On: China Fakes 488M Social Media Posts a Year: Study

[mattmanser]

Yes, an authoritarian state that murders and disappears people and then undermines resistance by subtly adjusting the dialogue of its citizens is just like a marketing agency.

Exactly the same, now I consider it more.

Forgive the hyperbole, but I think it does the suffering caused by their regime a great disservice to compare it to sponsored ads.

[dogma1138 → mattmanser]

Because the same marketing agencies also publish content for politicians and political parties, lobbyists and interest groups? It's not like it's only used to sell you car insurance and diet pills.

[spacecowboy_lon → dogma1138]

Yes but we don't kill anyone :-)

[moreorless → spacecowboy_lon]

Are you sure about that? It is just marketed a little differently.

[sspiff → mattmanser]

And US political factions don't use advertising to manipulate public opinion and don't own controlling stakes in huge media conglomerates.

And the US government would certainly never cause suffering, at home or abroad!

[adventured → sspiff]

You fell into a very common logic hole on that one. The parent comment never said anything about the US, and never attempted to draw a comparison between the US and China. The auto-reflex to assume they were making a comparison, is the logic failure. Criticizing X does not inherently mean one is defending Z; pointing out Z's flaws, does not negate the flaws of X.