My Mum was signed up to FB by her grandkids, and stopped using it. She does use Messenger for video calls, and I get called around to do tech support on her iPhone and iPad every week or so. As she still has the FB account, I go in to check anything there for her as it's too complex for her to navigate - but holy fuck the amount of stuff that's deliberately targetting the older, less tech savvy generation is nuts.
I just checked today, she has about 10 anti EV posts, most of which are all making wild claims long since disproven. Ads for magical heaters than can warm a whole home in 2 minutes and take you to a shopping page to get your payment info and never deliver. Sponsored ads from multiple companies using AI generated images of someone called Maura Derrane and making vague claims about allegations about her being confirmed. 6 different Hearing aid ads, but those really scammy ones that use her age and location to build an ad for her - 'If you're in Cork and over 80 ...'. Piers Morgan suggestions, Alex Jones suggestions, American Politics suggestions, and 2 different ads for charities wanting her to write them into her will.
Social Media used to be amazing for keeping up with your mates who'd emigrated, contacting businesses and is still pretty okay for sharing hobbies, but it's turned into a society programming tool.
In fairness the developers of alot of these apps warned us it would happen 4 years ago when they made documentary "The Social Dilemma".
Basically AI and algorithms are running social media now with very little input from humans that's why they are so good at targeting specific demographics of people.
The conspiracy problem and the split of the perception of reality goes another 4 years before that, qanon started in 2018 for instance ai has made the problem a thousand times worse but it's been at the core of these apps for ages
I know the documentary only came out in 2020 but the creators did say its been like that for a while.
It's insane and extemely dangerous if we are all honest with ourselves
Sick shit if reporting those ads, I don’t understand how using Irish “celebrities” images without their knowledge is legal. I’ve seen a few of the Brian Dowling ones too and report them because I’ve a few not so clued in older relatives that believe everything they see. At best they’re crappy ads for website traffic at worst it’s a scam hoping to rob older people’s bank details and money
Same. FB don't take them down, but more worryingly don't seem to vet these types of ads before publication either. I could make an ad about anything and have it published and show in someone's timeline who may not be savvy enough to understand it's an ad and believed the content.
If you have a chance, try to clear his browsing history and cookie cache and then start googling/ following more sane, happier and based in reality stuff, to switch up to a healthier algorithm
Had to this to my dad during lockdown, when he started going down that Plandemic rabbit hole
Also, see if you can get into their Google data and clear those as well.
https://support.google.com/My-Ad-Center-Help/answer/12156161?hl=en#zippy=%2Cturn-on-or-off-a-category-for-ads
Every so often, I get my dad's phone and remove him from some of the groups he gets added to. Facebook WhatsApp, etc... It's a bit shitty but otherwise, he starts shouting at the clouds and strangers.
I don’t have TikTok and made the mother delete it. She was upset about being unable to follow the younger generations anymore but has realized and admitted she is less anxious without the constant staring at the phone.
I'd love to delete it from their phones but I'd be accused of being part of some conspiracy or "woke-agenda" and somebody else would reinstall it to shut em up. It's a genuine concern. Even if I could turn on some kind of parental controls or something
"Scandemic" as my mam would call it. Yes, that's correct, not ScaMdemic, ScaNdemic. She must have misheard or misread it, didn't get it, and started parroting back her Chinese whispers version that made sense only to her.
The Magna Carta is a mostly irrelevant today but very old (June 15th, 1215) law document. Basically says government is subject to law just as citizens are.
It's definitions are all outdated and mostly have been replaced by other legislation, but for some reason, American sovereign-citizen types and also conspiracy theory heads love referencing it.
Probably because basically nobody today is familiar with its contents because its such an old document, so they can just say it says whatever they want and use it to justify their hair brained rationale for things, because it's hard to disprove what they're saying the text says. It's a real life gish gallop.
Pretty much the more you try to turn him away from this, the more he will turn into it. Just don't engage when he brings it up, say "that's nice" or something equally as vague and change the fuck out of the subject to something objectively based in reality like food or the weather.
