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Riddick3001 @lemmy.world

Changed (political) atmosphere in Media and Lemmy perceived or real? Your input please

I've perceived the last couple of months a different media landscape overall, and to me more noticeable in Lemmy.

Some subjects seem to be regularly reoccurring and other relevant issues are simply almost absent. I believe also that overall Lemmy posts used to be more guarded, reasonably balanced , with a leftish tweak. Of late , the posts seem more repetitive, as if there's an agenda to be set. It could be my perception.

Then again, if I take the several disinformation warnings to heart, it could be that too.

Any one got a take on this, or have felt a change in the Media, subjects and or comments of late,especially the last weeks?

Examples: Trump, Fascism, Hate crime, Palestine/ Isreael, corruption. Overall, the atmosphere of links, posts and comments are more negative & polarising I guess..

11 comments

  • That's a complex topic and you are a little vague.

    First of all: Fediverse = you have way more power about making it yours.

    Some communities aren't necessarily left-wing, and I don't think that's a bad thing.

    Disinformation and dissent bots are a thing here, too. Hopefully to a far lesser extent than on other platforms, but I must say that even on reddit I could largely avoid those.

    Then there are what I have - for now - termed powerusers: they post a ton of articles every 24h or so, to an extent that makes me wonder what else they're doing. And often they do not choose them well. This reduces the signal-to-noise ratio. These people usually claim that they are helping the Fediverse grow, but I'm not so sure.

    Also, US Americans are often dominant in English speaking communities - and they're having a fucking hard time right now, to the poin that they might lash out at anyone who even slightly disagrees with them.

    Anything else?

    • Thanks for your response. I'm trying to communicate a sentiment, by making some observations and giving some examples.

      When I mentioned the Media landscape, I was referring to all media coverage, tv, newspapers etc.

      Some points you mentioned I recognise and experience somewhat of a nuisance. But like you said, those issues are not new, and can be somewhat avoided.

      It could be that the Powerusers, have polluted my experience. I do agree on your assessment of them. On the otherhand, this too, isn't something entirely new, and happened in Reddit as well.

      The other thing could be a more dominant influence of US in general, by Lemmy participation volumes and or extra noise in general, and it's true , they do seem less tolerant now.

      Maybe my question would be something like: do you perceive , by whatever means and media, ( eg reddit, lemmy, tv, www etc) , a shift in subject, tone, style, atmospheres, or change therein; and if so, are we are experiencing the effects of a (targeted) influence campaign?

      If not, a second explanation could be that polarisation has hit a new more fierce level, and it's spilling over.

      • do you perceive , by whatever means and media, ( eg reddit, lemmy, tv, www etc) , a shift in subject, tone, style, atmospheres, or change therein;

        Again: I find this too vague. Sorry.

        and if so, are we are experiencing the effects of a (targeted) influence campaign?

        Yes, all the time, but that is independent from the rest of that sentence and your sentiment.

        If not, a second explanation could be that polarisation has hit a new more fierce level

        I can agree to that, but less so in the lemmiverse.

        and it’s spilling over.

        From where to where?

  • All of your examples are very much important and urgent topics right now, it doesn't really need "agenda setters" to make these the center of attention. Or at least not "agenda setters" in the fediverse, it's quite possible that many users are being influenced in other places like the mainstream media.

    • many users are being influenced in other places like the mainstream media.

      Thanks for your take and I agree. So no agenda setting needed here.

  • I think what we see is a shift in narrative that finally starts to catch on to some of the reality. I am tired of the narratives and consistent influence campaigns that have been pushed by corporate media for decades. We are living in a time of multiple interlinked crisis and as the danger is rising, so are the "negative" and "polarising" news.

    I am probably one of the users, who you would suspect of being part of some influence campaign, as i share articles relating to Palestine and the NAWA (North Africa, West Asia) region daily. I believe these to be a focal point for many problems of the world. The global injustice, violation of human rights, corporate greed destroying every bit of ecological and social stability, the erosion of values and democracy in Western Nations...

