John Oliver cited a 5000% rise in search queries related to leaving Meta and deleting accounts. Among the topics mentioned in the analysis, attention was drawn to early Facebook’s naivete with regard to moderation requirements, the constitutional framework, and a history of governmental interference.

Oliver debunks common right-wing “cry censorship” talking points, as well as the objective difficulty of moderation endeavors, and how direct threats by Trump may have influenced Zuckerberg’s turnaround.

Oliver went on to suggest Signal, Mastodon, Bluesky, and Pixelfed as alternatives that “do not seem as desperate to fall in line with Trump”. For those reluctant to completely ditch Meta, Oliver revealed a new site with step-by-step instructions to “make yourself less valuable to them”.

The guide was a collaboration with the EFF, and includes settings’ tweaks for Facebook and Meta, whose 98% of revenue comes from micro-targeting ads, the host previously cited, to increase privacy, and recommends Firefox, Privacy Badger, as “other measures” to take in order “to block advertisers and other third parties from tracking you”.

The segment culminated in a mock advert, in which the new Meta’s approach to moderation is coined as “Fuck it”, and hints to racism, internet scams, and calls to genocide running rampant on Meta’s platforms.

The clip reminds the origins of Facebook as a site to “rank college girls by hotness”, and its implication in genocide in Myanmar, which was more thoroughly discussed in an Oliver’s previous special on Facebook in 2018.

  • Fonzie!
    link
    fedilink
    5815 hours ago

    John Oliver’s show is doing amazing things, including the Drumpfinator addon.

    What is that URL, though? I’m guessing I’m know it if I (happily) watch the episode?

    • Fushuan [he/him]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1913 hours ago

      it’s an inside joke of the show where he presents himself as a “”“secret”“” furry that loves rat erotica. The content of the link is legit though.

      • SkaveRat
        link
        fedilink
        1313 hours ago

        with the sometimes quite insider-y references, there absolutely is at least one furry on the writing team

        • @grue
          link
          English
          85 hours ago
          mildly NSFW?

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            12 minutes ago

            Just imagine being a artist, doing furry because you love it or maybe just because it pays your bills. And then someone from HBO contacts you about commissioning a picture of John Oliver as a horny otter in skintight jorts.

        • Fushuan [he/him]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          812 hours ago

          Oh, absolutely! That’s maybe why the jokes feel so pure and not disrespectful.