The usually left-leaning Saturday Night Live mocked the recent Facebook whistleblower testimony. Although it is still left-leaning, the writers must have realized that most US lawmakers are completely out of touch with reality and the very issues they make decisions on. They display false outrage but fail to act. “What Facebook has done is disgraceful, and you better believe Congress will be taking action right after we pass the infrastructure bill, raise the debt ceiling, prosecute those responsible for the January 6 insurrection, and stop Trump from using executive privilege, even though he’s no longer president. But after all that, you watch out, Facebook,” Senator Dianne Feinstein’s character commented.
It would be funny if it were not true, and I contemplate whether to categorize this as humor. In the skit, Senator John Neely Kennedy’s character was perplexed by the Facebook algorithm, and well, algorithms in general. “You’ve told us a lot of disturbing information about this so-called ‘algorithm.’ I just want to clear up a few points… Where is it? Do you have it with you now?” he questioned. I have faced similar interrogations over Socrates’ algorithm. The government wants what they cannot have and do not understand. These are the people we are expected to trust to dictate our future.
