Someone put up a poll on Facebook, asking that service's 300 million users if president Obama should be killed.
The Secret Service are on the case, and already questioned at least one techie at the firm who developed the polling app.
Setting the politics aside for the moment, how does this play against the fearsome internet cultural current (this blog's subject)?
On one level, it plays against type, given Facebook's relative immunity from the scary digital network meme. If this has been a MySpace poll, or a Twitter tweet, the death threat would have been more acceptable. But on Facebook, ah, it looks a bit shocking. Facebook is for the polished, or those who would like to become or seem so (most recently).
On another level, media accounts seem oddly disinclined to point to an author. Not that the author is known (as of this posting), but to mention that someone put up the poll. Instead, coverage mentions the poll appearing on Facebook, or calls it a Facebook survey. It's the old discourse of removing blame from a specific author (even if their name is unknown), and shifting responsibility to a medium or platform more generally.
Back to politics: this story is one which can be part of the narrative describing a rising tide of violent anti-Obama rhetoric. This doesn't directly concern technology, but could through two avenues. One: setting up a mirror to Obama's use of social media to win in 2008. Two: by tapping on older fearsome internet memes about disliked political parties using Web 2.0 to organize. Cf e-Qaeda for example.
Back to Facebook: will this story become part of a negative Facebook narrative?
Racism and burning in effigy with Facebook today, though here they know the author. Mashable also would count as mainstream media.
http://mashable.com/2009/09/29/effigy-video/
Posted by: Todd | September 30, 2009 at 08:20
Points well taken, Bryan!
I wonder what would have happened if a similar poll would have been made about Bush Jr., Limbaugh or Beck?
Posted by: peter naegele | September 30, 2009 at 19:11
It's curious, Todd, the difference between app (assassination poll) and profile (pix). Perhaps apps will be where Facebook gets its haunted media reputation at last.
I suspect a mirror image of outrage for Bush2.
I'm not sure the media figures would compare, @peter.
Posted by: Bryan Alexander | October 02, 2009 at 15:27