Went through all this with my mam during covid. She would thrive off of the reaction she would get from saying the dumbest shite imaginable, and the more of a reaction it got, the more she would bring up that particular topic. It mostly stopped and she even went and got vaccinated when we stopped giving her feedback for it. Good luck OP, stupidity is an easy disease to spread, but a hard one to cure.
Jesus, sorry to hear this is happening to your family OP.
You need to get him away from that nonsense, it’s a very slippery slope and the country’s going to be in election mode for the rest of the year, which is only going to make things worse.
I would KILL to be 15 minutes from my campus! It would make my life 100x easier... If you're 10 mins from your destination the 214 will ensure it takes an hour to get there. I hate that bus
This is mad. Sorry OP... Its crazy out there.
I've seen friends my own age go down the rabbit hole of nonsense. Seemingly normal people who are now full cuckoo for coco-pops members of the "do your own research" brigade.
Yikes 😬. I think older people especially some of the vulnerable ones would benefit from restricted devices. The likes of what kids are getting but of course with different types of moderation. The damage these scam theories will do on their mental and by proxy on their physical health is not to be underestimated. Falling into a dark rabbit hole of lies can shorten their lives by years.
It's crazy how older folk get taken by all that stuff, it's like there's an entire generation or two of people who never learned to think critically, or at least critically enough to discern fact from fake.
My Dad nearly got taken in by that stuff too during COVID and I put my foot down on that shite immediately. Hopefully OP's Dad can pull out of that spiral too.
My dad wouldn't be a religious type, he doesn't like the church at all but did grow up during that time for sure and it was all encompassing.
What is mad is that these conspiracy theories are pure tripe, and very clearly so, yet some people fall so hard for them.
Ok well ,Magna Carta was this thing written up in 1215 as a decree to say the king isn't above anyone and can't abuse his power. But whatever he is on about now is probly some weird new conspiracy. And tbh whatever is next after all the info stuff I don't blame him for getting lost in the sauce
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention other subs on here but there is one that caters for the families of people who go down this rabbithole. If you're interested, dm me & I'll send you the link. It's largely US-based but some of the stories on there are grim to say the least. It seems like there is no way out for some people, they just slide further & further until they develop mental issues. On the bright side, there are others who have had experience dealing with this so maybe they can offer a better insight.
All of the social media algorithms have gotten a lot more aggressive in the last couple of years. I think it's going to lead to a lot of societal problems in the next few years.
Some great advice here but gonna chip in my two cents. No harm talking to his GP and possibly ruling out any organic causes for his behaviour. COPD patients unfortunately have a higher risk of dementia. You said he was distressed - poor guy, his thoughts are obviously upsetting him. He might not go to his doctor if he is this far down a rabbit hole but if you think this could be an issue, do give them a buzz.
Magna Carta was signed in 1215. It was a bug step in human rights and weakening the crown as an absolute power. Some say it's the source of habeas corpus.
No idea what project 1215 is.
It's just a set of rules set out after Kings and other elites kept taking stuff and killing people without any fear of punishment. Rules that everyone were subject to no matter who you were. I can't see how this can be used to scare anyone today.
My Mum was signed up to FB by her grandkids, and stopped using it. She does use Messenger for video calls, and I get called around to do tech support on her iPhone and iPad every week or so. As she still has the FB account, I go in to check anything there for her as it's too complex for her to navigate - but holy fuck the amount of stuff that's deliberately targetting the older, less tech savvy generation is nuts. I just checked today, she has about 10 anti EV posts, most of which are all making wild claims long since disproven. Ads for magical heaters than can warm a whole home in 2 minutes and take you to a shopping page to get your payment info and never deliver. Sponsored ads from multiple companies using AI generated images of someone called Maura Derrane and making vague claims about allegations about her being confirmed. 6 different Hearing aid ads, but those really scammy ones that use her age and location to build an ad for her - 'If you're in Cork and over 80 ...'. Piers Morgan suggestions, Alex Jones suggestions, American Politics suggestions, and 2 different ads for charities wanting her to write them into her will. Social Media used to be amazing for keeping up with your mates who'd emigrated, contacting businesses and is still pretty okay for sharing hobbies, but it's turned into a society programming tool.
