back to article In farewell speech, Biden rails against the tech industrial complex, disinfo dismantling democracy

US President Joe Biden gave his final address to the nation on Wednesday, and said America was visibly sliding into an oligopoly aided by a flood of online disinformation. In a farewell bid, he cited President Dwight Eisenhower's famous 1961 speech warning of the "military industrial complex," and said today we face an "tech …

  1. abend0c4 Silver badge

    They didn't punish the wealthy.

    Not a mistake we'd make now, right?

    1. Groo The Wanderer - A Canuck

      Re: They didn't punish the wealthy.

      No mention of the military industrial complex that hoovers trillions from the national budget, though... gotta keep those pork barrels going to pay for the donations we received!

      1. JoeCool Silver badge

        Re: They didn't punish the wealthy.

        Please groo, don't embarass the canadians Read as far as the second sentence before speaking

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: They didn't punish the wealthy.

      The definition gets moved about to fit the narrative. Somebody (not in government) making $250,000 a year in Silicon Valley is at the point where they can move out of their van and into a 4th floor flat (without parking for their van).

  2. Yankee Doodle Doofus Bronze badge

    I'm surprised he mentioned Eisenhower's warning about the military industrial complex, considering the fact that he, as well as all other presidents (and congress) have been ignoring that same warning all along.

    1. veti Silver badge

      "Ignoring" is a bit unfair. Say rather that none of them have figured out what to do about it. Which you could also say of Eisenhower, he didn't have the answer either.

      1. DrkShadow

        This is the Commander in Chief. The military is literally theirs to control.

        Disband units. Limit their budget. Cancel development projects. The options are endless. The fallout is minimal, when the public doesn't even know what secrets are being pruned. Keep budgets the *same* rather than ever-expanding, and you'll *still* achieve reduction - expenses will lessen in value with inflation.

        1. scrubber

          Worked it well for Kennedy

          I don't think you understand the hierarchy of power.

        2. MachDiamond Silver badge

          "Disband units. Limit their budget. Cancel development projects. The options are endless."

          Yes, but it's like being "the man of the house" when the Mrs. controls the purse strings. You "could" do a lot of things, but funding them is another kettle of sturgeon. The agency funding these projects, Congress, have a vested interest in those projects being funded through kickbacks, campaign support and jobs when they fail to achieve another term. A quiet word will be had with the Commander in Chief that to have any further ideas of theirs move forward, they will need to reconsider those changes.

      2. Yankee Doodle Doofus Bronze badge

        < "...none of them have figured out what to do about it."

        Gee, I don't know, maybe start by ending this crap:

        https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2022/11/defense-sector-spent-101-million-lobbying-during-first-three-quarters-of-2022/

        https://www.opensecrets.org/industries//summary?cycle=2022&ind=D

  3. 45RPM Silver badge

    After all the bitching that the alt right has done against some weird cabal of George Soros, the illuminati and a fictional global elite supposedly controlling the world, a conspiracy that seems to have hooked the hard of thinking and lead to Brexit and Trumpism, it does seem fairly ironic that that’s pretty much exactly what has been built.

    So if you voted for it, I hope you’re happy. If you didn’t vote for it, my condolences. Either way, if you aren’t ultra rich then you’re fucked. Mind you, the way things are going, if you are ultra rich then you’re fucked too. It just might take you a little longer to realise it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It certainly doesn't help that Sleepy Joe gave George Soros the Presidential Medal of Freedom and that many dems have posted pictures of themselves with either George or his son.

      At least Elon has not actively crashed an economy... so far.

      1. LBJsPNS Bronze badge

        Are you really implying Biden crasned the economy? Really?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          No, George Soros, and he did in a way that makes Liz Truss look truly amateurish.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday

          He made about $1bn, crashed the UK out of the ERM and spiked interest rates.

          So far Elon has just been shitposting about stonks and memecoins.

