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While this is not going to be a popular opinion, you have to give credit where credit is due to Trump. Without his campaign to crack down on Chinese practices (

While this is not going to be a popular opinion, you have to give credit where credit is due to Trump. Without his campaign to crack down on Chinese practices (including Huawei) and bringing massive attention to China via the active trade war and tariffs I doubt social media such as FB and Twitter would in-acting these policies. He brought political pressure onto China where there was little to none by previous administrations.

commandlinefan 7y ago
Maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me, but I see the exact opposite: there are a lot of people who believe that “coordinated, inauthentic behavior” on social media platforms allowed Trump to win the 2016 election, and that a crackdown on anything perceived to be “coordinated and inauthentic” will prevent him from doing so again in 2020. To me, this just feels like a cynically convenient excuse to get ready to remove content arbitrarily in advance of next year’s election cycle.
- nodesocket 7y ago
  I actually argue that the social media campaigns were much more negative against him. Google literally had a all-hands (leaked video) after the election where Brin and C-level executives were activists against Trump and conservative news outlets. Brin called the election results “offensive”.
  - metalliqaz 7y ago
    He did many offensive things, it's not really in dispute. It isn't a secret that he thrives on controversy. It's also not in dispute that foreign actors took advantage of the social media structure to stoke animosity and resentment ahead of the elections (at least, not in dispute among anyone serious). Execs in silicon valley would be correct to be horrified at what their infrastructure was used for and the results. The FBI has posted many examples of the propaganda. It was not "much more negative" against Trump. That's a falsehood.
avocado4 7y ago
Trump made it worse because whatever evidence against CCP he is presenting is often being dismissed by foreign leaders who don't trust him because of his unnecessarily hostile attitude towards US allies. If Obama or somebody alike was presenting Huawei case (which has been in the works long before Trump) more countries would be willing to coordinate a response necessary to maintain China's authoritarian / colonial ambitions. But now alienated Germany and other allies are increasingly skeptical, which helps China & Russia.

commandlinefan 7y ago

Maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me, but I see the exact opposite: there are a lot of people who believe that “coordinated, inauthentic behavior” on social media platforms allowed Trump to win the 2016 election, and that a crackdown on anything perceived to be “coordinated and inauthentic” will prevent him from doing so again in 2020. To me, this just feels like a cynically convenient excuse to get ready to remove content arbitrarily in advance of next year’s election cycle.

nodesocket 7y ago
I actually argue that the social media campaigns were much more negative against him. Google literally had a all-hands (leaked video) after the election where Brin and C-level executives were activists against Trump and conservative news outlets. Brin called the election results “offensive”.
- metalliqaz 7y ago
  He did many offensive things, it's not really in dispute. It isn't a secret that he thrives on controversy. It's also not in dispute that foreign actors took advantage of the social media structure to stoke animosity and resentment ahead of the elections (at least, not in dispute among anyone serious). Execs in silicon valley would be correct to be horrified at what their infrastructure was used for and the results. The FBI has posted many examples of the propaganda. It was not "much more negative" against Trump. That's a falsehood.

avocado4 7y ago

Trump made it worse because whatever evidence against CCP he is presenting is often being dismissed by foreign leaders who don't trust him because of his unnecessarily hostile attitude towards US allies. If Obama or somebody alike was presenting Huawei case (which has been in the works long before Trump) more countries would be willing to coordinate a response necessary to maintain China's authoritarian / colonial ambitions. But now alienated Germany and other allies are increasingly skeptical, which helps China & Russia.