Encryption, privacy, and a distributed web

From Xin Xin's lecture/workshop, I found very fascinating the tactics that people use to protect as much of their privacy and data as possible. Although there is no evidence of this, I am a believer that our devices are picking up information from audio recordings through iPhones, Alexas, or Google Homes. This brings into question what information could be stored and used later, and how this could gradually place a large amount of power into the hands of those who hold this info.

Another part of her lecture that made me think was the video, "How Facebook is Changing Your Internet" and the topic of politics and movements with the Internet, specifically with the use of content algorithms. This is a very real and scary power that the web holds, as it literally has the power to sway the opinions of mass populations. Facebook had the power to change the last presidential election, and has been criticized for its algorithms that cater a user towards certain content such as liberal or conservative, all of it being provacative content. The Russian Troll Factory has also proven to the fact that online media is a constant income of quick information that can be easily manipulated with such content to more drastically divide people's views. In this harmful time of fake news, I would like to try to make sure to fact-check any new material that I learn before spreading it.