          1. 45RPM Silver badge

            Yes. I know about Black Wednesday. I used to work at a stock broker a long time ago. I also know that Black Wednesday wasn’t caused by Soros - he was merely a figurehead for the woes.

            Poor fiscal policy by a right wing Tory government, trying to recover the country from a recession (the inevitable crash following the sugar high UK economic boom of the 1980s caused by selling off national assets) by unilaterally aligning with the ERM (and, by extension, the DM - not in itself a bad idea necessarily, but one which needs to be done in close collaboration with and consultation with European partners to get the best rate) managed to get itself pegged at a bad rate. The chum bucket was then well and truly in the water. As the situation worsened, and interest rates rose, the speculators pounced. What else would you expect them to do?

            Bad fiscal policy created the situation - speculators like Soros merely exploited it. If you saw a £20 note on the pavement would you just leave it there?

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              "Black Wednesday wasn’t caused by Soros"

              Are you sure? Lots of people disagree.

              https://www.npr.org/2024/12/04/1216966368/george-soros-british-pound-bessent-johnson-druckenmiller

              https://archive.nytimes.com/dealbook.nytimes.com/2010/06/04/when-soros-decided-to-go-for-the-jugular/

              His 10bn short on the pound, which he openly talked about at the time causing more speculators to pile on, was the final nail in the coffin for the admittedly extremely stupid ERM. He might not have been the root cause but he certainly shoved it over the edge in spectacular style. It is unlikely that any other speculator with enough resources to bet that much would have actually done so. And this is long before the days of social media where you can get an army of bedroom investors to pile on memestonk style.

              It certainly worked out better than all those traders who got burned on FCOJ thinking the Duke brothers knew what they were doing!

              "If you saw a £20 note on the pavement would you just leave it there?"

              Technically its illegal to pick up money found on the street and keep it in the UK. But Soros did not 'find' 1bn on the pavement.

              1. 45RPM Silver badge

                I don’t dispute that he made a bad situation worse - but he wasn’t the cause of the situation in the first place.

                I expect someone will make hay from the upcoming US recession, caused by tariffs and poor governmental policy from the incoming administration. In the worst case scenario, they may give it such a kicking while it’s down that the economy suffers lasting damage and they end up on the front page of the papers. But it still won’t be their fault - the root cause will still be the Trump administration.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  And German recession, UK recession...

                  But anyway, so we can blame Black Wednesday on Germany as their monetary policy dominated Europe at that time. Europe is still suffering to this day as the ERM and eventual Eurozone has hamstrung economies and kept Europe subservient to the USD.

            2. Bebu sa Ware
              Coat

              If you saw a £20 note on the pavement would you just leave it there?

              Twenty quid is rapidly becoming chump change so probably decline to stoop to acquire it and in any case heaven only knows where it might have been.

              1. 45RPM Silver badge

                Re: If you saw a £20 note on the pavement would you just leave it there?

                Fair

      2. 45RPM Silver badge

        See my early point about hard of thinking. The thing is that, deep down, you know you’re wrong - and you’re also somewhat ashamed. That’s why you’re Anonymous Coward.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          It is well documented that George Soros' foundation has donated millions, often by indirect routes via PACs and other non-profits, to the campaigns of Democrat politicians and officials. He, along with his son Alex and other billionaires such as Larry Fink (Blackrock), Bill Gates, Tim Cook, Bloomberg, the guy who runs Starbucks et al are welcomed with open arms by the political ruling elite.

          Alex Soros courted all the Democrat high rollers over the summer, Kamala Harris, Timmy Walz, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi.

          Heck, Sir Beer Korma had Larry Fink at a meeting at no10!

          Now we have ONE meme billionaire on the right and you're losing your shit over it.

          And lets not forget it was the tech industrial complex along with the media industrial complex who in 2020 where tasked to supress anything that might shine a bad light on the WHO, the Democrats or their faithful.

