It has become abundantly clear that the US is now run by organized crime. How else can one describe all this?

Can confirm

There is a fundamental difference between traditional media, such as news sites, newspapers, and magazines, and social media, meta, Twitter (X), and so on: Social media platforms do not produce content, but merely host content created by their users.

Although traditional media also earned only a relatively small portion of their profits from subscriptions (around 30-40% from people who paid for the content), the business model of social media is even more ad-driven.

Social media companies earn almost all of their revenue exclusively from ads and PR (public relations, i.e., influencing public opinion — what used to be called propaganda).

What I mean is that meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp…) or any other major social media company even gets paid to promote content provided by someone else.

In traditional media, this was called an advertorial – the only difference is that these hidden advertisements are now even more hidden because they no longer have to be labeled as such (this was required by law for traditional media, but is very easy to circumvent due to the way social media works).

Edit: in other words: if you have the funds, you could run whatever viewpoint you like on social media - but you have to deliver your own content or your own content creator aka influencer (maybe they provide even a copywriter or a face to go with it idk - but that’s extra for sure).

You don’t follow politics?

What I mean by this analogy is that democratic states face a massive problem because voters no longer receive decent information, as they mostly get their news from social media. But these sites do not operate according to the logic of traditional journalism (at least halfway researched stories based on a at least somewhat comprehensible standard concerning truth - quality journalists usually go for “both sides of the medallion”).

Social media works completely differently: it’s not about the value of the information, but just about clicks – and it doesn’t matter whether stories that are sold as “news” actually have any truth to it at all. I mean, you may remember the presidential debate in which Drump was convinced that foreigners eat pets — which, of course, is not true, it’s of course ridiculous, but that orange moron still has fallen victim to social media misinformation (newsflash: he is even US president now).

As a voter, you have no control over how or where your fellow citizens get their information. Unfortunately, they now get it primarily on social media, where not the truth matters but just how you sell your viewpoint - even if it is absolutely ridiculous. That’s why someone like Drump gets away with all his lies – he has simply created his own reality in which what he says is, strangely enough, the truth for his followers.

Yes, they do, but they don’t pay for it; they even get paid for this content.

In this analogy, I am simply implying that you have no choice in who you are assigned to.

Replace that with “state” and you know what I mean.

Unfortunately, Showerthoughts has a character limit. But in essence, the billionaires that own the major social media outlets are only reinforcing the kind of terrible game that best suits their profit-hungry agenda. I mean, it’s not like they would produce any content themselves – that would be the logic of legacy media and far too expensive, therefore not profitable enough in the age of social media.

How about arresting the actual criminals for a change?

Well, he’s not an intelligent person, so…

That sounds great! I wish you all the best and much success!

Yes, I also think that Trump and his MAGA people are doing long-lasting damage. But that’s also true: they and all the idiots who voted for them had it coming. I still feel sorry for the decent US citizens.

As a German, I’m most afraid that the AfD, a terrible party very similar to the MAGA-GOP, might come to power in our country at some point. Fortunately, this is somewhat unlikely, but if it happens, it will probably be the same for us.

In this matter, Europe can not only regain credibility with regard to our value system by granting refuge to politically persecuted US citizens. It is also a real chance for Europe, because I assume that many Americans who want to leave the country are rational people who can create a counterweight to the stupor that is unfortunately spreading like a disease here too.

Just yesterday I spoke to a physicist from the US who has been working at the university in my home town for four years. Unfortunately, his employment contract is temporary and will soon expire. He still doesn’t want to return to the States because he simply doesn’t see a future there. He will stay in Europe instead, which is a real gain for us.

What now? Can’t she think of any more random bogeymen from the other camp that she can blame for whatever with some fantasy stories?

What a spineless coward this wretched pos is.

I hope all these disgusting brutes get what they deserve in the end.

This guy is such a clown…it’s really unbelievable…what a disgrace to the USA.

Play stupid games, win deadly diseases.

Yes, unfortunately, I think the US has been a plutocracy for way too long already.

I think it’s time for US citizens to admit that and change it for good. Of course, I’m fully aware that many Lemmy users have long realized this.

I really don’t want to offend anyone with this obvious statement, but it’s simply a fact that many people in the USA have been living like in a third world country for a very long time - even though the US is one of the richest countries in the world.

The reason for this is very obvious: shameless enrichment of the rich and powerful - hardly any difference to Russia imo - more humane means so far, yes, but the effect is basically the same.

This is not meant as an insult at all. I just can’t believe how obvious the corruption in the USA is: Even in the highest offices. People like the President himself or Clarence Thomas (so on and so on) obviously no longer feel the need to be ashamed of anything - they don’t even try to keep any of their criminal activities even remotely secret.

Our system is certainly not perfect and we also have major problems with corruption and also with the resurgence of fascist parties. But the level of open corruption in the USA is still mind blowing to me: The shameless insider deals of the president, the unscrupulousness of constitutional judges who so obviously rule against the constitution! I can’t even begin to name even half of it.

Unconditional immunity for presidents? Imprisonment of innocent people without due process? Prisons for profit? I think that’s wild and only possible in a failed state!

I mean, you really don’t have to be an expert in constitutional law to realize that any even halfway decent democratic constitution would of course rigorously rule all this out.

I myself can only observe this from afar and helplessly feel sorry for all the good and still rationally thinking US citizen.

Of course, I have no solutions. Only the obvious thought that the US institutions have long been corrupted.

I wish you all the best and try to contribute at least something from afar - but unfortunately I have little hope, because I honestly believe that the US system is broken beyond repair.

I’m not so sure they even want that at all. Simply because of their shameful behavior, while the US president acts like a goddamn Nazi (because he obviously is one, of course).

But for all that, the Democrats have refused to allow even a little progressiveness in their ranks for years, against the wishes of their own voters.

But hey, I don’t know very much about all this because I’m from Germany.

All I can say is that in our country - and this applies to larger parts Europe - Sanders, for example, would be a moderate center-left politician. What he is calling for is not at all radical in many parts of the world, but rather quite normal. Basic decency, so to speak…

Yes, I very much hope so.

Unfortunately, however, I fear that the situation for ordinary US citizens will have to get even worse. That seems to be the prerequisite for Drump’s still frighteningly numerous followers to overcome the sect-like state of mind in which they live in thanks to their apparent lack of intellect and the deliberate misinformation by their own leader and all his greedy cronies.

But yes: perhaps the collapse of the US standard of living, which I believe is inevitable due to this incompetent administration, will be able to perform this miracle.

I think it is high time if anything is to be saved from total ruin.

Well, he is the worst president in US-history…