One small pro-democracy act you can do is delete your Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp accounts.
Meta is aligned with the incoming regime, and your presence there helps them.
@alexwild I'm no fan of facebook, haven't even been on it in years now. But if you're gonna get huffy over companies not stepping up to take the place your wing is leaving notably absent, you're setting yourself up for a lot of disappointment.
Having any kind of principles always means being profoundly disappointed with how shit your compatriots are... I've got used to it and expect no better.
@JimmyB @alexwild Most people are good at spotting inconsistencies in others folks adherence to principles while near universally excusing their own. If you become more mindful of your own transgressions, you'll find you tend to become more forgiving of theirs. We're all works in progress, after all. There's limits, OFC. It's fine to have clear standards. But you'll find allowing for more grey between those black & white absolutes will alleviate much of that 'profound disappointment' feeling.
@alexwild @Beggarmidas well I am definitely more aware now - it increases as I get older - of my own inconsistencies. Living in Europe it’s impossible to live a decent life really without retreating to a cave. I know it and see it.
My disappointment is how little my compatriots give a shit about other people’s acute suffering. I find that extremely difficult to be too ok with. The steps to getting there (Amazon etc?) - we are all implicated
@alexwild @Beggarmidas I was just thinking about this post: I live in a country which is increasingly fascist. Which is profoundly selfish. Where 25% of kids grow up in poverty - entirely unnecessarily. Where a massive racist riot was stirred across the country by leading politicians over 10 days last summer.
There are good things too. But I think it is entirely reasonable - even weird if you do not find compatriots deeply depressing.
@JimmyB @alexwild those all are worthy of brooding over. But we must prioritize. We need to find common ground to forge alliances instead of reasons to nitpick. Most importantly we need to not give ourselves excuses to disengage.
I wont lie. Ahead are real troubles this country hasn't known in 150 years. In some ways *ever* known. People will get hurt, people will die. Lives will be irrevocably changed forever. We may face it alone, or we can weather it together. Together offers better odds.
@alexwild I am going to delete my instagram. I don't have the others.
Already done and done! This place is more than enough for me, honestly.
@alexwild Your prudent request, to delete Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp will be ignored by many, just as asking people to dump Bezos Amazon.
Yeah - it will. But not all. And it sets the standard. And makes people think.
It also might help make you as an individual feel better - like, not just complying with being a tool of fascism, say.
I don't understand?
I mean - I don't use Meta platforms or Amazon. I don't force anyone else not to. I explain my reasoning.
Yeah! Me too!
But it does at least let them know that there are some people who take that position.
It's like me telling folks in the UK that the BBC is now just a hard right wing government mouth piece. It's shocking to many when I say that - coz they are used to the hard right propaganda which says the opposite. But it's a statement of truth and that's worth making. Hey - we're all maybe just surviving now.
@JimmyB @alexwild We have Fox and Newsmax actually the whole media system for propaganda in the U.S for years now.
"Keep in mind, The news media are not independent; they are sort of a bulletin board and public relations firm for the ruling class-the people who run things. Those who decide what news you will or will not hear are paid by, and“ tolerated purely at the whim of, those who hold economic power. If the parent corporation doesn’t want you know something," George Carlin
Yes. We used to laugh at Fox. Many years ago.
We now have all of that shit in spades too.
The corruption of the BBC was tragic tho. It's always been something of a government mouthpiece - but used to have some semi-decent journalists. They don't even pretend any more. Just fascist cheer leaders and propagandists.
@alexwild I also refuse on principle to use any Meta products, and I deleted my Facebook account long ago, but just to be clear, for many people getting off of Facebook, Instagram, and/or WhatsApp is anything but a "small" act.
I also think they should do it, but it's patronizing and therefore not particularly convincing to act like it's no big deal.
@jik @alexwild Well there's also the fact that some people use these as their only messaging tools.
Don't have Facebook and I have a whole bunch of messenger apps, including WhatsApp. And I don't have WhatsApp because I think it's neat. I have it because for some people it's the only way I can message them.
@alexwild Don't forget twatter while you are deleting....