          1. Casca Silver badge

            Wow, just wow. Go back to twitter

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            ahh, anti-vax right wing loon I see...

            think you forgot the space lazers and rain making

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Ah resorting to insults when you've lost the argument.

              1. 45RPM Silver badge

                To have an argument both parties need to present coherent points. You’re still dribbling into your bib.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  "present coherent points"

                  "space lazers"

                  I'm not sure you understand the words you type.

                  1. Anonymous Coward
                    Anonymous Coward

                    not sure you understand anything!

                    especially people obvously taking the piss out of you for shouting loony conspiracy bollocks in here!

                    1. Anonymous Coward
                      Anonymous Coward

                      Here is the problem, "loony conspiracy bollocks" is when something doesn't happen. What I described actually happened, is on record, has video evidence etc.

                      Your "loony conspiracy bollocks" is things like the Bergdorf changing room thing or the falsifying of business records or the wet market at Wuhan.

            2. Jellied Eel Silver badge

              think you forgot the space lazers and rain making

              If those are what's occupying your mind, perhaps you should write to Starmer? He's currently desperate for ideas (and clue in general). Don't forget to mention AI and you could soon be tweeting 'funding secured'. Or you could try Rachel from accounts-

              https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgmm3ye713o

              "I still do," the chancellor confirmed, recalling an incident a few days ago where there had been leftovers from a work breakfast: "I'm not sure if the health secretary would approve of this, but I had a pastry for breakfast and a pastry for lunch.

              "I think that's very good value for money" she said, "but might not be very good for my waistline".

              VFM would be not wasting our money on pastries. But let them eat cake and all that. Also

              Asked about the criticism she had faced, Reeves said: "I haven't taken it personally".

              Therein lies the problem. Perhaps she should be listening to criticism more carefully.

              1. Ace2 Silver badge

                You forgot to click ‘post anonymously’ again

            3. Bebu sa Ware
              Coat

              think you forgot the space lazers and rain making

              Remember S for stimulated.

              laser = Light Amplification by †Stimulated† Emission of Radiation,

              Lazers would presumably be persons who laze viz to act or lie lazily with space lazers easily applying to a number of American plutocrats with Space going ambitions who are given to uttering the lazy lie.

          3. Tilda Rice

            Biden, who manipulated Facebook + Youtube and the legacy media to suppress stories about his crime family and involvement with Burisma?

            Now wants to whine about tech oligarchs? LOL, cry me a river.

            Like Starmer having the bare faced cheek to say the media coverage of the grooming gangs scandal is people seeking to gain political capital when we literally had months of their "party gate" nonsense.

            Boris had a sandwich in the back garden, and he is comparing that to thousands of girls being sexually abused? The hypocrisy of lefties is breath-taking.

            Biden, same ilk.

            Jog on melts. Taste of your own medicine. A great day for the world and common sense.

          4. Tilda Rice

            Hilarious you are downvoted.

            Biden whinging about tech billionaires LOL do me a favour. Look at their donations and backers.

            Gates $$$ rolling in for Harris:

            https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bill-gates-donated-50-million-223354093.html?guccounter=1

            83 Billionaires contributed to Kamala campaign as opposed to 53 for Trump:

            https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2024/10/30/kamala-harris-has-more-billionaires-prominently-backing-her-than-trump-bezos-and-griffin-weigh-in-updated/

            Plenty of tech super rich donated to Kamala this campaign:

            Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn)

            Dustin Moskovitz (Facebook)

            Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook)

            Reed Hastings (Netflix)

            Eric Schmidt (Google)

            Melinda French Gates (Microsoft)

            Mark Cuban (“Shark Tank” investor)

            And our old frieds Soros of course:

            George Soros (Soros Fund Management)

            Stop with the boring whiny hypocrisy.

      3. ecofeco Silver badge

        Yer trollied AC. Time to head home.

  4. Sora2566 Silver badge

    It's nice that he knows about all these problems, but it would have been nicer if he'd actually done something about them.

