Facebook possess remarkable ability to recall details
Date
11/20/2024 12:59:39 AM
(MENAFN) facebook has a remarkable ability to recall details I had long since forgotten. Since joining in 2006, I’ve been invited to nearly 2,000 events, including an anniversary celebration for a now-defunct London nightclub, a casual drinks party marking the start of Brexit, and a vegan conference (despite never being a vegetarian). The platform also tracks my membership in a bizarre assortment of groups, such as one for supporters of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist paramilitary, and another for residents of Huntington, West Virginia, once dubbed "America's fattest city" (I’m neither American, a nationalist, nor an overweight Hindu).
I didn’t dive into social media to reminisce about teenage nights out or reflect on my work as a foreign correspondent. Instead, my focus was on removing myself from the digital landscape entirely. This wasn’t a political decision, but a practical one. I was preparing to launch a podcast on India's Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and knew that any journalist covering Modi’s policies or controversial remarks could become a target of online harassment, especially if they were a woman. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), two-thirds of female journalists have faced online abuse, a figure that’s likely higher in South Asia, where female reporters are often targeted with trolling, death threats, and even doxxing. One Indian journalist I know had her face superimposed onto a pornographic video as part of a malicious smear campaign.
As a journalist, I’m acutely aware of how easily personal details can be uncovered online. For instance, when researching a new CEO, I scoured LinkedIn for recommendations and contacted those who had endorsed him to get a better sense of his leadership style. Public Venmo profiles can also reveal intimate details about someone’s life, such as who they’re living with, where they vacation, and even who they might be buying drugs from, as I discovered in one case.
Despite these experiences, I didn’t take proper precautions when it came to my own online presence. I casually shared my name and email to log into public Wi-Fi, like "AddisFreeWifi123" while traveling through Ethiopia. I’d call my mom to let her know I had safely arrived at my destination and used banking apps without ever checking my privacy settings. Until recently, I hadn’t given much thought to what I shared on social media.
With my podcast on the horizon, I knew I had to start reducing my digital footprint. The first step was understanding exactly what information was out there about me. With a stalker’s mindset, I switched my browser to "private" mode and Googled myself. The results were filled with articles I’d written over the years—mostly before I joined *The Economist*—but none included personal information.
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