Zuckerberg Sells Free Speech. Brazil Gets the Algorithm.
Foreign billionaires should not control the channels through which a country argues, organizes and chooses its government.
They sell you freedom of speech. What you get is permission to speak inside a system they own.
You can write the post. They decide how it travels. They set the moderation rules, design the recommendations and control the machinery connecting you to an audience. Then they present themselves as champions of your freedom.
Brazil’s election shows why that sales pitch deserves a much harder look.
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Freedom, with the distribution controlled
Lula is fighting for reelection against Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s son. Flávio finished the first round ahead, roughly 47% to 45%. A Datafolha poll published October 15 put their runoff support at 51% to 49% of valid votes, within the two-point margin of error. The runoff is October 25.