    1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

      It's nice that he knows about all these problems, but it would have been nicer if he'd actually done something about them.

      But he did. He and his party ruthlessly exploited them-

      "The free press is crumbling," he said. "Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit. We must hold the social platforms accountable to protect our children, our families and our very democracy from the abuse of power.

      Hunter Biden's laptop was really 'Russian misinformation', Covid started in a wet market, and of course Biden himself wasn't in cognitive decline. The 'free press' had column-miles of text telling us this, and who can forget-

      https://nypost.com/2022/04/29/biden-disinfo-czar-nina-jankowicz-ripped-over-tiktok/

      The person tapped to head President Biden’s new Big Brother-like disinformation board drew fresh disdain Friday over her flippant attitude toward misinformation — and her own history of spreading it.

      Nina Jankowicz’s ability to be taken seriously in her role on Homeland Security’s new Orwellian “Disinformation Governance Board” was thrown into question after a cringeworthy TikTok video resurfaced of her adapting the Mary Poppins tune “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” to be about fake news.

      Or other government's efforts to impose their own versions of Minitrue. The 'free press', ie the MSM is crumbling under the weight of their own lies. They are the ones who gave up on 'fact checking', and Biden wasn't ranting about 'tech oligarchs' when Zuckerberg gave around $400m to his campaign. Of course now he's given $1m to Trump's inaugaration, it's a crisis. Oh, and of course Biden also decided to ban (or try to steal) TikTok, because the US didn't control it.

      Irony is an independent free press and some social media is about the only place where 'fact checking' can actually happen, because it doesn't have the Dorsey-era army of Twitter's 'fact checkers' and moderations censoring any discussion that might involve inconvenient facts.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Hunter Biden's laptop was really 'Russian misinformation',"

        Ah no, they said it had all the 'hallmarks of' roosky misinformation. They are oh so careful to craft their words such that when it, completely unsurprisingly to anyone not infected with TDS, turned out to be true they could say 'we never actually said it WAS'. Despite all the media bleating on with the 'russia russia russia' narrative.....

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV6_ZX5nhQ8

        It actually scares me that ANYONE welcomed the idea of a Disinformation Governance Board. The very notion that government will somehow be an overseer and arbiter of the truth is so completely backwards that it is painful. I think it was Jacinder Ardern or potentially one of her minions who said that the government is the only source of 'the truth'.

        1. veti Silver badge

          I think it was Jacinder Ardern or potentially one of her minions who said that the government is the only source of 'the truth'.

          In the words of the immortal poet, horseshit. She didn't say that, and - calling you out now - you don't believe she did. What she did say is on the record, and it was specifically in the context of the government response to COVID in New Zealand.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/jacinda-ardern-truth/

            She said that the government is 'the single source of truth'. It does not matter what the context is, covid or not. And time has shown that what the WHO was saying and other governments were parroting was not really quite 'the truth'.

            I'm not sure if this is the exact quote but:

            "If One Person Says It’s Raining and Another Says It’s Not Raining Then the Journalist Should Look Out the Window and Report the Truth"

            What we've had for many years now is the so-called journalists not actually bother to research or investigate and just regurgitate what they've been told from their masters. The speed at which the media, especially Joe 'Joe Biden is as sharp as ever' Scarborough, did a reverse ferret when Joe Biden crashed at the debate was just hilarious. Did these media pundits really believe what they were saying?

            1. veti Silver badge

              What are you on? Of course context matters. Far, far more than content, which is why taking content out of context is considered to be FUCKING LYING, you fucking liar.

              No, nobody was telling "quite" the truth. Nobody knew it. But the government knew as much of it as anyone, and way more than a million and three online trolls at the time, and they shared it as honestly as they could. Compare with what Trump was doing in the US at the same time. And compare the outcomes.

