Fishing For Dollars
Controversy Sells
BLUF: They are fishing. The “error” is the bait. You're reaction/comment is the catch.
Individuals are making a lot of money off of Facebook posts. I’ve got zero problem with that, except when it comes to honesty. Well, in this case, I should say dishonesty. I see it all of the time and I’m not quite sure everyone knows that they are being used.
Take the Facebook post below for example.
Example of a Purposely Mislabeled Image
“Clarence” here knows this is a very popular and easily identifiable location. It is Tunnel View in Yosemite National Park. However, he has decided to purposely mislable the image as being from Switzerland. Why is that?
Let's think about this for a moment. “Clarence” wants engagement. Most Pages on FB do. He doesn't care if it is positive engagement or negative engagement and neither does Facebook's algorithm. That’s the key!
The algorithm is merely going to pick up on the fact that there is a post that is getting views, reactions, and comments. In turn, the algorithm will further show the misleading post. It’s a self-licking ice cream cone.
Here's another example…
“Hanging Lake” altered to make it more attractive to individuals who are unfamiliar with the actual scene.
Look at those reactions! Over 5,200 reactions at the time of this screenshot. All thumbs up and love… I get it, it’s a beautiful scene, tho sadly it’s not real.
Let's dig into some of the comments…
Screenshot of positive comments on altered image
I’d have to agree with the comments above. This is a beautiful scene. However, probably only a portion of the people who’ve actually been to Hanging Lake can detect that this image has been manipulated to overrepresent the scene.
Here (below) are comments from some who know the image isn't representative of Hanging Lake.
This individual isn’t so easily fooled
Neither Was This Individual, but there’s a problem
This user thinks s/he’s doing us a favor
All of the love AND all of the hate both feed the machine. What do I mean? A comment, no matter if it is positive or negative, is a comment. The algorithm sees the comments, reactions, and shares and in turn, shows the post more often to more people. Either way, the Original Poster is getting paid based on the post being shown, reacted to, and commented on. In other words, the Original Poster is profiting from all of the activity no matter if it is positive or negative.
Where is the author? Not in the comments section for sure! The author is busy generating the next post. That’s one way, assuming you aren't familiar with the image, to tell if you are being used.
In the end, controversy sells and your positive or negative remarks/reactions are gold.
~Faz
