of the Communist Party and provided financial support to the Nazi party.
Spanish landowners and businessmen who were alarmed by the social and economic reforms of the Second Spanish Republic and supported Franco’s rise to power.
To add to this, it would simply be remiss for any actual rival of the west to not attempt to stir their democracies against them.
It’s a fundamental weakness that only representative governments have, and authoritarians would simply be stupid not to target it. It’s very inexpensive to operate in the modern information space.
I mean, we got all these checks and balances in the first place because our systems are fundamentally very vulnerable. If you’d like a story on a less-secure system, look into the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
I mean, in the craziest of crazy scenarios, we could wind up with civil wars. Wouldn’t there be some folks out there that’d just love to see that? You think they can’t make bots, produce content, hire cheap labor?
Oh yes, voter manipulation is very concerning. Even the simple fact that foreign powers can legally finance a candidate for another country’s presidential election is absolutely crazy to me.
But I think there is something even worse than that:
When participation is so low that barely 50% of electors cast a vote, with one category of people (the elderly) being massively over-represented.
When there is no possible recourse if the majority of electors isn’t satisfied with their options, and blank ballots aren’t even accounted for.
When the main platforms where campaigning happens are all owned by and handful of billionaires, who can choose to present in a good light the candidates that will be the most favorable to them, and do the opposite for others.
When political campaigns are funded privately (and as I said, sometimes even by authoritarian foreign powers), those who favor billionaires being again at a massive advantage.
The game is so strongly rigged, I’m surprised that the general population still widely considers us democracies. Starting by reforming our electoral systems would do a lot of good and would be a lot simpler than trying to stop social media bots in my opinion, even though we should also tackle that issue.
… wtf is going on over there… What kind of douchebags did you guys elect? I mean, I’m American, I know I can’t throw stones here, but y’alls were better than that. You like, wisely stood against our 9/11 invasion and we probably should’ve listened.
But, wtf?
btw, if anyone was too lazy to dig, this publication is a nigerian newspaper that actually seems legit. Founded in 2020, so pretty new still. Looking at their front page they mostly just do local reporting. Has had run-ins with local power.
We elected him as the “last rempart to the extreme right”. Turns out he and his cronies are corrupted authoritarian fucks. Their shit social and economic policies are opening a highway to the actual far right in the near future, most likely 2027.
Lmao bait and switch
More like shitty electoral system that facilitates the choice of a lesser evil instead of the choice for the best candidate.
Right? I’m wary of chastising any first world country at the moment. The past 7 years in particular have been especially WTF
You know that America just… does this, right? No bill, no law… In fact it was the first to do this at all. It’s why in crime shows they remove the battery (from phone where you still can, of course.)
It is not legal for police to spy on citizens via their phone cameras in the US…
Police, no. Homeland security? crickets
Still no. Do they do it anyway? Probably, but that doesn’t make it legal.
are they gonna get in trouble for doing it, even if the government finds out?
probably not, so it’s practically legal; and that’s kind of the only kind of legality that matters in this case
No, the “Patriot” Act did authorize stuff like this in the US. There was also the “Freedom” Act, and generally this is all FISA stuff that has very low standards for what’s allowed.
It would require a warrant signed by a judge with probable cause.
Wiretap warrants aren’t easy.
Sorry for the late response, but remind me again how many warrants the FISA court has denied?
That’s an approval rate of 99.97%
It will be like that in France as well. But once they have the tools, there will be abuse.
The last election was a shitshow.
As usual, the younger generation didn’t bother voting, and the older one voted en masse for conservative candidates because they are those our media push for, while at the same time slandering progressive ones.
In the election runoff, we had the choice between an openly fascist candidate from a party literally founded by former Nazis, and a “light fascist” one that people were seeing as the lesser evil. Though it’s pretty obvious now that his fascism isn’t so light (he openly admires Petain, a french leader who collaborated with Nazi Germany), and I hope people will remember that for the next election and understand that voting for a democratic candidate in the first turn if very important.
Weird how this sounds alot like what’s happening in the US. Almost like fascism is encroaching all acrost the world as it crumbles.
If people get out and fucking vote like it’s your last chance, we can get some sanity.
Oh? Should people vote for the lesser of two evils? Because that’s your only choice if you continue to insist you can vote your way out of this.
Absofreakinglutely!
There will never be a perfect candidate. This is politics.
Well then enjoy voting for Hitler (D) because that’s what you are going to get.
Yeah, it’s happening all over western liberal democracies. Inflation is going crazy and wealth inequalities are growing at an alarming rate. Because of that, people in power are afraid of a popular uprising, and they would rather see fascists rise to power and protect capitalism, than an economical shift to the left and lose some of their wealth.
It happened many times before. The more commonly known examples being:
History tends to repeat itself.
To add to this, it would simply be remiss for any actual rival of the west to not attempt to stir their democracies against them.
It’s a fundamental weakness that only representative governments have, and authoritarians would simply be stupid not to target it. It’s very inexpensive to operate in the modern information space.
I mean, we got all these checks and balances in the first place because our systems are fundamentally very vulnerable. If you’d like a story on a less-secure system, look into the fall of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
I mean, in the craziest of crazy scenarios, we could wind up with civil wars. Wouldn’t there be some folks out there that’d just love to see that? You think they can’t make bots, produce content, hire cheap labor?
Oh yes, voter manipulation is very concerning. Even the simple fact that foreign powers can legally finance a candidate for another country’s presidential election is absolutely crazy to me.
But I think there is something even worse than that:
When participation is so low that barely 50% of electors cast a vote, with one category of people (the elderly) being massively over-represented.
When there is no possible recourse if the majority of electors isn’t satisfied with their options, and blank ballots aren’t even accounted for.
When the main platforms where campaigning happens are all owned by and handful of billionaires, who can choose to present in a good light the candidates that will be the most favorable to them, and do the opposite for others.
When political campaigns are funded privately (and as I said, sometimes even by authoritarian foreign powers), those who favor billionaires being again at a massive advantage.
The game is so strongly rigged, I’m surprised that the general population still widely considers us democracies. Starting by reforming our electoral systems would do a lot of good and would be a lot simpler than trying to stop social media bots in my opinion, even though we should also tackle that issue.