4 ms·

First the censors came for the right-wingers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not right-wing.... That's the problem with putting in place censorshi

First the censors came for the right-wingers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not right-wing.... That's the problem with putting in place censorship. Sometimes it affects people you like.

HugeAcumen 6y ago
Thanks, I was wondering how this was the fault of the left. */s
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  I don't think it's helpful to blame things on broad groupings of the political spectrum like "the left". But a discussion on how scary it is the social media platforms are shaping debate needs to acknowledge the existence of large, powerful movements demanding that they build the tools and precedent to do so.
mft_ 6y ago
I don’t think freedom of speech is a left-right wing issue. There are people who strongly support free speech on both sides, and likewise there are censors on both sides. It’s more of an authoritarian-libertarian axis issue.
- gadders 6y ago
  I think in general terms as a political philosophy I would agree with you. I think in terms of how restrictions on speech are implemented by Facebook/Twitter/YouTube it absolutely seems to be more used against right wing sources.
  - pmachinery 6y ago
    Craig Murray doesn't seem particularly right-wing to me. Meanwhile, here someone describes not seeing several dozen left-wing sources on Twitter for weeks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24578659 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24578659
    - gadders 6y ago
      Oh agreed. He's very left wing. You could argue, though, that Assange/WikiLeaks isn't very popular with the left due to how they helped torpedo Clinton's campaign.
      - 9HZZRfNlpR 6y ago
        Assange is your typical cold war era anti war guy, it was sick how suddenly the American left wing spat on her for shitting on status quo. He was a messiah for the left when he did the same for Bush administration. Anyone remember Palins emails? At least for Clinton there was something to reveal.
        gadders 6y ago
        Yeah, I think he is one of these activists that will call people out whatever side of the political spectrum and so spends his time oscillating between which side dislikes him most.
      - Miner49er 6y ago
        "The left" doesn't like Clinton either. There's a big difference American liberals and leftists, and it doesn't make much sense to group them together. I'd say the vast majority of those on the left have a favorable view of Assange.
  - Daishiman 6y ago
    The most popular posts in FB are from fox news taking heads.
    - gadders 6y ago
      Try finding a post mentioning Gavin McInnes. You can't even mention McInnes' new website censored.tv on Instagram, even in private messages.
Cthulhu_ 6y ago
But you have to ask, did they censor right-wingers, or did they censor beliefs and behaviour that is often associated with "the right wing", e.g. racism? I mean if the right-wing feels attacked because their posts get banned so much, maybe they should take a closer look at themselves.
- Malcx 6y ago
  >> I mean if the jews feel attacked because their families get gassed so much, maybe they should take a closer look at themselves. Yeah I'm being facetiously inflammatory there, but c'mon you can make a better argument than that?
- 9HZZRfNlpR 6y ago
  Right, but for Americans everything that is not certified by democratic party is racist so there's not much to look into. No one really buys that argument unless you're extremely naive.
josefresco 6y ago
"right-winger" content is the top content in the US every single day on Facebook. Source: https://twitter.com/FacebooksTop10 https://twitter.com/FacebooksTop10 Those voices are hardly being silenced.
benignslime 6y ago
Oh look the conservative has a victim complex, what a surprise

First the censors came for the right-wingers, and I did not speak out— Because I was not right-wing.... That's the problem with putting in place censorship. Sometimes it affects people you like.

HugeAcumen 6y ago

Thanks, I was wondering how this was the fault of the left. */s

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
I don't think it's helpful to blame things on broad groupings of the political spectrum like "the left". But a discussion on how scary it is the social media platforms are shaping debate needs to acknowledge the existence of large, powerful movements demanding that they build the tools and precedent to do so.

mft_ 6y ago

I don’t think freedom of speech is a left-right wing issue. There are people who strongly support free speech on both sides, and likewise there are censors on both sides. It’s more of an authoritarian-libertarian axis issue.

gadders 6y ago
I think in general terms as a political philosophy I would agree with you. I think in terms of how restrictions on speech are implemented by Facebook/Twitter/YouTube it absolutely seems to be more used against right wing sources.
- pmachinery 6y ago
  Craig Murray doesn't seem particularly right-wing to me. Meanwhile, here someone describes not seeing several dozen left-wing sources on Twitter for weeks: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24578659 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24578659
  - gadders 6y ago
    Oh agreed. He's very left wing. You could argue, though, that Assange/WikiLeaks isn't very popular with the left due to how they helped torpedo Clinton's campaign.
    - 9HZZRfNlpR 6y ago
      Assange is your typical cold war era anti war guy, it was sick how suddenly the American left wing spat on her for shitting on status quo. He was a messiah for the left when he did the same for Bush administration. Anyone remember Palins emails? At least for Clinton there was something to reveal.
      - gadders 6y ago
        Yeah, I think he is one of these activists that will call people out whatever side of the political spectrum and so spends his time oscillating between which side dislikes him most.
    - Miner49er 6y ago
      "The left" doesn't like Clinton either. There's a big difference American liberals and leftists, and it doesn't make much sense to group them together. I'd say the vast majority of those on the left have a favorable view of Assange.
- Daishiman 6y ago
  The most popular posts in FB are from fox news taking heads.
  - gadders 6y ago
    Try finding a post mentioning Gavin McInnes. You can't even mention McInnes' new website censored.tv on Instagram, even in private messages.

Cthulhu_ 6y ago

But you have to ask, did they censor right-wingers, or did they censor beliefs and behaviour that is often associated with "the right wing", e.g. racism? I mean if the right-wing feels attacked because their posts get banned so much, maybe they should take a closer look at themselves.

Malcx 6y ago
>> I mean if the jews feel attacked because their families get gassed so much, maybe they should take a closer look at themselves. Yeah I'm being facetiously inflammatory there, but c'mon you can make a better argument than that?
9HZZRfNlpR 6y ago
Right, but for Americans everything that is not certified by democratic party is racist so there's not much to look into. No one really buys that argument unless you're extremely naive.

josefresco 6y ago

"right-winger" content is the top content in the US every single day on Facebook. Source: https://twitter.com/FacebooksTop10 https://twitter.com/FacebooksTop10 Those voices are hardly being silenced.

benignslime 6y ago

Oh look the conservative has a victim complex, what a surprise