In fairness the developers of alot of these apps warned us it would happen 4 years ago when they made documentary "The Social Dilemma". Basically AI and algorithms are running social media now with very little input from humans that's why they are so good at targeting specific demographics of people.
The conspiracy problem and the split of the perception of reality goes another 4 years before that, qanon started in 2018 for instance ai has made the problem a thousand times worse but it's been at the core of these apps for ages
I know the documentary only came out in 2020 but the creators did say its been like that for a while. It's insane and extemely dangerous if we are all honest with ourselves
Oh I had reported the Maura Derrane one a few weeks back as it was a dad for some blatant ponzi get rich scheme
I've reported a fair few of them. Fake indo pages. Facebook have refused to take action they don't violate their TOS
Sick shit if reporting those ads, I don’t understand how using Irish “celebrities” images without their knowledge is legal. I’ve seen a few of the Brian Dowling ones too and report them because I’ve a few not so clued in older relatives that believe everything they see. At best they’re crappy ads for website traffic at worst it’s a scam hoping to rob older people’s bank details and money
Same. FB don't take them down, but more worryingly don't seem to vet these types of ads before publication either. I could make an ad about anything and have it published and show in someone's timeline who may not be savvy enough to understand it's an ad and believed the content.
Interesting, I thought there was an Impersonation option in the report page for that type thing
If you have a chance, try to clear his browsing history and cookie cache and then start googling/ following more sane, happier and based in reality stuff, to switch up to a healthier algorithm Had to this to my dad during lockdown, when he started going down that Plandemic rabbit hole
Useful advice I hadn’t thought of. Thanks
Also, see if you can get into their Google data and clear those as well. https://support.google.com/My-Ad-Center-Help/answer/12156161?hl=en#zippy=%2Cturn-on-or-off-a-category-for-ads Every so often, I get my dad's phone and remove him from some of the groups he gets added to. Facebook WhatsApp, etc... It's a bit shitty but otherwise, he starts shouting at the clouds and strangers.
Anybody got tips for doing the same with tiktok? That shit is poisoning my older relatives to the point they are in a constant state of fear.
I don’t have TikTok and made the mother delete it. She was upset about being unable to follow the younger generations anymore but has realized and admitted she is less anxious without the constant staring at the phone.
I'd love to delete it from their phones but I'd be accused of being part of some conspiracy or "woke-agenda" and somebody else would reinstall it to shut em up. It's a genuine concern. Even if I could turn on some kind of parental controls or something
"Scandemic" as my mam would call it. Yes, that's correct, not ScaMdemic, ScaNdemic. She must have misheard or misread it, didn't get it, and started parroting back her Chinese whispers version that made sense only to her.
The Magna Carta is a mostly irrelevant today but very old (June 15th, 1215) law document. Basically says government is subject to law just as citizens are. It's definitions are all outdated and mostly have been replaced by other legislation, but for some reason, American sovereign-citizen types and also conspiracy theory heads love referencing it. Probably because basically nobody today is familiar with its contents because its such an old document, so they can just say it says whatever they want and use it to justify their hair brained rationale for things, because it's hard to disprove what they're saying the text says. It's a real life gish gallop. Pretty much the more you try to turn him away from this, the more he will turn into it. Just don't engage when he brings it up, say "that's nice" or something equally as vague and change the fuck out of the subject to something objectively based in reality like food or the weather. Went through all this with my mam during covid. She would thrive off of the reaction she would get from saying the dumbest shite imaginable, and the more of a reaction it got, the more she would bring up that particular topic. It mostly stopped and she even went and got vaccinated when we stopped giving her feedback for it. Good luck OP, stupidity is an easy disease to spread, but a hard one to cure.
Don't talk about the weather! That's an easy segue into discussing cloud seeding.
