There was a period of time last year where TikTok really wanted me to see the Canadian government as an unmitigated disaster. Just endless scrolls of random mouth frothers screaming about it.

Not opining on the matter specifically; just that TikTok had a very clear opinion on what I ought to think.

LOL. Canadian government does not need any TikTok. Just visit downtown Toronto, hospitals etc.

Comments like this, doing the exact thing they said they aren't open to, will surely convince them astroturfing doesn't exist!

Being serious, comments like this make me trust the Canadian government more. It sounds like how American conservatives discuss cities they've never been to. And they tend to be surprisingly good inverse indicators when it comes to actually being in the cities. I'd bet Canadian hospitals are better than what I've got now, solely going off of this discussion.

It’s not really about deciding if one trusts the government or not. That’s an oversimplification of one’s civic responsibility to study the issues and make informed decisions. The main harm astroturfing does is convert everything into black and white oversimplifications. It turns people into unthinkers. They pick a side and then act like it’s some sort of battle against the other side.

Of course! I didn't actually rewrite my framework just to counter someone on the internet. I said that more to call out the low effort response as fitting an extremely predictable pattern of uninformed people trying to pose their drive-by hot take as fact.

I do not pick sides. The only things I see are changes in quality of life. One must be blind not to see where it is going.

As for "informed decisions" - I do make those based on what I see and do not need help from TikTok or anything else. HN is about the only social media I participate in when I need a quick brake from working on computer.

>"It sounds like how American conservatives discuss cities they've never been to."

I live in Toronto since 92 and I can compare back then and now so don't assume things.

Yeah I’m not interested in discussing the subject matter here.

Found the bot