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The problem is that platforms aren't liable for the damage they cause. If the NYTimes makes up some nonsense that gets people hurt then they are liable. If some jabroni on Facebook does then there's no liability attached to Facebook. Which was probably fine for the BBS/message board days. Probably not so much when Facebook takes an active role in amplifying some messages over others.

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If we are going by total harm, mass media is ahead by a mile. How many people died because of false claims of weapons of mass destruction not properly vetted by mainstream media? Over half-a-million. What's the most deadly situation social media caused?

We could start with the ethnic cleansing: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/facebook-frances-haugen-whist...

Ok, Google says 2,000 protesters have been killed in Myanmar, just 498,000 more until we reach mass media levels of death.

Lies by governments amplified by mass media are always going to be way more damaging than lies by crackpots on social media.

You can just generate a bunch of legit looking news sites and spam it on facebook/whatever. Most people won’t check and it’s not viable for facebook to track every fake news site.

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