Hacker News Reader

Comment by arghandugh | Hacker News Reader

Big Tech subverted the world’s longest running democracy and tipped a majority of the global population into authoritarian rule. An essay handwringing the question doesn’t seem very useful at this point.

View on HN

Is that why people overwhelmingly voted for change in 2024, ironically to bring back the “dictator”? Popular mandate, all of swing states, majority of governorships, house and the senate - seems as decisive a democratic choice as it can get!

It was a narrow victory. Trump didn’t win a majority, and his win had little effect on down ballot races.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-size-of-donald-tru...

> Trump's 2024 raw vote margin was smaller than any popular vote winner since 2000, and the fifth-lowest since 1960

I'd bet $500 that richrichie knows that already and seeing it again still won't keep them from repeating the known lie. It's kind of part and parcel.

He had everything against him - media, law enforcement, justice system, big tech, social media. They even tried to kill him twice and he still won.

So it was a big in your face landslide. Cope.

Trump is a negative candidate, any % win is a landslide

Trump got lucky a bit with the immigration issue. There are 11 million unauthorized immigrants in the US. The barriers to removal that existed 15 years ago are mostly gone. Everyone is so connected now, finding illegals is straightforward data mining. The government data shows there is really no explanation why they aren't being removed. Even Obama deported huge numbers of illegals. It also didn't help that in exit polls Harris received less than 40% of the vote of married men and less than 40% of the vote of people identifying as Christian. I would say people voted for deportations and someone more old fashioned.

FWIW, Putin was also overwhelmingly elected by people "voting for change" back in the day.

Indeed he is an elected head of state. Cope.

Not today, not with what elections are in Russia now and have been for well over a decade. But back in 2000, he absolutely was an elected head of state, yeah. I've been there when it happened, and yes, we coped (many by leaving the country, then or later when it became clear that what we expected is what is actually happening).

Just goes to show what happens when you elect people like this, and why any democracy that wants to remain one will have mechanisms in place that will block such people regardless of how many votes they might get.

I am sorry to say that the elections in Russia are more reliable than that in the US, where they take a month to count.

Yes, elections in Russia these days are reliably falsified.

The govt was changed despite big tech not because of it. And the majority of people disagree with your characterization of "authoritarian rule".

Trump didn’t win a majority of those who voted, let alone the idea that a majority of the country supports him.

I guess the yardstick I was using was winning the popular vote and all the swing states. What yardstick are you using?

In light of these contexts, what would you rather see at the top of HN?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com