"The richest man on earth owns X.
The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok.
The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post.
See the problem here?"
Robert Reich
Sep 25, 2025, 7:28 AM
Sep 25, 2025, 7:43 AM@junesim63 The EU needs to go further than just the @EUCommission being here. All government organizations communicating publicly need to do so on their own instances on an open network - which means the Fediverse.
If the EU enforces that, other countries will follow. That's how we disarm the algorithms.
@troed @junesim63 @EUCommission Sure, as the EVP (ruling party in EU parliament and providing the commission) are “the conservatives” which means the European version of “GOP”, I’m really really confident it will happen exactly… oh, wait 🤔
@junesim63 I don't use any of those. See the potential solution here?
@junesim63 we can make a difference, just don't use that shit anymore. (yeah i know)
Sep 25, 2025, 8:22 AM@rantanlan @junesim63 Hear hear
"Our Republic has already fallen.
Just slow enough for us to allow, and ignore, it."
SearingTruth
@junesim63 a population of 8.2 billion and we're all under the boot of a handful of men that wouldn't fill a Starbucks seating area
Before we just point fingers at the US, where do people in your circles get their daily news?
I'm already trying to get it into some of my friends' and family's heads that the likes of Instagram and TikTok are *not* reliable sources or news.
@junesim63 I see… I need to make a social media?
@bjarkess @junesim63 that is definitely one takeaway!
@junesim63 Complacency about oligarchs who determine our lives without caring a fig about right or wrong.
@jerry what place are you in the richest man ranking again?
Sep 25, 2025, 11:14 AM@Newk @junesim63 I have a healthy family, a dog, and a roof over my head, so I consider myself pretty rich. Money wise, we shop at thrift stores, so…
You are rich indeed! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️
@junesim63 Yes, Mr. Reich I see it clearly. Two problems: I am not American, and Americans are among the dumbest creatures on earth.
@junesim63 ,,,,
Sep 25, 2025, 11:20 AM@junesim63 And none owns, and won't ever be owner, of Mastodon... See an opportunity here? 😊
@junesim63 Capitalism. The issue is capitalism, and there is no way to reform it.
We rise to socialism and revolution, or collapse as a species.
@junesim63 These companies should be owned by shareholders. They should be run in the best interests of people, planet, and shareholders. I say, replace their Executive Management and Board of Directors with AI.
@junesim63
und wenn das nicht alles bald vergesellschaftet wird, gehört denen bald die ganzeWelt
"Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights."
Albert Einstein, from his essay "Why Socialism"
Too many rich oligarchs.
@junesim63 - a Monopoly - They should be broken up like AT&T, Ma BELL etc.
@junesim63 If billionaires own the media they own the narrative. I noticed that CNN only showed the outline of the Trump and Epstein statue without a clear view. Self censorship is wonderfully effective
@junesim63@mstdn.social the problem is people still using mainstream social media even after they find this out and not realizing how they aren't "just companies doing business", when they've incorporated and dictate the entire public discourse.
How do you call the society democratic if the vast majority of our social interactions, our conversations are held in totally undemocratic, tyrannic by desing, institutions, that these companies are? What part of this is democratic?
Once the oligarchs control enough media, nobody will see any problems clearly, ever again.
@junesim63 Notably, each one of those was acquired AFTER growing to be big. None of these are "I created a place for discussion and got wildly rich for it."
Sep 25, 2025, 3:23 PM"See the problem here?"
Yes I do: you and I and everyone else MADE THEM WHO THEY ARE and we did it, and continue to do it, WITH EYES WIDE OPEN. Even dare I say eagerly and with unbounded fanboi gusto.
Obviously, this is the world we wanted because no other creatures here are demanding five-nines uptime from a BS machine.
Sep 25, 2025, 3:40 PM@junesim63 where does John Mastodon's wealth rank?
@junesim63 welches Problem?
Sep 25, 2025, 4:08 PM@junesim63
and why is nobody talking about Peter Thiel in this context?
@junesim63
The real problem is that many people still naiv and stupid enough to use those platforms instead of other alternatives. 🙄😉
The most mentioned excuse for not using any alternative platform is the pseudo reason their friends aren't there yet and laziness.
@oliver
@junesim63 We could boycott them and their advertisers and put them all out of business. It is possible, boycotts work tremendously well.
@junesim63 ha? tamen, kian riĉecon vi estas aludanta? sumo da monbiletoj, faritaj el ordinara papero? suprenrigardu al la firmamento; ne ekzistas surtere io alia simila, ĉu? tiel Diogenes de Sinope alparolis Aleksandron la grandan (por al vi falicigi la legadon, en la angla la jenan frazon mi tajpos) : Alexander heard about Diogenes, who
(according to most) lived in extreme poverty, and he offered to grant him any wish. Diogenes replied: Yes, stand out of my sunlight!
Sep 25, 2025, 7:05 PM@junesim63 Not a single one of them produces anything real and meaningful?
Oct 10, 2025, 12:40 PM@junesim63 Wszystko prowadzi do kryptocenzury. Masz wiedzieć i pisać co oni chcą.