Facebook Trolls

How many times have you seen a post of Facebook that you really like?  Maybe a picture of a bunch of puppies with a kid.

Then when you click ‘Like’ a troll has posted something like this:



What a downer! Nowhere does it state this is anything more than a family of puppies that belong to a family. I do agree puppy mills are a disgrace, but why does the troll think this is the right place to protest?

Trolls are everywhere. I have tried to ignore them, but sometimes it’s hard. I wish Facebook would add something to call out trolls. All trolls do is try to inflame folks into making responses, and when those responses come, makes a troll happy!

Facebook, please add an icon to designate a troll!

Facebook Politics, Hoaxes and Fake News

When you see a political post on Facebook, do you do the following:

1. Share without checking to see if it is accurate or fake news.


2. Research the post.


3. Ignore or ‘Hide’ the post.

I think most folks ‘Share without checking’. I have been guilty of that as well, but I am trying to do better.

When my ‘BS’ meter kicks in, I research and that has been happening a lot lately.

When someone posts an outrageous post (for the right or the left) I have been known to just ignore or hide the post.

I used to let folks who post a hoax know it is a hoax, but unless it is harmful, I now usually just let it go. Seems like it is usually the same folks posting those hoaxes, guess they are too gullible to learn.

Fake news is all over the Internet, including Facebook. The powers that be on Facebook are trying to stop fake news, but so far all I have seen are some ‘warnings’ about a post that are not accurate.





And now we know a lot of the stuff we have been sharing we shouldn’t have because that stuff was really being posted by the Russians!

I am not sure what the goal was for all of those ‘fake’ ads, maybe they were trying to influence the election, but I think they were trying to divide us and in that respect, they certainly succeeded.

This should be a wake-up call for all Facebook users. Instead of ‘sharing’ those nasty political posts, try to ignore them.

United we stand, divided we fall.  Let us not be divided!

One Day on Facebook

I usually log on to Facebook at least once a day. I used to go to Facebook more than I do now, because Facebook isn’t as much fun as it used to be.

Between all the political crap (and most of it is pure crap) and all those ads, I had been considering cancelling my Facebook account.

These so-called posts (ads) appeared between every three or four posts from friends. This was what was there on just one day:

Quicken Loans wants to let me know I can pay off my house at a furious pace using a Government program.

Dyson wants to sell me a cord free machine.

Spectrum  - Speeds starting at 60 Mbbs.

Instacar- -t Shop my favorite grocery store and they will deliver to my door.

LendingTree - -Reverse mortgage.

Hexa - Incontinance products.

Bank Account Reviews- -Find the best online banks

American Red Cross - They want me to leave them my money. (not a chance!)

Geico wants to sell me insurance.

WiFi Booster wants to sell me a booster. They also flashed a huge 'sign up for email' ad in my face.

Stearns and Foster wants to sell me a mattress.

Xarelto may owe me money

Opendoor wants to buy my house. (I don't own one)

Stansberry Research wants to warn me I am going to lose my money ( I am sure I will lose some if I go to their site and sign up for whatever they are selling)

Home Gather wants to sell me a home cheap.

Wall Street journal wants to sell me a subscription.

Peak Chiropractic and Rehab thinks I have pain.

All of these so-called posts have one thing in common, at the top or close to the tops, this:



or this:



Ad Block does not stop these ads!

I tried blocking them.



That stopped one and I think three more took its place!

I recently installed an app called F.B. Purity so I could make Facebook always show the most recent posts. (No matter how many times I changed this setting, Facebook always wants me to see the ‘Top stories’ when I log in. I don’t know how they determine what is a top story, but that’s another issue.)



Then something great happened. I wasn’t seeing those ‘Sponsored’ posts anymore.

I checked F.B. Purity and found this!



F.B. Purity is great, I love it! Facebook is a bit more fun these days.

Now on to fix other issues with Facebook, like why when I click a link to another page in Facebook I can’t go back to where I was before I clicked that link!

