I used to enjoy Quora, although it was always a haven for ego’s. Lately I returned to Quora to find it to be a Tigger Point for people. It is a site that brings out the utter worst aspects of humanity. People calling for genocide, praising executions, bigoted views and outspoken racism. It seems that the admins are not policing the posts at all. I guess it’s up to us to report every comment, but the comments are so angry, hostile and filled with vitriol that there are too many to report.
The worst part of Quora used to be the fake posts that ask an obvious question, that is trying to get a specific response. Those posts typically look like they were forcing engagement by dividing people. An example would be a post like, “Why are atheists so ignorant of Jesus and his power today?” Who would really ask that question on Quora? It sounds like a way to trigger responses from atheists. That situation has become so much worse today.
How Quora Is Today
Today Quora is a site for people to post triggering images, with brief commentary to enrage people into engagement. A lot of what is being posted is highly political as well. Politics aside, there is so much false data going on in Quora without correction, that it is making monsters out of normal people.
Examples
I saw one post of a black and white image from WWII. It showed women being carried by service men, and helped off the ground, however the headline read something like, “1000’s of service men from around the world rape German women after WWII.” The description read, “shocking photos.” It seemed fishy. Like what photographer is hanging around to get rape pic’s? It just didn’t fit the images. Sure enough it’s false data. The images were of service men helping people in Germany. A person holding a woman up, or helping another to her feat. But it’s interpreted as “acts of sexual assault.” This led to comments from some people chiding non-Germans for the so-called mass rape, and others who encouraged it, saying “they deserve it for what they did!” All the vitriol for fake news. Imagine some person who was against racism and bigotry now pitching rape as a legitimate practice? It’s a site that brings out the worst in people.
Post after post there are now blurred images. Once in awhile one slips through of a man hanging from a tree or a bloody body in a street. These images are sensational and inspire hatred and anger from others. Post titles inspire immediate hatred and people are responding without knowing the issues. It’s just constant rage.
Another post shows a woman in the street, blood streaming from her skull and a crowd forming with a title deriding Somali immigrants. The description read that this brutality was the work of a Somali “asylum seeker.” Certainly an anti-immigrant political post. The comments fueled by the graphic image, are almost pure evil.
Jumping into the fire, political commentators take the emotional fervor to add on saying, “It’s all Bidens fault!” or “Trump did this!” Tying a sensational story of rape, child abuse, genocide or something else, to a political figure is often unfair and creates irrational hatred against a 3rd party not directly related to the issue.
What Quora Used to Be
Quora used to be a safe place for honest questions. Typically these were tech questions. Often my searches to learn something or bypass a problem were answered on Quora. I remember the days when it was rare to see something with a blurred image of sensational or triggering variety.
I’m not sure what to do. Sure, we can report content, but Quora is being financially fueled by triggering posts. Those posts have tons of engagement and that gives them more advertising money. They have little financial reason to change their methodology.
Unclear of the Future
Read the book, “Trust me, I’m Lying,” by Ryan Holiday. It’s one of the best books about media manipulation. Holiday wrote this long before “fake news” was a phrase. He wrote this before Infowars was established. He talked about a methodology he used when he was a marketing pro for his clients. He talks about the unethical choices he made and how he finally came to the light of reason. His expose was to showcase how media in general uses the same tools he used in order to emotionalize and divide audiences.
The details of that book fully explain the financial reasons why sites like Quora exist.
Hopefully, as a society, we can gain insights into calm, clear headed thinking and abstain from this vitriol.