              1. Anonymous Coward
                Anonymous Coward

                And here go the insults as you've lost. You're all too happy to take Trump out of context. Remember 'fine people on both sides'?

                "Compare with what Trump was doing in the US at the same time"

                1) Trump is not an authoritarian like Ms Ardern.

                2) the vast majority of the covid response in the US was the responsibility of the states, not federal govt. Thats sorta how the US works.

                3) at every turn the Democrats hampered Trump by blocking his proposed flight restrictions claiming them to be 'racist' and state health officials said that 'there was nothing to worry about'.

                The NYC health commissioner said in early 2020 that NYers should keep using the subway and not to worry and in Louisiana Mardi Gras went ahead as 'The chance of us getting someone with coronavirus is low,' Oh, the mayor of Nola at the time, was a dem. The Louisiana state governor at the time, a dem.

                "And compare the outcomes"

                Ms Ardern is out of a job as is Joe Biden and Trump is back!! Heck YEAH!

          2. Tilda Rice

            She literally did say those words though.

            Here is the context, and her exact words. Those words being: "We will continue to be your single source of truth."

            https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/hansard-debates/rhr/document/HansS_20200902_050580000/1-question-no-1-prime-minister

            Literally from the New Zealand parliament transcripts.

      2. codejunky Silver badge
        Joke

        @Jellied Eel

        I hear the LA fires have now claimed millions of dollars of expensive artwork their culture will never recover from. Hunter Bidens paintings. How will the world cope?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: @Jellied Eel

          There goes the neighborhood.

        2. Jellied Eel Silver badge

          Re: @Jellied Eel

          I hear the LA fires have now claimed millions of dollars of expensive artwork their culture will never recover from. Hunter Bidens paintings. How will the world cope?

          I guess that's some good news to have come out of that catastrophe. I hope the insurers are looking closely at any claims given the value of Hunter's 'art' will have tanked this week given buying one is no longer a ticket to the 'big guy'. Hunter might be able to take a tax loss on anything he still owns. Well, if he ever paid tax. I guess he'll have to this year now Papa Joe's free pass has expired, but a big paper loss is a good start. But that was a very shady story. Most of the 'art' was bought by this chap-

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Morris_(businessman)

          Who allegedly just paid Hunter's dealer (art that is) commission rather than the sale price, and promptly dumped the great works. Then again, the art world being what it is, dealers will probably argue that surviving works will have greatly increased in value due to their current scarcity. I also wonder if Morris 'invested' in Hunter in exchange for rights to his story. Coming soon to Netflix or Amazon.. Hunter:My Struggle

          But Papa Joe once described Hunter as 'the smartest man I know'... Which doesn't say much about Biden's cabinet or advisors I guess.

          And jokes aside, one of the sad things about the fire will be both the loss of a lot of people's personal effects, along with more culturally significant stuff like artworks, movie memorabilia etc. One of the buildings I saw on fire was a public library, and no idea what works might have been in their collection. The Getty Villa was also threatened-

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getty_Villa#Collection

          But luckily well protected and only suffered light damage.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No mention of the influence of AIPAC? No mention of lobbying? No mention of corporate and individual greed pushing up the cost of living?

    Absolutely not. There is misinformation over there you need to see as misinformation. Are we in the age of misinformation misinformation to deflect from the real misinformation? My head hurts thinking about this.

  6. Howard Sway Silver badge

    Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

    just as they leave the job that actually gave them the power to take on the vested interests.

    1. Lazlo Woodbine Silver badge

      Re: Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

      The problem with the US, is that Government is set up in such a way that it's alomost impossible to get any real work done.

      1. Kane
        Joke

        Re: Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

        "The problem with the US, is that Government is set up in such a way that it's alomost impossible to get any real work done."

        That's a feature, not a bug

      2. W.S.Gosset Silver badge

        Re: Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

        And the UK.

        "Yes, Minister" was a documentary, not a comedy.

        1. ecofeco Silver badge

          Re: Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

          Fact.

