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There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may

There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may not result in tens of thousands of deaths if it gets sufficient traction. This is exactly the kind of thing Russian propaganda always tries to achieve: provide confusion and semi-legitimate experts spreading false narratives so that the population does not believe the government anymore - or simply doesn't believe anyone anymore. See eg the EU's take on it: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-disinformation-on-the-coronavirus-short-assessment-of-the-information-environment/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-disinformation-on... https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/

RonanTheGrey 6y ago
> There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may not result in tens of thousands of deaths if it gets sufficient traction Interesting. So.... forbid all speech that could result in a revolution, then? Say... An American one? Or maybe a Spring one. Or a French one. I mean.. that's the standard you set up. In before "ARE YOU COMPARING A VIRUS TO A REVOLUTION?" blah. At the risk of overstating my case, life isn't the only valuable thing on earth.
- AlwaysForward 6y ago
  The French revolution was the worst thing to happen to humanity since the birth of the renaissance.
  - RonanTheGrey 6y ago
    That was rather part of my point. "Progress" as we'd call it is dirty, messy, bloody. Although I tend to think what the Nazis did during WWII probably wins that particular title.
    - AlwaysForward 6y ago
      Why? It was mostly the Jews that received the brunt of the non-warfare violence and it stopped once the war was over. (I'm going to assume we're not considering the bombing of civilians as a Nazi exclusive strategy) The destruction of humanity caused by the French revolution continues to this day, it's celebrated and adored but is an unstoppable poison.
glaive123 6y ago
Yes, especially when massive organized efforts of bots and astroturfing is involved. Some governments have been found to post hundreds of millions of fake social media posts per year.
hartator 6y ago
> There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may not result in tens of thousands of deaths if it gets sufficient traction. It's the oldest trick in the book. Millions will die! You can't seek the truth in an non-transparent environment. > This is exactly the kind of thing Russian propaganda always tries to achieve How two Californian doctors talking about their own data and the reading of other counties data Russian propaganda? > See eg the EU's take on it: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ Form the website: "EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position"

RonanTheGrey 6y ago

> There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may not result in tens of thousands of deaths if it gets sufficient traction Interesting. So.... forbid all speech that could result in a revolution, then? Say... An American one? Or maybe a Spring one. Or a French one. I mean.. that's the standard you set up. In before "ARE YOU COMPARING A VIRUS TO A REVOLUTION?" blah. At the risk of overstating my case, life isn't the only valuable thing on earth.

AlwaysForward 6y ago
The French revolution was the worst thing to happen to humanity since the birth of the renaissance.
- RonanTheGrey 6y ago
  That was rather part of my point. "Progress" as we'd call it is dirty, messy, bloody. Although I tend to think what the Nazis did during WWII probably wins that particular title.
  - AlwaysForward 6y ago
    Why? It was mostly the Jews that received the brunt of the non-warfare violence and it stopped once the war was over. (I'm going to assume we're not considering the bombing of civilians as a Nazi exclusive strategy) The destruction of humanity caused by the French revolution continues to this day, it's celebrated and adored but is an unstoppable poison.

glaive123 6y ago

Yes, especially when massive organized efforts of bots and astroturfing is involved. Some governments have been found to post hundreds of millions of fake social media posts per year.

hartator 6y ago

> There is a difference between silencing dissenters in a scientific discussion and silencing dissenters trying to push a viewpoint to the masses that may or may not result in tens of thousands of deaths if it gets sufficient traction. It's the oldest trick in the book. Millions will die! You can't seek the truth in an non-transparent environment. > This is exactly the kind of thing Russian propaganda always tries to achieve How two Californian doctors talking about their own data and the reading of other counties data Russian propaganda? > See eg the EU's take on it: https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ https://euvsdisinfo.eu/ Form the website: "EUvsDisinfo publications do not represent an official EU position"