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Comment by jadedhacker | Hacker News Reader

My first reaction was to be shocked. The NYT? Advocating for the death of a major corporation? What's in it for them?

My guess is they've sensed the national mood is shifting. If something isn't done, then people will start to demand something more drastic than simply breaking up a large world spanning company.

The capitalist system must give the appearance of health to forestall further demands. It is looking very ill at the top of the tech sector. The tyranny (iron rule by a minority) inherent to private enterprise is flowering atop an incredibly concentrated sector and it's becoming obvious to anyone that looks.

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I have been toying with this theory for a while: Media outlets (NYT, WSJ, etc.) have been seeing their business and influence become increasingly beholden to the whims of social network algorithms. This is the old media fighting with their backs to the wall before they see themselves sidelined to perpetual irrelevance.

You're right to be shocked about the NYT calling for the breakup of facebook, but I think your a bit off on the 'why'. I say you're right to be shocked because Facebook is run by a person who some on the left were previously calling to make a presidential run, who was previously a shining beacon to the world's left-dominated media (including the NYT) ... so yeah, it's kind of shocking to see how quickly they've turned on Zuckerberg and Facebook.

The real story of 'why' the about face has to do with Cambridge Analytica, though. Many in the media still feel that the election 'should' have gone the other way (regardless of how people actually voted), and now they blame FB/Zuck. The irony is that in 2008 Obama's team did all of the same things that Trump's did. The media was OK with it then (in fact, celebrated it) because it was for their side.

I would say FB was celebrated by liberals, not by leftists. CA is a media project of the liberal media, not the leftist media. I've been very skeptical that CA had a large impact when FB's ad categories are so often blatantly wrong.

https://www.currentaffairs.org/2017/06/the-difference-betwee...

How's the socialist system looking in your favourite state? https://i.redditmedia.com/_I-TTa_27v_hLt6LfZ97uj4oFrVrc1mB8y...

$30M were requested for this, for which Narendra MOdi can build 200,000 toilets, a number which is larger than the homeless population itself.

Are you in speaking terms with Narendra Modi? He should do an IAmA here or on reddit.

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