Saturday, November 11, 2017

China Bans Facebook At Home But Uses It To Spread Its Message Around The World

Xinhua has more than 31 million followers on Facebook.

New York Times: China Spreads Propaganda to U.S. on Facebook, a Platform It Bans at Home

HONG KONG — China does not allow its people to gain access to Facebook, a powerful tool for disseminating information and influencing opinion.

As if to demonstrate the platform’s effectiveness, outside its borders China uses it to spread state-produced propaganda around the world, including the United States. So much do China’s government and companies value Facebook that the country is Facebook’s biggest advertising market in Asia, even as it is the only major country in the region that blocks the social network.

A look at the Facebook pages of China Central Television, the leading state-owned broadcast network better known as CCTV, and Xinhua, China’s official news agency, reveals hundreds of English-language posts intended for an English-speaking audience.

Each quarter, China’s government, through its state media agencies, spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy Facebook ads, according to a person with knowledge of those deals, who was unauthorized to talk publicly about the company’s revenue streams.

Read more ....

WNU Editor:  Truth be told .... the Chinese government is terrified when it comes to social media that it cannot control .... Facebook included. But as a tool to be used to send its message abroad .... they are addicted to it.

1 comment:

RussInSoCal said...

Addicted is a good word for it. China and the rest of planet earth.

http://www.businessinsider.com/ex-facebook-president-sean-parker-billionaire-advantage-better-healthcare-2017-11

https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-unloads-on-facebook-2508036343.html

Ex-Facebook president and billionaire Sean Parker reveals one of the biggest advantages rich people have over everyone else.

"I'm going to be part of this, like, class of immortal overlords,"

Sean Parker, the first president of Facebook, revealed recently what he believes to be one of the greatest advantages rich people have.

"Because I'm a billionaire, I'm going to have access to better healthcare," the entrepreneur said at an Axios event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Healthcare costs in the US are higher than ever — with many families struggling to keep up with the growing expense. The average annual healthcare costs per person reached $10,345 in 2016, according to data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Parker continued:

"So ... I'm going to be like 160 and I'm going to be part of this, like, class of immortal overlords. [Laughter] Because, you know the [Warren Buffett] expression about compound interest. ... Give us billionaires an extra hundred years and you'll know what ... wealth disparity looks like."

Parker found success at an incredibly young age after cofounding music-sharing site Napster and then moving on to become the founding president of Facebook. He's developed a reputation as a big spender and a big partier. He's also notoriously outspoken.

At the same event, Parker was sharply critical of Facebook, accusing it of exploiting human "vulnerability."

He's not the first wealthy tech entrepreneur to take issue with the addictive power of digital technology. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs both limited their kids screen time at home.

"God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains," Parker said.