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Conservative Leaders: ‘Social Media Censorship’ Has ‘Reached a Crisis Level’

6 points by kushti 8y ago

xupybd 8y ago
I'm conflicted on this one. I'm a huge fan of freedom of speech, even speech I don't like. As long as it's not libel or inciting violence. But I don't think the private companies should be forced to provide a platform for these things. If the conservative leaders are just urging these companies to act in a certain way then great but if they want the government to force them to act that way I'm totally against that. I'm also under the impression that most conservatives (myself included) want less government regulation not more.
- contourtrails 8y ago
  I think in general social media is hostile to conservative viewpoints because most social media users are young. There's really not much social media companies can do if someone gets downvoted into oblivion because 90% of people viewing a comment thread are under the age of 25 and more likely to be liberal as a result. That said, companies like Reddit need to be careful that they don't automatically interpret something like criticism of illegal immigration as hate speech. Of course such criticism certainly could be framed in such a way that it is hate speech, but it's very possible to not be hateful while discussing illegal immigration and similarly sensitive issues. Yet therein lies the grey.
  - xupybd 8y ago
    But even then if Reddit wants to be left leaning and censor out conservative views why shouldn't they be free do that? I'm a conservative but think private companies should be free to choose political sides. My hope is that market forces lead them to a more neutral stance but that may not happen. Freedom of speech shouldn't trump a private companies freedom to act as they please.
jumpman500 8y ago
I hate the implication of this, that social media is so important to free speech that the companies that run it should try to achieve equal representation of political ideas. Create a new platform or find a different method to reach people if you hate the status quo. People shouldn't be dependent on social media to receive new information/ideas and I don't have sympathy for people that are.

6 points by kushti 8y ago

I'm conflicted on this one. I'm a huge fan of freedom of speech, even speech I don't like. As long as it's not libel or inciting violence. But I don't think the private companies should be forced to provide a platform for these things. If the conservative leaders are just urging these companies to act in a certain way then great but if they want the government to force them to act that way I'm totally against that. I'm also under the impression that most conservatives (myself included) want less government regulation not more.

contourtrails 8y ago
I think in general social media is hostile to conservative viewpoints because most social media users are young. There's really not much social media companies can do if someone gets downvoted into oblivion because 90% of people viewing a comment thread are under the age of 25 and more likely to be liberal as a result. That said, companies like Reddit need to be careful that they don't automatically interpret something like criticism of illegal immigration as hate speech. Of course such criticism certainly could be framed in such a way that it is hate speech, but it's very possible to not be hateful while discussing illegal immigration and similarly sensitive issues. Yet therein lies the grey.
- xupybd 8y ago
  But even then if Reddit wants to be left leaning and censor out conservative views why shouldn't they be free do that? I'm a conservative but think private companies should be free to choose political sides. My hope is that market forces lead them to a more neutral stance but that may not happen. Freedom of speech shouldn't trump a private companies freedom to act as they please.

jumpman500 8y ago

I hate the implication of this, that social media is so important to free speech that the companies that run it should try to achieve equal representation of political ideas. Create a new platform or find a different method to reach people if you hate the status quo. People shouldn't be dependent on social media to receive new information/ideas and I don't have sympathy for people that are.