3 ms·

The point isn’t to change their minds, it’s to prevent it from spreading. If it’s banned from Facebook, it’s much less likely that random people will encounter

The point isn’t to change their minds, it’s to prevent it from spreading. If it’s banned from Facebook, it’s much less likely that random people will encounter it and fall down a rabbit hole of radicalization.

systemvoltage 6y ago
What's concerning is how people easily fall into these conspiracy theories. To me, it seems like vast swaths of people are uneducated, illinformed, and flatout unintelligent to think on their own feet and reject unsubstantiated claims. The fact that religion exists on a global scale is a testament to this.
rvz 6y ago
Which creates the Streisand effect as a consequence of banning it. [0] They may have heard about it right there on the Verge or other sites reporting on the ban but some will still peek into that rabbit hole anyway. One can say that many if not all these social networks are already the enablers of radicalising people with users freely posting / re-posting extremist content from both sides of the political spectrum. The difference is whether if it "violates" their content policies if a user reports it and whether to 'take action' is at the platform owners discretion. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
- jakelazaroff 6y ago
  It has been shown over [1] and over [2] and over [3] again that deplatforming is effective. Sure, there will likely be an initial wave of interest. But long term, this will hurt QAnon, not help it. [1] https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/11/study-finds-reddits-controversial-ban-of-its-most-toxic-subreddits-actually-worked/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/11/study-finds-reddits-contro... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/technology/alex-jones-infowars-bans-traffic.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/technology/alex-jones-inf... [3] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-work https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-ba...
- esoterica 6y ago
  Do you have any concrete evidence that deplatforming doesn't work outside of rare anecdotal examples (e.g. Barbara Streisand's house) where it backfired? The rabid insistence that deplatforming doesn't work reeks of wishful thinking rather than evidence-based reasoning.
  - rvz 6y ago
    > Do you have any concrete evidence that deplatforming doesn't work outside of rare anecdotal examples (e.g. Barbara Streisand's house) where it backfired? I regret to inform you that it appears your comment has not aged very well. [0] Especially at the moment when you asked for 'any concrete evidence'. Facebook and Twitter have censored and in some cases 'deplatformed' multiple accounts as soon as they shared the Biden-Ukraine post. The Twitter CEO has admitted that the handling of this was 'unacceptable' and 'not great' and has been summoned to testify on Oct 23rd 2020 due to this. [1] They have given it more attention that it should have and it has backfired [2] They have successfully created the definition of the Streisand Effect; once again confirming the previous comment you replied to. > The rabid insistence that deplatforming doesn't work reeks of wishful thinking rather than evidence-based reasoning. Are you sure? [0] https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/16/1010644/twitter-ban-hunter-biden-emails-backfires/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/16/1010644/twitter-... [1] https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-ceo-admits-handling-ny-013413704.html https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-ceo-admits-handling-ny-013413... [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/twitter-backtracks-allows-sharing-of-new-york-post-biden-story.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/twitter-backtracks-allows-sh...
  - raxxorrax 6y ago
    Deplatforming basically comes down to removing unpopular opinions or those not conductive to advertising and business. While you get some nasty fishes removed, you also get a lot of other users. Mostly those you don't hear about. That isn't something I would want on the platforms I use. If you ignore them long enough, most followers will evaporate out of boredom or because it became too stupid. These movements live on reactions, positive or negative. Your solution is to make platforms less accessible.
rbanffy 6y ago
They'll still spread through sites like Gab or Parler, but with a reduced audience.

systemvoltage 6y ago

What's concerning is how people easily fall into these conspiracy theories. To me, it seems like vast swaths of people are uneducated, illinformed, and flatout unintelligent to think on their own feet and reject unsubstantiated claims. The fact that religion exists on a global scale is a testament to this.

rvz 6y ago

Which creates the Streisand effect as a consequence of banning it. [0] They may have heard about it right there on the Verge or other sites reporting on the ban but some will still peek into that rabbit hole anyway. One can say that many if not all these social networks are already the enablers of radicalising people with users freely posting / re-posting extremist content from both sides of the political spectrum. The difference is whether if it "violates" their content policies if a user reports it and whether to 'take action' is at the platform owners discretion. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect

jakelazaroff 6y ago
It has been shown over [1] and over [2] and over [3] again that deplatforming is effective. Sure, there will likely be an initial wave of interest. But long term, this will hurt QAnon, not help it. [1] https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/11/study-finds-reddits-controversial-ban-of-its-most-toxic-subreddits-actually-worked/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/09/11/study-finds-reddits-contro... [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/technology/alex-jones-infowars-bans-traffic.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/04/technology/alex-jones-inf... [3] https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-work https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-ba...
esoterica 6y ago
Do you have any concrete evidence that deplatforming doesn't work outside of rare anecdotal examples (e.g. Barbara Streisand's house) where it backfired? The rabid insistence that deplatforming doesn't work reeks of wishful thinking rather than evidence-based reasoning.
- rvz 6y ago
  > Do you have any concrete evidence that deplatforming doesn't work outside of rare anecdotal examples (e.g. Barbara Streisand's house) where it backfired? I regret to inform you that it appears your comment has not aged very well. [0] Especially at the moment when you asked for 'any concrete evidence'. Facebook and Twitter have censored and in some cases 'deplatformed' multiple accounts as soon as they shared the Biden-Ukraine post. The Twitter CEO has admitted that the handling of this was 'unacceptable' and 'not great' and has been summoned to testify on Oct 23rd 2020 due to this. [1] They have given it more attention that it should have and it has backfired [2] They have successfully created the definition of the Streisand Effect; once again confirming the previous comment you replied to. > The rabid insistence that deplatforming doesn't work reeks of wishful thinking rather than evidence-based reasoning. Are you sure? [0] https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/16/1010644/twitter-ban-hunter-biden-emails-backfires/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/10/16/1010644/twitter-... [1] https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-ceo-admits-handling-ny-013413704.html https://news.yahoo.com/twitter-ceo-admits-handling-ny-013413... [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/twitter-backtracks-allows-sharing-of-new-york-post-biden-story.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/16/twitter-backtracks-allows-sh...
- raxxorrax 6y ago
  Deplatforming basically comes down to removing unpopular opinions or those not conductive to advertising and business. While you get some nasty fishes removed, you also get a lot of other users. Mostly those you don't hear about. That isn't something I would want on the platforms I use. If you ignore them long enough, most followers will evaporate out of boredom or because it became too stupid. These movements live on reactions, positive or negative. Your solution is to make platforms less accessible.

rbanffy 6y ago

They'll still spread through sites like Gab or Parler, but with a reduced audience.