It was originally started by members of a local dad rock covers band called FUBAR for gig updates (it's still run by one of them, and presumably several other admins) but fairly quickly became local curtain-twitching and traffic updates.
The public submit posts to them via direct message and the admins copy & paste their submissions into posts, so it differs from a lot of the other local news outlets on FB which tend to be groups where folk can just post their own stuff. The admins obviously exercise editorial control over the posts for better or worse, so their political views tend to be magnified out across their 220k+ followers.
I don't think it's quite as mental as the guy who runs Fife Jammers, and the now-deleted Aberdeen Guardian which started as an anti-paedophile vigilante page which posted photos of folk leaving court along with their addresses etc and the admin was involved in the hotel-shouting protests. It's pretty bad but not much worse than the comments under the P&J and EE which get basically no moderation at all.
Aberdeen guardian where he ran a mental health group, yet would tell people to kill themselves then got caught assaulting teen lassies with his pal in pro.
I'm good chums with the guy from fubar you are alluding to and he told me personally that he's no longer anything to do with it (far better things to do with his time) and as far as he knows it's run by students. It doesn't have a students vibe as far as i can see (unless its the young conservative branch lol) so maybe he was just blowing smoke up my ass 🤷♂️
No unfortunately the admins allow racist/bigoted/anti-immigtant/anti-traveller etc comments to stay up but delete or reply with "yawn" to comments challenging them.
Their mental health advocacy doesn't go any further than facile "speak to your pals", "there no shame in talking" etc
If you were to pull each of the busybody type characters from 80s soaps, like Dot Cotton, Mrs Mack,Mrs Mangel, Hilda Ogden, Percy Sugden etc and then train them the local dialect of "ats gid is it" and then you have a local Facebook group admin team.
I still am not sure if, given have the chance, they would go full flag shagging and hate on the non natives in public or not.
I just hate that they get hysterical about everything and try to paint Aberdeen in its worts possible light. I got banned for telling someone that knife crime is not rampant in the city because according to the mods it is 🤷🏻♀️
I got banned for asking what bait about hijab bans had to do with missing pets and traffic updates. I don't know if they're flag-shaggers or not, but they are shit-stirrers and cowards who refuse to unmask themselves and engage with any criticism. That was a while ago though, I've been off Facebook since the pandemic.
It USED to be pretty good for updates on road closures/traffic congestion, but now its a bunch of unemployed curtain twitchers who huff their own farts and go absolutely raging when the police wont tell them anything about accidents or road closures (yes that actually happened)
Mind during the snow in January the admins got so big-headed about the amount of traffic on their posts about the snow that they were essentially claiming to be an emergency service and kept posting cringe AI images of how overworked they were in their "office". The councils and local MSPs ended up recommending folk check Fubar for updates which had the dual effect of inflating the egos of the admins and also shirking any responsibility to maintain an official channel for updates for the public.
That’s exactly the situation i was remembering because they got arsey about the police not contacting them about something or other to do with the snow
I remember that. They seem to think they are an actual news organisation (which while not great still have some reporting standards), which has resulted in a lot of people that follow their page to believe it too!
They also get paid for views, so it's in their best interests to post often & allow folk arguing in the comments, more interaction - more money for the admins.
I think they have an unhealthy love of Ai 🤖 images to promote their page ..
Other than that it’s like a local fb group for a small to medium sized city, they were falling over themselves when the news was quoting them and their footage during the last blizzard in Aberdeen (which made me giggle) .. but I find them harmless so far.
It's not quite harmless when they delete comments they don't approve of, or only post things they approve of. They've essentially created their own echo chamber for idiots.
Well we were discussing Facebook pages not news companies but OK.
I see you were here requesting help with your mental health last month, it would probably do you well to keep your snark to yourself and stay positive.
I need to add I previously lived in Stonehaven and the local group chat there was also run by absolute tools so the fact FUBAR is also, comes as no surprise
Zero accountability like mainstream media have too. Can whip folk into a frenzy without validating any information they post. I do find some of their posts a little self congratulatory...
"News" page which basically does no actual reporting and steals it's stories from elsewhere. Which must be hard work, as admin frequently complains about being "tired", must be a lot of physical labour goes into all that copy and pasting. Loves stirring up hatred towards minority groups, racism and homophobia is rife. Hates "the clowncil 🤡" and any attempt to improve the city. Occasionally stokes some excitement amongst their supporters with their competitions, by hiding a ticket for the circus under a bin in Northfield. Makes the EE look like The Guardian in comparison. Unfollowing the page will make improve your mental health.
Haha, the admins constantly make shit jokes like "can't park there" yet of someone else does it they'll comment "yawn" or something other insufferable bollocks.
I reported users openly calling for people to be killed and the mods responded with an emoji and did nothing else. Then the comment sections somehow got worse.
People want vets to contact their lost and found page about pets that are handed in, but admin ban any vet professional who stands up to page participants vet bashing with no actual purpose. So pets don't get posted.
Your last bit sums it up perfectly - its a local gossip Facebook page, run by admins who think they are actually journalists and an actual news organisation (even referring to actual news organisations as colleagues!)
They are not journalists or a news organisations, if they where they wouldn't get away with half the stuff they post.
Most other towns and cities have local Facebook groups for these kind of things (and so does Aberdeen, especially for particular areas, but they are often overshadowed by Fubar News).
They encouraged doxxing of anyone that didn’t toe their line of bus lanes lez potholes clouncil. Steer clear. Utter drivel and echochamber for mumbling knuckle draggers.
...the business I've ran with my head in the ground during an oil boom is now failing and I don't market it, don't have competitive pricing and have done nothing to encourage footfall...I'll blame everyone else for not fixing my failing business...
You could pick your nose in Aberdeen and make money 10 years ago. The council is doing the smart thing by improving the centre but it can't magic back thousands of people with spare cash and free time.
It's a mix between local traffic updates and the occasional global news post.
I don't think they can quite decide on what the page is. Just use it for updates on traffic, the rest of garbage.
Haha, I saw the title of this post and I knew you'd be here with some shite comment. Ironically you constantly seem to be the most rattled person every time fubar is mentioned here.
"rent free" classic catchphrase of the pathetic loser with nothing clever to say. Must be sad knowing that your Reddit username is recognised (albeit negatively) more than your real name.
Edit: just so you know, every time I see your username this is what comes to mind.
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u/Spare_Artichoke_3070 2d ago
It was originally started by members of a local dad rock covers band called FUBAR for gig updates (it's still run by one of them, and presumably several other admins) but fairly quickly became local curtain-twitching and traffic updates.
The public submit posts to them via direct message and the admins copy & paste their submissions into posts, so it differs from a lot of the other local news outlets on FB which tend to be groups where folk can just post their own stuff. The admins obviously exercise editorial control over the posts for better or worse, so their political views tend to be magnified out across their 220k+ followers.
I don't think it's quite as mental as the guy who runs Fife Jammers, and the now-deleted Aberdeen Guardian which started as an anti-paedophile vigilante page which posted photos of folk leaving court along with their addresses etc and the admin was involved in the hotel-shouting protests. It's pretty bad but not much worse than the comments under the P&J and EE which get basically no moderation at all.