While news organizations were dancing to Facebook’s tune they neglected their biggest treasure: their own sites, and most importantly, what remained of their own social networks. Their readers. More and more advertising was crammed into busier and busier Desktop-Websites that fewer and fewer would visit. Their headlines and leads fed Facebook. Headlines and leads are what most people read, so Facebook was happy. Readers were happy too because they didn’t have to type URLs anymore to scan a couple of headlines.

He went as far as claiming that posts on Facebook were “99% authentic”… which may leave those who have spent some time on social networks asking: Does he ever use his own product? Is Zuckerberg real?

Taking a step back from news is good for PR and good for China: facebook’s decision to downgrade publishers in their newsfeed seems like a knee jerk reaction to the negative reputation the company has since Trump’s election and the scrutiny it has come under for its role in Brexit or the Catalonia crisis. And then there are reports about declining user engagement and there is the overall shift towards ‚private social‘ i.e. chat apps. But there is more to it. […] Wrapping too much journalism around your brand is a mistake for any platform hoping to still make it into China, which is one of Mark Zuckerberg’s great ambitions.

Everything that Facebook does in the near future has to be interpreted in the stark neon light of fighting antitrust laws. Zuckerberg is ready for big sacrifices to avoid the governmental beatdown. Cutting news organizations out of the main feed already cost him 3.3 Billion. He knew that beforehand. He also knew that news organizations would not love him for his big change of mind. But compared to having the government step in and break up the Facebook Kingdom, 3.3 Billion and a couple of angry journalists is a very small price.

Hitler's dictatorship differed in one fundamental point from all its predecessors in history. His was the first dictatorship that made the complete use of all technical means for domination of its own country. Through technical devices like the radio and loudspeaker, 80 million people were deprived of independent thought.

In less than four decades, radio had completed the journey from fledgeling technology, to nerdy hobby, to big business, to potent political weapon.

This trajectory must have come as a shock to its pioneers. At its birth, it seemed like radio would only be a force for good. How could something that connects people together be anything but beneficial? Radio brought music into hospitals and nursing homes, it eased the profound isolation of rural life, it let people hear directly from their elected representatives. It brought laugher and entertainment into every parlor, saved lives at sea, gave people weather forecasts for the first time. But radio waves are just oscillating electromagnetic fields. They really don't care how we use them. All they want is to go places at the speed of light. It is hard to accept that good people, working on technology that benefits so many, with nothing but good intentions, could end up building a powerful tool for the wicked. But we can't afford to re-learn this lesson every time.

Het gevolg: de verzorgingsstaat is van een recht naar een gunst naar een plicht gegaan. Wie tegenwoordig om een klein beetje hulp komt vragen bij de overheid, moet voldoen aan een identificatieplicht, een arbeidsplicht, een inlichtingenplicht, een budgetteringsplicht, een medewerkingsplicht - en sindskort ook een taaleis. Plichten en eisen die, stuk voor stuk, weer moeten worden gehandhaafd door sociale dienstverleners, incasso-agenten en controleurs. Die weer bergen administratie verschaffen aan verzekeraars, accountants en agenten. Die weer in de gaten worden gehouden door wethouders, staatssecretarissen en ministers. Allemaal regelaars van de uitzondering.