Julianus

You're assuming FB cares enough to have opinions on most things. It only cares about generating traffic. Spreading disinformation and generating echo chambers is only a side-effect.

If FB was losing revenue (through boycott or regulation) because it was allowing rampant fake news, the easiest thing it could do would be to hire a pool of people with Wikipedia experience. Do you have a better solution?

Yes, that's not working so well, obviously. But there is a cynical assault on truth. It's literally a 1984 meme today. We need to get back to journalistic standards for publishing news. For the most part, the hordes of Wikipedia contributors do a good job at it.

Nope. It's just a little taste of Putin's own medicine. The little green men have wings, now.

Because that be inconvenient for you?

Do not discount the power of sleepless obsessives. The volunteers at Wikipedia are compulsive about the rules. Facebook needs to hire them to fact check.

Ukraine continues to thinly deny, but the US confirmed today it was the Ukrainians.

Technically, not at the moment, being invaded by Russia and all. But my point is that afterwards, Ukrainian deposits will be fast-tracked for development by foreign capital where as Russia will be starved for it. Belt and Road might be their only option.

The exchange rate makes burning rubles quite competitive.

You're tacitly admitting Russia got kicked out of the G8. And you know who has oil and gas? Ukraine. Guess where all that sweet, sweet foreign capital is going to be redirected? And probably Russia's frozen foreign currency reserves, too.

Russia is offering certificates of ownership, rather than delivery. People being to suspect it doesn't all exist, at that point.

Lol, are you rushing to sign up for a Russian back account? I hear the exchange rate for rubles is starting to look like satoshis. And China plays so many games with their currency that nobody trusts it now. Seriously, keep wishing as hard as you can, but there's nothing better yet.

I think the point is, nobody trusts them enough to accept certificates. They'll sell it -- at discount -- when they put it on a train and deliver bullion.