I’m laid up at the moment so surfing more than usual. Someone (or AI) is generating weird stories on FB. Always a family member being abused who turns out to own the entire town, or the janitor who turns out to be the missing long lost Medal of Honor winner recognized by the visiting VIP. What kills me is the conclusion to the story is always hidden behind (continued in the comments).
I never bother, I just make up an ending. But it leads me to wonder - is there someone getting paid by FB or some other party if you do go down the rabbit hole?
Open up the comments on one of them and see if the OP (or anyone for that matter) posted a link where the rest of the story can be found. If you see that, that’s the hook. It’s either going to be a phishing attempt to get your credentials or just a way to drive traffic to another site.
If there’s not a link, I’d guess it’s to create more engagement. Both the additional clicks they’re getting to see the comments and once you start reading the comments, you’re more likely to post your own comments.
Along these same lines, it may be to get around spam filters that only check the OP for questionable content, but not the comments.
Some of the “teasers” are real tear jerkers, some are hilarious, some are just too weird for words. Someday, someone should compile them into a complete collection.
Not just his. I think I started Faecebook in like 2010. I deleted my account just a week ago. It used to be a fun place with cat videos, but now it’s just bait for rage and clicks giving me absolutely nothing good in return. I never feel better after having scrolled so I really see no point in it anymore except as a propaganda delivery system that also tracks and reports activity. Nuts to alladat.
My Facebook is in a decent place right now, weirdly enough, mainly showing me vintage comics and animal rescue posts (“We’re rehabbing three orphaned baby skunks, so cute!”). If it can stay there, we’ll be cool.
I used to get the stuff in the OP which always related some tale of smug revenge but ends right before the punchline. I never clicked on them, curiosity be damned, and Facebook eventually moved on. Knowing that they were all bullshit anyway helped keep me strong. They didn’t seem AI generated but rather taken from Reddit.
I completely abandoned Facebook for years, like maybe 10 years. Didn’t cancel my account, just didn’t participate. Then my wife wanted me to check something on FB Marketplace a few months ago, and I started looking at what’s in my feed these days. And it’s an absolutely astonishing mix of misinformation. Ever since, to the detriment of my sanity I fear, I’ve been lurking on my FB feed with sort of a horrified fascination, like a rubbernecker looking at a trainwreck.
Some of the stuff I get:
The weird tearjerker stories that the OP mentions, which you have to click the comments to (maybe) find the end of the story. Or jokes where you have to do the same to get the punchline.
AI slop showing plane crashes, multi-vehicle highway pileups, or stuff like cliffside attractions collapsing with dozens of people falling to their doom.
‘Fun facts’ that are absolutely wrong-- like “if you save a penny a day, in a year you’ll have $36,500.00” Or “I just realized someone born in 2026 is 60”. I think these posts are trying to get any comments at all, and 400 people saying “that’s wrong!” works for them.
Right wing nutjob CT nonsense.
“Recipes” that make no sense.
“Household hacks” videos that make no sense.
Literal Flat Earther stuff that says things like “if the Earth is round, why [stupid question]?”
Weirdly, even though I know that FB is working an algorithm on me, I’m not sure why it often posts things that are antithetical to my beliefs, like the right wing nutjob and flat Earth BS. All I can assume is that FB wants to rile people up, and get them posting. Even angry posting boosts the profile of the entity making the post, I have to guess.