A Very Special Kind of Stupid

Not sure if ‘stupid’ is the right description, but I can’t think of a word to best describe this condition.

I am not talking about folks with elevators don't quite reach the top floor. This is a category of a different kind.

The ones I am referring to are those folks that are well, just plain gullible. These are the folks that read fake news and totally believe it, just like the guy that totally believed the sex traffic ring was being run from a pizzeria.

Despite this fake news being debunked by numerous sites, this guy totally believed this silliness and almost caused a real tragedy.

Then there are the 'birthers'. There are many people who believe that Barack Obama was born in Kenya and not eligible to be President of the United States. The conspiracy was started by a Democratic supporter for Hillary Clinton during the election campaign 2008. Despite the fact there was no real proof this was true and Obama's birth certificate being provided by the State of Hawaii, many people still believe it to this day.

There are people that believe the government of the United States was behind the World Trade Center tragedy, man did not go to the moon, the Sandy Hook shootings did not really happen, and the list goes on and on.

So why are so many people so gullible? It's probably due to several reasons, but mainly because of what I call 'a special kind of stupid'. A lot of these folks are intelligent, but when a theory is introduced by someone and it appeals to the 'I want to believe this' element present in someone, this 'special kind of stupid' or confirmation bias, kicks in. Once this happens, no amount of proof will sway their belief.

A Guide to Arguing With a Snopes-Denier

Some will believe, but some won’t.

Martha

Facebook Annoyances

Why won't Facebook let me see the 'Most Recent' posts instead of 'Top Stories'? And how do they determine what is a 'Top Story'? I want a setting to always show 'Most recent!

There are some posts on Facebook that make me want to just leave.

For instance,

"I'm going to see who really cares..."

"I need a hug or two! To give me a hug, Like and Share this post.
I know who will hug me and who will not."

Really?

"Share if you agree." This is usually a post that tries to make you feel guilty if you don't share.

Hoaxes. Facebook users post so many hoaxes. They are like the energizer bunny, they just keep going and going, seeming like forever.

Fake news. There are political fake news sites for both parties. Usually these sites are so ridiculous I don't see how anyone with an iota of intelligence would believe them, but then again, I suspect there are some folks who believe.

There are also wild tales generally with photo-shopped pictures. I doubt most viewers believe but as I said before some folks will believe.

Facebook used to be fun. It still is at times which is why I still use it, but I must take it in small doses.

 

 

Wondering Why

Why does Chevrolet think actors aren’t ‘real people’?  If they aren’t real people, what are they? Androids?

Are the ‘Real people’ in those ads real? I am not the only one to wonder, just look at the Consumerist.

Why when I click a link to someone’s page on Facebook and then click the back arrow why doesn’t Facebook take me back to the place I just left? Annoying!

Do people read the side effects on all those drug ads? If they do read them, do they still take those drugs? Why? Even those side effects that can include death? ‘Ask your doctor if death is right for you!’.

What is this bar? Can’t close it even though there is a X on it.



Why does every website I visit assume I want to sign up for their newsletter?

Why does my computer keep losing Internet Connection?

Why do people pay a lot of money for jeans with holes in them? And for heaven’s sake, why would anyone want to wear these?

Martha

Re-doing Martha’s Web

If you tried to visit my old web site, you got a ‘not found’ page because I took it down. It was mostly about Windows XP and Outlook Express with a smattering of pages about later versions of Windows, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 but none about Windows 10.

I know there are a lot of folks still using Windows XP and that is why I left it up as long as I did, but it’s time for those users to move on to something else.

My intensions are to just re-do it and put it back up. I just didn’t realize what a job that is! My vision is not what it used to be so I must take a lot of breaks from my computer. And this humongous site is so link heavy to other pages it is taking a long time to chase them all down.

If I live long enough I will get it done.  In the meantime, I also had a disastrous event with my other blog, My not so perfect pc., but that seems to be ok now.

When and if I get marthas-web back up I will let you know on both my blogs and Facebook. For now, it’s no longer available.

In case you don't remember what marthas-web looked like, here is a screenshot.



Martha