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Ask HN: Social media disabling dissenting views

With social media taking stances on the what is acceptable and what isn’t, does it mean there is no such thing as first amendment rights anymore on the web? Often, they collect personal details and have no healthy serious competition : Twitter, Facebook, Google, Nextdoor. Linkedin has surprisingly been a conflict free zone. It’s mob rule everywhere else. Will this lead to a homogeneous society? Is it time to quit the righteous social media? The world is now divided into right vs righteous. I can’t stand it anymore. I am tired of hearing just one narrative. I guess my question is...where are we going? Adults in public spaces are acting like kindergarten kids telling on neighbors, co-workers, bosses and anyone they perceive as ‘the other’. For now, the liberal/progressive side is the rule maker. It won’t take long to flip to the other side. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. So this is a dangerous trend.

nyquistr8 6y ago
More like shaping views. Same way shaped society views privacy. Dark times for liberty, privacy, security.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  How will this end? And what’s the timeline?
sigmaprimus 6y ago
Belive it or not, not everyone uses social media for politics. Some people use it to stay in touch with their friends and family. Maybe the real problem isn't censorship but infiltration of politics into a social network simmilar to everyones drunk uncle at thanksgiving. Maybe the political news media has corrupted social media to create an echo chamber to reinforce the outrage they push on their network tv. Maybe Grandma just wants to see the new pictures of the baby but is forced to consume ultra partisan propaganda in order to do so. Maybe the social media companies make too much money off politics to do the right thing and cancel it like racisism or pornography.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Is that a good thing?
- rvz 6y ago
  Indeed. On top of that, not everyone is on social media or is an 'active user' on there: [0] [1] [2] So it doesn't reflect reality and has become another distortion field. Especially when the opposing viewpoint is banned. As long as the advertiser income keeps coming in, these social media companies and some of its famed users will do everything they can to silence or disable dissenting accounts. As mentioned in one of the comments made by another HN user, the real question is how will this end and when will it happen? [0] https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/10/15/differences-in-how-democrats-and-republicans-behave-on-twitter/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/10/15/differences-... [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/01/jeremy-corbyn-labour-twitter-primary/604690/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/01/je... [2] https://news.yahoo.com/turns-progressive-twitter-isn-t-180535622.html https://news.yahoo.com/turns-progressive-twitter-isn-t-18053...
  - sigmaprimus 6y ago
    I wonder if the traditional political media people have been forced to jump on social media to chase the advertising dollars that they used to recieve pre 2016? Although only a fraction of the profits made historically by traditional political media earned through advertising, I would imagine there is a buck or two to be earned through hyper partisan articles and affiliate linking.
    - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
      I think it’s also an age thing. Young people are more comfortable online and kids in high school ten years ago are the tech bros in FAANG. This seems to be a time for them to ‘give it back’ to an oppressive older generation they can rebel against. I too never agreed with my previous generation but I never wielded this kind of power. The 50 something year old who is banned from Twitter by a 25 something techie probably cannot comprehend why he is suddenly a hateful racist villain. Just 7-8 years ago, he had friends! I see many a middle aged woman on Nextdoor completely bewildered by why high school kids are calling them ‘Karen’ between zoom class breaks. If it werent so tragic, it would be comical.
jelliclesfarm 6y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24903372 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24903372 : HN too!!!
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Nobody wants to discuss things anymore. Here on HN, if you don’t like an opinion..you can downvote anonymously. Why discuss things and understand others POV when we can live in a Black Mirror world? I don’t understand why HN can’t institute a vote on the basis of a comment. Users are already anonymous here. You can downvote if you engage. Even if it’s one word. Or walk away. On other social media, it’s even more comical. Because the techbros and start up founders are themselves products of institutions aka public schools that believe in homogenous mind lumps, it’s like having your best buddy who thinks and walks and talks like you as the hall monitor. This is leading to not just a closed ‘hive mind’ online but also shutting down of any nuanced or in depth discussion and dissection. It’s like the clowns have taken over the circus.
ThrowawayR2 6y ago
> "first amendment rights anymore on the web" The First Amendment does not and never did apply to corporations; it is a subset of free speech that specifically only binds what the government may do.
- jelliclesfarm 6y ago
  Is this better or no different than the good old days of flame wars in bbs and irc? At least one had anonymity back then. It’s like living in bizarro world now.
iphonexyz 6y ago
(Non American view) Every platform needs rules, as there are always abusers. 4chan had an issue With cp. Facebook censors delete cp, suicide videos, torture etc. You can’t have a “censorship free” platform. There must be rules, but should those rules be decided by tech guys or politicians? I suggest quitting social media. Because truth is buried in a sea of lies. Social media promotes what is popular (shocking) not what is truth. Millions of bots spread shocking fake news like Qanon, covid conspiracies. This is damaging your country. Several terrorist attacks happened in your country, inspired by propaganda on social media. The amendment was written for humans. Sure free speech, but should free speech apply to millions of robots spreading fake news? It’s not like tech companies don’t know bots are spreading propaganda, they just ignore it because it’s “not a priority”. While platform rapidly censor nudity, they seem to ignore anti American botnet propaganda. Stories like “covid created by NATO”, “bill gates made nano bots vaccine” etc. Should social media be a platform for hatred? Lies? Terrorists? Today it is. The AI terrorism of social media will only get worse. And your tech companies seem to ignore it.