      3. MachDiamond Silver badge

        Re: Leaders all mysteriously wish they'd taken on the vested interests

        "The problem with the US, is that Government is set up in such a way that it's alomost impossible to get any real work done."

        The problem with governments is they are set up in a way that it's nearly impossible to get any real work done. FTFY

        They are working on improving where it "looks like" they are doing something.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked"

    *pardons son for all crimes during a specific period*

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked"

      11 years was not chosen without reason

    2. Ace2 Silver badge

      Re: "dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked"

      Yeah, he bought a handgun. It’s amazing, I didn’t think you magats could find an example of that you’d be against.

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

    4. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: "dangerous consequences if their abuse of power is left unchecked"

      Ah yes, bought a handgun when not supposed to, vs, checks notes, open insurrection and sedition and stealing nuclear secrets.

      Yes, I can see how those are equal.

      Numpty.

  8. HuBo Silver badge
    Windows

    Pass the kutchie

    Steady right on! I'm planning to practice rapid bodily movements as much as I can before Jan 20, to get good and ready, nothing fancy schmancy mind you, artistically choreographed and such, just enough for some much needed Lorentz-style relativistic time dilation ... shooting for that bracket between 87% and 97% of c, so the next 4 years pass in just 1 or 2 ... It's science to the rescue (either that or deep sedation, herb, induced coma, cryogenics, and fine distilled spirituals)!

    Hopefully, after that, America will be ready for its 1ˢᵗ woman president (as opposed to having HR Megan's AI recruit the Matrix's agentic Smith to bullwhip the world into submission, again, in either an elaborate wrestlemania pantomime, or a crossfire hurricane of murderous cyberloos).

    Still, as Joe hints to in his Address, the 250ᵗʰ anniversary should be something to look forward to in 2026, if (fingers crossed) the USA manages to remain a democratic republic until then ... (not looking that super duper good atm really though). Jah love to the Statue of Liberty -- she'll sure need it to swingingly bun dung this Babylon!

    1. veti Silver badge

      Re: Pass the kutchie

      Calling it now: America will one day have its first female president, and she will be a Republican.

      For the same reason as the UK has now had three female Tory prime ministers, but Labour has yet to have a female leader. (Or, for that matter, a Jewish, Muslim or Hindu leader - the Tories have had two of those.)

      1. HuBo Silver badge
        Windows

        Re: Pass the kutchie

        Liz Cheney?

        1. ChodeMonkey
          Trollface

          Re: Pass the kutchie

          Marjorie Taylor Green

          1. HuBo Silver badge
            Thumb Up

            Re: Pass the kutchie

            Caitlyn Jenner

            1. ChodeMonkey

              Re: Pass the kutchie

              Kim Kardashian for Mayor of LA !

  9. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

    If You Want to Play "Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” Let’s Play Who Dares Win Wins

    Although shared earlier elsewhere, here it is also APTly* appropriate ..... and surely undeniably honestly true and therefore more likeable than not. Or would you disagree?

    amanfromMars [2501161625] ...... makes an alternate play on words on https://www.zerohedge.com/political/farewell-address-biden-brags-unity-warns-oligarchs-abuse-power-tech-industrial-complex with .....

    “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Errors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking.”

    What Joe Biden should have said, rather than reading out the few sentences shared above, in order for his farewell address to the US to have been a true reflection of the current state of present affairs is ..... “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power. But the propaganda is crumbling. Errors are appearing. Social media is giving up the facts and evidencing the acts.

    APT* ..... Advanced Persistent Threat/Treat

    1. MonkeyJuice Bronze badge

      Re: If You Want to Play "Riveting Storytelling for All of America,” Let’s Play Who Dares Win Wins

      ftfy: APT. AI Parroted Turd.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Pity the U.S. isn't a democracy...

    It would be terrible to think that he's had that mis-belief since 1972.

