The natural inclination in responding to Facebook's amplification of hate and disinformation is to propose to censor specific forms of hate and disinformation. However, that is a bad approach, because it would bring the government into regulating which opinions are acceptable.

I suspect it would also fail to eliminate the opinions it is intended to eliminate. As long as Facebook continues with its business model which specifically favors provoking hostility, it will design its algorithm to promote hatred-provoking postings as much as it can get away with. It will encourage people to probe the official limits on how to present hate. They will find ways, just as they have in the past.

Frances Haugan's testimony confirms my earlier conclusion that the wrong of Facebook is not in specific nasty statements posted there, but in the algorithm that promotes statements for being nasty. That algorithm is what it is because of the fact that spreading nasty statements is profitable for Facebook.

So let's regulate that algorithm, not the kinds of points people can post on Facebook.

Republican legislators in Michigan have passed laws to cut the funding of school districts that require people in schools to wear masks, or require quarantine of people that have Covid-19.

Republicans control the Michigan legislature is that they rig the elections using gerrymandering. A majority of the votes are always Democratic, and a majority of the legislature always Republican. Now that Republicanism means spreading disease, maybe it will be possible for Michiganders to overcome the intentional unfairness of the electoral system.

(satire) *Watchdog Group Enjoys Rare Night Out After Getting Sitter To Look After Telecom Industry.*

AT&T decided to start the extreme right-wing network OAN, and has been its main impetus.

It is noteworthy that the CEO of OAN refers to mainstream media as "the other side" from Faux News.

"Election audits" that find no wrongdoing do not convince the fanatics who are positive that the wrecker really won in 2000. They react by demanding more investigation. The "steal" has become an article of faith for them, and "audits" have become a barbaric ritual that they use to propagate the faith.

The "audit" in Arizona confirmed that Biden did win that state, and with a slightly bigger margin. It appears that the Republicans who did the auditing were compelled, somehow, to judge each ballot by impartial standards.

I predict that if Republicans do more of these "audits" they will try to eliminate whatever factor had that effect. They will look for ways to report arbitrary, bogus results.