Free Republic

The site – 81m.org – tracks the “likes” and “dislikes” on videos published by the official White House YouTube account, and from the data, extrapolates an “approval rate.” In many cases, the approval rating is in the single digits, even as low as 2.72 percent for the video “President Biden Participates in a Virtual Event with the House Democratic Caucus.” The site also reveals how the YouTube account is manipulating dislikes:

Facebook “Like” buttons on commercial websites break German law if users are not warned that their personal data is being shared, a court ruled on Wednesday. In a potentially significant ruling for the social media giant, the court banned a shopping website from using the function on its pages if it did not first warn customers their data was being recorded. The Fashion ID site, run by the Peek & Cloppenburg brand, was warned that it could be fined €250,000 for every breach of the order, seen by AFP. The retailer will now be forced to warn users that “liking”...

I have long held suspicions that the Like button on Facebook is not your friend.I’m sure you’ve seen some of the pictures floating around Facebook that seem to make no sense. There seems to be no end to the litany of crossword puzzles asking you to “type the first word you see.” Maybe you’ve seen a picture of… well, almost anything that might elicit a reaction, asking you to “share if you agree, Like of you don’t.”How about the innumerable political posts, calling for impeachment or support? Are all those posts really put out there by people who care? Then,...