  11. Tubz Silver badge

    "Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation, enabling the abuse of power." when the Whitehouse staff all said Biden was mentally and physically capable of being POTUS when he was obviously a sick, frail, mentally challenged old man and lied to everybody to ensure the unelected elitist shadow government, maintained power!

  12. tojb
    Big Brother

    This has happened before

    "oligopoly aided by a flood of online disinformation" isn't totally a new phenomenon, back in 1948 the "eccentric" (he was insane) aviation millionaire Howard Hughes bought the media giant of the day, RKO (co-founded founded by J.P. Kennedy). The out-of-touch nutcase Hughes set about purging the organisation of anyone he suspected of being a communist sympathiser, and ran it into the ground, selling the business at a loss in 1955. Hughes did his best to control the American population by controlling the media of the day, he was a big driving force behind the injustices and corruption of the McCarthy purges.

    The difference today is that Elon Musk has managed to purchase a perhaps more effective tool of mass manipulation that the old-fashioned movie and radio studio RKO. Incredible wealth sends people out of touch with reality (especially when combined with senility), destroys their judgement, distorts their perspectives, and gives them the means to cause enormous harm. Oops.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This has happened before

      So a very rich person owning media is a bad thing?

      George Soros' Soros Fund Management is the majority shareholder of the second largest radio network in the US, Audacy. Fast tracked by the FCC in 2024.

      Michael Bloomberg has his own TV and radio media empire.

      Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post and no-one really cared.

      Even Microsoft was in on the TV news for a while.

      I'm sure there are more.

      But y'all have a meltdown over one social media platform bought by a memelord....

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: This has happened before

        Radio in the US is dominated by right wing owners

      2. ecofeco Silver badge

        Re: This has happened before

        So a very rich person owning media is a bad thing?

        How this even a question?

    2. MachDiamond Silver badge

      Re: This has happened before

      "Incredible wealth sends people out of touch with reality"

      It certainly paints a target on their back to the point where they need to hire over 100 security people, according to Errol Musk. Elon can't live in the real world and should have somebody around to slap him around to remind him of that so he isn't constantly going off on subjects he can't understand.

  13. steviebuk Silver badge

    He could of done

    something about it during his 4 years but didn't. Bernie Saunders has been warning about Oligarchy since 1993 but no one was interesting in stopping Trump. The GOP have just seen his power and decided to drop all their morals and grab on. Hoping that while he's around they can exploit the power. Once Trump The Felon has gone, watch the GOP implode (hopefully they implode before his 4 years are up).

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: He could of done

      He tried. You do know the U.S. is not a monarchy nor dictatorship, right? Or that the Democrats have never had a large enough majority to stop the GOP, right? And that the Supreme Court now has at least two confirmed bribe-takers? And all regulatory agencies, including the DoJ has been underfunded for decades, right?

      One does not undo 50 years of skullduggery and sabotage in 4 years.

    2. druck Silver badge

      Re: He could of done

      Once Trump The Felon has gone, watch the GOP implode (hopefully they implode before his 4 years are up).

      The felon has children and grandchildren, and in 4 years you'll realise you have a monarchy again.

  14. Bebu sa Ware
    Big Brother

    Mortality is a fine thing...

    There should be more of it, in the right places of course but times like this do rather make mortality appear to be a gift of God which I don't doubt it is even if I have my doubts about the donor. :)

    Even on the gallows the condemned can look his executioner in the face and claim I no more than precede you which might be why the victim is hooded at that point.

  15. Will Godfrey Silver badge
    Unhappy

    Hmm.

