The reporting in the story is pretty specific and compelling. Nobody is suggesting that it exists outside the context of French history and politics.
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Replying to @benyt @buzzfeedben and
So these protests wouldn't be happening if there hadn't been this algorithm change? I don't see any reporting that provides evidence for that, except that there was a recent publicly announced algorithm change.
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Replying to @deaneckles @buzzfeedben and
"Ceteris paribus: these protests would not be happening if not for the algorithm change" is not a possible standard for evaluating human affairs barring multiple universes. How could you ever prove that? Reformation? Maybe happens without the printing press, too.
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Replying to @zeynep @deaneckles and
If they are organizing on Facebook, FB is part of the causal chain—and just like any big affair, it's one contributing factor among multiple dynamics, interacting with them all. Movements live or die by visibility, so if FB group visibility is increased, that's part of the story.
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Replying to @zeynep @buzzfeedben and
That's a trivial notion of causation in which a particular Lyft driver drove me home. It says nothing about whether I would have gotten home at basically the same time even if she hadn't been working.
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Replying to @deaneckles @buzzfeedben and
Ah! Facebook isn't identical to any other communication platform; obviously telegraph to television is a big change. A Lyft driver to another is kinda like... one TV correspondent to to another. Facebook isn't just one more way. It clearly changes the road, if you will.
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Replying to @zeynep @buzzfeedben and
Then you need to employ a notion of causation that involves counterfactuals, not just being part of the chain of events.
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Replying to @deaneckles @buzzfeedben and
And one can, but not "if one can't prove it wouldn't have happened without X, then X didn't matter." No experimental set-up possible to prove it. Well. Unless you are Facebook, and you can selectively tweak algorithms in countries to experiment.
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Replying to @zeynep @deaneckles and
I also wish we had more robust experimental approaches, but when you consider what we *do* understand about human societies, historical examination of complex causal chains is a superb method. Only problem is cannot indisputably resolve; more like field convergence/consensus.
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Replying to @zeynep @buzzfeedben and
I'm not suggesting radical skepticism about the methods of history. Rather, I think it is unfair to historians to liken their work to the quality of evidence and plausibility of claims in this article.
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zeynep tufekci Retweeted
I’s agree that the piece is overwritten (part of the need to appeal to things that go viral—human/tech vulnerability). But Facebook algorithm change may well have pushed over the feedback loop and social media is the mileue. From ages ago: https://twitter.com/evanchill/status/1070516951099805696 …
zeynep tufekci added,
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Replying to @zeynep @deaneckles and
I’m arguing against “it’s just a tool.”
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Replying to @zeynep @deaneckles and
More like an accelerant being poured on a fire
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