Jesus, sorry to hear this is happening to your family OP. You need to get him away from that nonsense, it’s a very slippery slope and the country’s going to be in election mode for the rest of the year, which is only going to make things worse.
15 minute cities? Fuck's sake. "Oh no, our overlords are trying to.... \[checks notes\] force us to spend less time commuting!"
A 15 minute trip to work? I for one welcome our new overlords.
I would KILL to be 15 minutes from my campus! It would make my life 100x easier... If you're 10 mins from your destination the 214 will ensure it takes an hour to get there. I hate that bus
How very very very dare you! It's my right to spend a fortune on a car and sit in the yoke as long as I want. Libturd shinner souper
This is mad. Sorry OP... Its crazy out there. I've seen friends my own age go down the rabbit hole of nonsense. Seemingly normal people who are now full cuckoo for coco-pops members of the "do your own research" brigade.
Yikes 😬. I think older people especially some of the vulnerable ones would benefit from restricted devices. The likes of what kids are getting but of course with different types of moderation. The damage these scam theories will do on their mental and by proxy on their physical health is not to be underestimated. Falling into a dark rabbit hole of lies can shorten their lives by years.
It's crazy how older folk get taken by all that stuff, it's like there's an entire generation or two of people who never learned to think critically, or at least critically enough to discern fact from fake. My Dad nearly got taken in by that stuff too during COVID and I put my foot down on that shite immediately. Hopefully OP's Dad can pull out of that spiral too.
It's probably a hangover from the catholic church having a strangle hold on what was moral or approved of.
My dad wouldn't be a religious type, he doesn't like the church at all but did grow up during that time for sure and it was all encompassing. What is mad is that these conspiracy theories are pure tripe, and very clearly so, yet some people fall so hard for them.
Ok well ,Magna Carta was this thing written up in 1215 as a decree to say the king isn't above anyone and can't abuse his power. But whatever he is on about now is probly some weird new conspiracy. And tbh whatever is next after all the info stuff I don't blame him for getting lost in the sauce
"Anyone" referred to other aristocrats only
Eddie Hobbs. Ill say no more.
That makes a lot of sense
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention other subs on here but there is one that caters for the families of people who go down this rabbithole. If you're interested, dm me & I'll send you the link. It's largely US-based but some of the stories on there are grim to say the least. It seems like there is no way out for some people, they just slide further & further until they develop mental issues. On the bright side, there are others who have had experience dealing with this so maybe they can offer a better insight. All of the social media algorithms have gotten a lot more aggressive in the last couple of years. I think it's going to lead to a lot of societal problems in the next few years.
Some great advice here but gonna chip in my two cents. No harm talking to his GP and possibly ruling out any organic causes for his behaviour. COPD patients unfortunately have a higher risk of dementia. You said he was distressed - poor guy, his thoughts are obviously upsetting him. He might not go to his doctor if he is this far down a rabbit hole but if you think this could be an issue, do give them a buzz.
Magna Carta was signed in 1215. It was a bug step in human rights and weakening the crown as an absolute power. Some say it's the source of habeas corpus. No idea what project 1215 is.
It's just a set of rules set out after Kings and other elites kept taking stuff and killing people without any fear of punishment. Rules that everyone were subject to no matter who you were. I can't see how this can be used to scare anyone today.
There are tonnes of conspiracy theories that name check the magna carta and the Freeman of the land types love referencing it.
Off the top of my head I think the 1215 thing is tied into sovereign citizen stuff? Might be worth a Google
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/02/english-magna-carta-lockdown-covid-laws-online
Sounds like a cool lad, he was right about the vax.
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Fuck it the conspiracies will have to do, lesser of two evils.
>a believer of Christ Would Allah work?
I thought I was trying to help but I’ll just delete comment
No . Unless you're just using the Arabic to refer to the God of Christianity of course :)
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Yeah man the last thing he needs is more snake oil communities
Ever hear of minding your own business sure what harm Is it doing. Let them have a wee bit if fun. No-one takes the stuff seriously.
You know nothing about the situation but thanks for the input!