An Unholy Abomination

By Alex Gratzek

One technological issue facing America and the world at large today is the threat posed by algorithms. These algorithms, when coupled with Facebook and YouTube, pose a threat to public civil discourse in America and by extension, to democracy itself.

Platforms such as these are eager to keep users online and engaged as long as possible. Being corporations, their motive is to maximize profits, with any thought of public service a distant second at best. To this end, they use algorithms to promote similar but slightly more extreme videos or conspiracy theories, aiding in the delusions of those who go down that rabbit hole. Once down that rabbit hole, it’s hard to escape from it.

Algorithms need to be tweaked to present a more balanced and nuanced view of topics. If one were to end up watching a video exploring the supposed merits of the Flat Earth Theory, then the next video should point out every inane aspect of the Flat Earth Theory instead of promoting more flat earth videos.

These algorithms send the viewer into the rabbit hole of more conspiracy theories. Here, in the most delusional recesses of the internet, an unholy abomination has been born. It reminds me of the alien-monster in the 1982 John Carpenter classic “The Thing.” In the movie, an alien life form is able to absorb and imitate other life forms, becoming an abominable amalgamation of multiple animals.

The abomination is the new conspiracy theory group Q-Anon. Some of its adherents are running for office and they make the fringe 2010 Tea Party look sane by comparison. One can only hope that all the Q-Anon linked candidates get crushed in the election to prevent the “none-sense” from becoming established in mainstream American political discourse.

However, as much as I can hope, I won’t hold my breath. The sad part is, the promise of all the world’s information and knowledge at one’s fingertips has not played out as expected. The advent of so much information has made it nearly impossible to find “the truth.”

Every Tom, Dick, Harry and Jane can make a YouTube video espousing views that the coronavirus is linked to 5G, that Obama was born in Kenya, that the world is secretly controlled by lizard people ― or that the world is really controlled by a cabal of satanic pedophiles who are lizard people ― that Bill Gates is trying to control us via microchips implanted in us by an as of yet uncreated vaccine, that George Soros is secretly financing Antifa to overthrow the government and subordinate America to the U.N. or that Goya Beans are the best bean product on the market today or other utter nonsense.

Sending people down these rabbit holes brings them into contact with other like-minded individuals who are prone to conspiracy theories, so you have the confluence of flat earthers, anti-vaxxers, 5G and corona conspiracy theorists leading to the bastard abomination of a conspiracy theory represented by Q-Anon. It hasn’t yet met a conspiracy theory it can’t co-opt into its grand pantheon of nonsense.

In the olden days, the crazies would stereotypically be dirty hobos or homeless people eating cans of beans while carrying around cardboard signs proclaiming the imminent demise of the world. People would steer clear.

Now, every person who spouts conspiracy theories can find other like-minded people on the internet who, other than their fervent excuses for conspiracy theories, appear to be normal, making these conspiracy theories more palatable to the main stream.

To successfully battle this would likely mean less clicks, likes, views, ratings, an uproar about “muzzling free speech” and by extension a hit on profits, but it will keep the foundations of society on solid ground.

This should be paramount to tech companies as a strong societal foundation will ensure future profits, but the problem with the American version of capitalism is its emphasis on immediate monetary gain above all else. Companies should be free to pursue profits but not at the expense of societies’ health

As an example, Facebook has rightly been under close scrutiny for its role in running deliberately misleading or outright false political ads. When a legitimate company like Facebook runs blatantly misleading or false ads, it only serves to legitimize “The Paranoid Style in American Politics,” and may I dare add delusional, which has become increasingly prevalent in America.

The fact that Facebook is running such ads is horrifying. During World War II, Goebbels, Hitler’s chief of propaganda, said “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” With Facebook incessantly bombarding its users with false or misleading information, the threat of lies becoming truth to many increases. Many already are taking these conspiracy theories as truth.

Instead of tackling real issues, time is being spent and wasted on birtherism, face masks and other rubbish. Algorithms need to be redesigned to ensure contrasting views are exposed to people instead of other conspiracies or similar but increasingly extreme like-minded videos.