On this day in 1966, the campy spectacle of Batman made its debut on American television1https://theorkneynews.scot/2025/01/12/batman-onthisday-2/. Adam West donned the cape, Burt Ward chirped as Robin, and Cesar Romero refused to shave his moustache to play the Joker. Although by the time it hit British screens, I was too old, but I remember it well. It had simplistic morals for children, a relentlessly upbeat theme tune, and fight scenes punctuated by comic book words like “POW” and “WHACK.” Delightfully absurd, much like certain political landscapes.
Speaking of narcissistic clowns, one cannot help but notice the frantic grovelling of billionaires as they prepare for the potential return of a certain political figure to the White House. Meta, in a masterclass of political sycophancy, has decided to ditch fact-checkers in favour of “community-based moderation.” Because, as we all know, online mobs are paragons of reasoned debate.
Social media, that cesspool of vitriol and vanity, is a necessary evil, or so I tell myself. I use Facebook for local groups, Instagram for families and close friends, and Threads remains a ghost town masquerading as a community. The constant stream of adverts and shallow suggestions of the first two makes prolonged use intolerable. Twitter? I have already bid farewell to that swamp after Musk’s algorithm started cheerleading conspiracies.
Meta’s decision to prioritise “free expression” by dismantling moderation and diversity initiatives is not about free speech or progress. It is about pleasing power. A transparent move driven by profits and political opportunism, not by any genuine concern for online safety. It would be almost laughable if it were not so dangerous.
Unmoderated spaces are dominated by the loudest and most obnoxious, spreading garbage like the drunk bore at the pub. Meta’s shift is less a policy and more a surrender—cheap, easy, and reckless. This atomised chaos, where tailored lies are spoon-fed to every individual, is just the latest iteration of media being weaponised by the powerful against democracy.
The consequences? Further polarisation, erosion of trust, and a world where truth is drowned out by the noise. Zuckerberg and his ilk kneel willingly to profits and power, and we are left to contend with the mess. The next four years online promise to be a spectacle of rage and misinformation, a digital wasteland where the loudest voices thrive.
As for me, the dilemma remains: to stay or to leave? Facebook, Instagram, Threads—they all toe the line of convenience versus principle. But there is little to love in platforms that prioritise profit over integrity. For now, I scroll sparingly, avoiding the worst of it, but the temptation to walk away entirely grows with every ill-advised algorithmic tweak.
Today’s musings may be sombre, the weather may have felt a bit duller, and the snow is nearly gone, but let this photo from yesterday remind us of the winter beauty of Cold Moor from the Wainstones.
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