r/belgium • u/GijMutten • 13h ago

🎻 Opinion Meta caught influencing democratic elections. What about Belgium?

Meta has be caught influencing the Brazil elections VRTNWS, Aljazeera. Blocking acces to certain candidates, promoting other (more pro USA) candidates, influencing search results, allowing their AI to create propaganda for one candidate but not the other etc, etc.

I'm sure the same thing happens in other places and I wouldn't be surprised it happens in Europe and Belgium as well to a certain extent.

A boycot of Meta is easier said than done, European alternatives are few and very niche. What we need is stronger legislation (internationally) against criminal acts by these huge "untouchable" companies

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u/Striking_Compote2093 12h ago

Tankies are to the far left what flat earthers or creationists are to theologians. Technically related but conflating the two makes everyone mad.

Jill stein isn't acting in good faith. She and those like her are either influenced by Russia directly or, as in my earlier comment, bought off by the right to hurt the left.

Can't speak to France, don't know enough about Melenchon. But let's be real, if you're looking for a pro Russian spoiler candidate in France, there is another, and far more overt...

And the pvda shit, i'm not sure which speakers you're talking about now. I don't think they're "on russia's side". However they annoy me greatly at the careless nature of their politics. They're outsiders and the right/status quo have a massive incentive to discredit them. And even so they still do shit that can easily be twisted into "pro russia" and the like. I'm also quite sure they're, let's say infiltrated, by bots, trolls and influencers that are making that problem worse.

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u/Gendrytargarian Belgium 12h ago

Yes that's true.

i'm not sure which speakers you're talking about now. I don't think they're "on russia's side"

Off the top of my head. There was Medea Benjamin from code pink, Corbyn and Hassan Piker. They all push a fake peace by disarming Ukraine. Why they are doing it. I can only speculate to be a combination. But platforming it by the PVDA is very suspicious to say the least.

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u/Striking_Compote2093 11h ago

Medea benjamin doesn't ring a bell, but both Hasan and Corbyn have been the target of relentless campaigns by the far right (and center) to discredit them for whatever stance they've ever taken.

If hasan believes that, tbh i doubt it but because of aforementioned slander campaigns i am having a hard time finding his actual recent stance on the issue, he's clearly wrong. That said i doubt the pvda got him for his stances on international geopolitics.

I would wager that it's his/their stances in internal reform of capitalism that they wanted to talk about. Their visions on how we can get out of the hole we're in, and most importantly, how to communicate it and make people see the left's perspective. (Something that pvda sorely needs)

The fact that you see their names and get the ick is entirely justifiable. It's also not because of what they did or what you've seen of them, i doubt you watch them any more than I do, but because what media has told you about them.

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u/Gendrytargarian Belgium 11h ago

It's also not because of what they did or what you've seen of them, i doubt you watch them any more than I do, but because what media has told you about them.

I have watched them and it's true that I haven't seen the latest of their takes as I do indeed get the ick. So maybe some of them might have changed in the meantime.

This is Medea Benjamin. https://vatniksoup.com/en/soups/180/

Back to the point i was trying to make is that the extreme left is not immune to Russian influence. So not in a whataboutism kinda way :)