Want to wade into the snowy surf of the abyss? Have a sneer percolating in your system but not enough time/energy to make a whole post about it? Go forth and be mid.

Welcome to the Stubsack, your first port of call for learning fresh Awful you’ll near-instantly regret.

Any awful.systems sub may be subsneered in this subthread, techtakes or no.

If your sneer seems higher quality than you thought, feel free to cut’n’paste it into its own post — there’s no quota for posting and the bar really isn’t that high.

The post Xitter web has spawned so many “esoteric” right wing freaks, but there’s no appropriate sneer-space for them. I’m talking redscare-ish, reality challenged “culture critics” who write about everything but understand nothing. I’m talking about reply-guys who make the same 6 tweets about the same 3 subjects. They’re inescapable at this point, yet I don’t see them mocked (as much as they should be)

Like, there was one dude a while back who insisted that women couldn’t be surgeons because they didn’t believe in the moon or in stars? I think each and every one of these guys is uniquely fucked up and if I can’t escape them, I would love to sneer at them.

(Credit and/or blame to David Gerard for starting this.)

  • mirrorwitch@awful.systems
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    1 day ago

    in the past 24 hours I was fooled by 3 pieces of fake news in a row:

    • that Kurds from Iraq were crossing the border to fight in Iran
    • that Windows 12 would be AI-centred or require an AI chip to work (I helped spread this)
    • that Spain has capitulated and let the US use its ports for war (erroneously claimed by a WH official).

    I know that fake news can be made organically and have been since forever and I’m doing selection bias here but I can’t help but picture the misinformation engines firehosing bullshit constantly until some of it catches and spreads.

    • JFranek@awful.systems
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      1 day ago

      If you have to swim in raw sewage, you shouldn’t blame yourself when some poop gets in your mouth.

    • gerikson@awful.systems
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      2 days ago

      yeah it’s bad

      otoh awareness I think is spreading

      swedish public broadcasting has regular “spot the fake” pieces on their website

      I think giving a sensationalist bit of news 6 hours to “mature” is a good idea before amplifying.