    All these become brazenly apparent there. As the president of Colombia says. If the imperial powers get away with the genocide of brown people in Gaza, they will globalize that genocide.

    I know other users, who focus on spreading news about Ukraine and i am glad that they do, as i don't follow the situation in Ukraine as actively anymore. I see it as a strength that people can have different focuses that then combine here.

    In Europe we have a rise of the fascist far right and a rise of authoritarian and repressive politics among broad parts of the political spectrum. While this is "domestic" it reflects itself in the foreign policy and the foreign policy reflects into the domestic policy.

    I would also love not to see news about the rise of fascists every day, but it is happening right now and the response of civil society is still far from what is needed to defend against it. And herein i also see the positive side. By facing the real problems and acting on them, we can end the negatives and create a better future. The only way to not be overwhelmed, is by becoming proactive.

    Or as the German band "Die Ärzte" sang 20 years ago already:

    Es ist nicht deine Schuld, dass die Welt ist, wie sie ist
    Es wär nur deine Schuld, wenn sie so bleibt

    It isn't your fault, that the world is like it is.
    It only would be your fault, if it stays like this

    • Nah, you have been here for a while, you seem quite consistent in your approach..Maybe other users though..

      Like you said, we all have a different take and I can mostly relate to your focus , and I agree that,

      "By facing the real problems and acting on them, we can end the negatives and create a better future"

      And as an artist friend said to me : " There are people who want to change the world by making the world more beautiful, and those who want to change it by making it a better place. We need both types to make it work. "

  • I would fully agree that posts and -above all- comments are more and more polarising, there is even no real discussion at all across most instances and communities, especially when it comes to the topics you've named (Trump, fascism, Palestine/Israel ...), but also China, Russia, the Ukraine war, and others. There also appear to be large groups supporting authoritarian propaganda, thus spreading mis-/disinformation. Many articles have bold headlines supporting a particular narrative but very weak content. What is most irritating in that respect is that often even admins and mods are supporting these groups (and I explicitly do not mean only the grads and bear instances, there are several communities with a moderate stance at first sight, but are nevertheless conveying totalitarian and anti-democratic views, but I don't want to call them out here).

    All in all I sometimes find useful links and information I didn't know before, but if this polarisation and partisanship becomes persistent, it will hold Lemmy back from meaningfully growing. No one wants to read this propaganda.

    I am here on Lemmy for just a short amount of time, so you may take my opinion with a grain of salt. But these are my two cents.

    • Thanks for your input. And that's basically my impression as well. I would definitely recommend [reading the] other comments here as well, as the change seems multifactored and your user experience can be adjusted.

      Also, since you are newish here, can I assume you have experiences with other platforms ( Reddit, twitter/X , tik-tok)?

      I am inclined to conclude that yes, the overall mediascape is more polarised, sensational and less objective, and article content are oftentimes more and more not supportive of the titles.

      The issues we're facing are also heavily political in nature and trigger stronger( existential) responses, The Geo political landscape is shifting, as major ( China Usa, Ruz, EU)"powers are trying to consolidate what power they have; there have always been cleavages within those classic major powers which are becoming more apparent as the Worldtrade & supply routes are eroded ( eg religion, money, region, status etc).

      And, also that's my belief , that third party actors are using this as leverage to fuel the divisions. Afaik, various intelligence and contra services, are probably on the 24/7 treadmill producing information and counterinformation. And, this could also explain the new layer of antagonism.

      US Christian rightwinged, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Russia,India, Ukraine, Israel etc. And ofcourse within EU, the extreme right & extreme left parties, UK, France, Poland, Batics, Germany, Spain , Italy, The Nordics and Hungary are all trying to influence.

  • It's always changing.

    Most of the examples you gave are on my filter list, so I can't really say anything about those in particular.

11 comments