    Can someone help me here. I don't seem to be able to find any IT/Tech content from the commentards in this topic.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Re: Hmm. How much more Perfect do you want IT and AI to be. Close enough is good enough

      Can someone help me here. I don't seem to be able to find any IT/Tech content from the commentards in this topic. .... Will Godfrey

      The remote capture of broken hearts and feeble minds by IT and Tech covering media content is clearly evidenced on this thread, WG, which more than just suggests everything and IT and Tech covering media content is working just fine and dandy.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Hmm. How much more Perfect do you want IT and AI to be. Close enough is good enough

        Yeah, I think the bulk of the comments are related to the skidding of dysfunctional governance into authoritarianism, likely followed by fascism (and generally, away from freedom of choice and activity). In culture, the resulting social system is frequently represented metaphorically by some form of unstoppable machinery that seeks to achieve a simple insane goal: the marching hammers in Pink Floyd, the Daleks in Doctor Who, the Borg in Star Trek, ... Many are awed by the wondrous tech, oblivious to the bent crease of a reality distortion field it ceaselessly pile-drives unto their appreciation of reality, morality, humanity, and fair play, as long as they can get another dose of reward dopamine, without exertion or thought, further enshrining the banality of evil as it were.

        The contemporary subtext seems to be that the combination of "AI" with the Pavlovian algorithms of social media echo chambers has the greatest potential to get us there faster, more thoroughly, at a lower price of entry, and in a way that we readily enjoy ... but the hangover will be beyond massive if we ever awaken (not to mention withdrawal symptoms, DTs, ...). These dynamics look to be at play across much of the World as we speak (imho).

        1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

          Re: Hmm. How much more Perfect do you want IT and AI to be. Close enough is good enough

          Quite so, AC, and beautifully succinctly described too ....... with my only differing being the might and application of Maslowian raather than Pavlovian algorithms of social media echo chambers in combination with AI having the greatest potential to get us to wherever we want our needs and feeds and seeds to be faster, more thoroughly, at a lower price of entry, and in a way that we readily enjoy.

          A few remaining hanging questions then to ask for an answer would be ....... Who/What be us and we and where are we going forward or going back to ... and would it be for a future home in an old haunt or a simply complex never-ending journey experiencing a series of mega metadata betatests and excursions with Novel NEUKlearer AIded Adventures to Exploit and Export in Surreal Alien Places and Live Operational Virtual Environment Spaces ....... and would you want its Enjoyment to Hellish or Heavenly if you are either able or enabled to both choose and deliver all of the above aforementioned ‽ .

          Is it being realised yet by Earthly Systems Administrations that is where AI is taking y’all ........ on a Veritable AIMagical Mystery Tour Bus Journey?

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Hmm. How much more Perfect do you want IT and AI to be. Close enough is good enough

            Pavlovian and Maslowian aspects work in concert imho, to produce the observed phenomenon here -- we are Animals after all (some more Artificial than others, some more Anonymous, and in a day of RotM triumph we might consider AAAA: the Alcoholics Anonymous of Artifical Animals, as needed).

            But Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a bit too pyramidal for my taste ... I see them more as simultaneous needs, pursued at varying intensity levels by different individuals, especially once basic physiological needs are satisfied sufficiently for survival over a day or so, the rest is commercial mercantilism (selling needs and nurturing brand-loyalty addictions). Mostly harmless on an individual basis, but socially hazardous when mass adopted as a result of effective automated marketing and product conditioning through "Artificial Intelligence", especially when you are the product, trapped in an emotional positive feedback loop that adapts to your every actions and reactions.

            Trick-cyclists should eventually have their work cut out for them with this ...

    2. ecofeco Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: Hmm.

      Is social media something else? Who knew?

  16. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

    What I read was

    WAAAA! We can't block access for the other guys up for disagreeing with us anymore!

    Our democracy is working fine, this time, with no 3AM deliveries.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: What I read was

      Or imaginary burst water pipes or perfectly filled in ballots on the wrong type of paper.

  17. FrenchFries!

    "I got my oil!"

    In exchange for your rights, b*tch!

  18. Omnipresent Silver badge

    This is going to be like

    watching Bran Stark take the throne. Nobody wants to see this chit. What a cold miserable day for America.

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