@alexwild Happily FB vegan since 2014! My final message:
"Facebook has lost my trust."
@alexwild I have never had a FB, Insta or Whatsapp account (though sometimes inconvenienced...esp in Brazil). I did once log in to FB to wire my band up to its website through another band member's identity. I did that through a burner box.
@alexwild thanks for the reminder, I just nuked two of them which were dormant but still
@alexwild and twitter
@alexwild Just wanted to let you know that I just deleted my account, based on your recommendation — I might be just be one person, but please be assured your message made a difference.
@alexwild thank you to notice this change. I proudly register on Facebook and Instagram right now.
@alexwild Already avoiding GAFAM like plague.
Everyone should consider deleting or at least suspending their account on the 20th.
@alexwild and Threads?
@alexwild Easier said than done. I’ve tried moving people to Signal before, but they wouldn’t budge
@alexwild How does me talking to my family on Whatsapp help the regime?
@alexwild I get why people want to leave Meta's platforms, but doesn’t that create a bigger problem? If pro-democracy voices leave Facebook and Instagram, won’t the space just be filled with pro-regime supporters? It risks turning these platforms into echo chambers where only one side of the story is told.
@alexwild Social media, despite its issues, is still a key place for debate. By staying, we can counter misinformation, share different viewpoints, and reach people who might not be fully decided. If we leave, we lose the chance to challenge harmful narratives and let them dominate unchecked.
Maybe a better approach would be to stay and fight for our beliefs on these platforms while also supporting alternatives. That way, we don’t give up the space but still push for change.
@alexwild
Quality over quantity has been a much healthier life for me in my seasoned middle age of hard lessons learned.
That's why I only use Mastodon now for social media.
@alexwild Just deleted my Facebook and other accounts. They were mostly a waste of my time anyway.
I’ve never been a fan and with the new #Zuckerberg #Trump / #maga aligned policies it’s time to finally get rid of it.
I’ve been using SFBA.social ( #Mastodon ) for a couple of years and have not looked back.
@alexwild I only have WhatsApp to communicate with the older generations in the family, who aren't going to change no matter what I say.
I haven't had any of those others you mention for years. Having to exchange thousands of followers for hundreds did frustrate me for a while, but then I realised the small number I have here are real people with real lives, and got over it.
@ApostateEnglishman @alexwild yup. Same here. Can't get rid of WhatsApp for the same reason. Only way to communicate with family and friends. But I left Fecesbook last year and decided to give Instagram a go. And this news today was the final straw. Instagone.
@alexwild unfortunately, my family's group is the only access I have to my entire immediate family. However, outside of that, my FB presence is extremely minimal.
@alexwild can't do that
@alexwild Don't forget to tell Apple users to give up using their iPhones, Macs and other Apple products. Also, AT&T customers should drop their cellular and home 5G and fiber Internet service, along with Charter customers. Also, we should boycott all of Amazon's services, as well, including getting rid of our Alexa smart speakers. And if Google decides to donate, well ... we may just have to go back to using flip phones at that point. And when you do go to the phone store to return those phones, don't travel to them using Uber because they've donated to the fund, as well. Of course, they can drive themselves to the phone store ... unless they happen to own a vehicle from Ford, GM or Toyota since those companies also donated to his inaugural fund.
@alexwild watch as dozens of meta users delete their accounts as a result of these changes @briankrebs
Let's not discriminate. X and BS will not fare better.
@alexwild
Dumping Facebook, which I hardly use. Never used Instagram or threads. WhatsApp is more difficult as tied into family and group comms, but we can try.
@alexwild I once ran into a person that literally screamed at me for not having a Facebook account...
@alexwild
I am in the process of deleting my Facebook account. I already notified the people with whom I would like to maintain contact, which excludes my MAGA in-laws by the way. I can only compare the good feelings I am already experiencing to the time my desktop computer at work crashed about 20 years ago and I had no backup of my email folders. I lost about ten years of emails and that "cleanup" of old messages, which I rarely missed, was one of the best things that ever happened to me at the office. I highly recommend it.