nyquistr8 6y ago

More like shaping views. Same way shaped society views privacy. Dark times for liberty, privacy, security.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
How will this end? And what’s the timeline?

sigmaprimus 6y ago

Belive it or not, not everyone uses social media for politics. Some people use it to stay in touch with their friends and family. Maybe the real problem isn't censorship but infiltration of politics into a social network simmilar to everyones drunk uncle at thanksgiving. Maybe the political news media has corrupted social media to create an echo chamber to reinforce the outrage they push on their network tv. Maybe Grandma just wants to see the new pictures of the baby but is forced to consume ultra partisan propaganda in order to do so. Maybe the social media companies make too much money off politics to do the right thing and cancel it like racisism or pornography.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Is that a good thing?
rvz 6y ago
Indeed. On top of that, not everyone is on social media or is an 'active user' on there: [0] [1] [2] So it doesn't reflect reality and has become another distortion field. Especially when the opposing viewpoint is banned. As long as the advertiser income keeps coming in, these social media companies and some of its famed users will do everything they can to silence or disable dissenting accounts. As mentioned in one of the comments made by another HN user, the real question is how will this end and when will it happen? [0] https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/10/15/differences-in-how-democrats-and-republicans-behave-on-twitter/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2020/10/15/differences-... [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/01/jeremy-corbyn-labour-twitter-primary/604690/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/01/je... [2] https://news.yahoo.com/turns-progressive-twitter-isn-t-180535622.html https://news.yahoo.com/turns-progressive-twitter-isn-t-18053...
- sigmaprimus 6y ago
  I wonder if the traditional political media people have been forced to jump on social media to chase the advertising dollars that they used to recieve pre 2016? Although only a fraction of the profits made historically by traditional political media earned through advertising, I would imagine there is a buck or two to be earned through hyper partisan articles and affiliate linking.
  - jelliclesfarm 6y ago
    I think it’s also an age thing. Young people are more comfortable online and kids in high school ten years ago are the tech bros in FAANG. This seems to be a time for them to ‘give it back’ to an oppressive older generation they can rebel against. I too never agreed with my previous generation but I never wielded this kind of power. The 50 something year old who is banned from Twitter by a 25 something techie probably cannot comprehend why he is suddenly a hateful racist villain. Just 7-8 years ago, he had friends! I see many a middle aged woman on Nextdoor completely bewildered by why high school kids are calling them ‘Karen’ between zoom class breaks. If it werent so tragic, it would be comical.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24903372 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24903372 : HN too!!!

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Nobody wants to discuss things anymore. Here on HN, if you don’t like an opinion..you can downvote anonymously. Why discuss things and understand others POV when we can live in a Black Mirror world? I don’t understand why HN can’t institute a vote on the basis of a comment. Users are already anonymous here. You can downvote if you engage. Even if it’s one word. Or walk away. On other social media, it’s even more comical. Because the techbros and start up founders are themselves products of institutions aka public schools that believe in homogenous mind lumps, it’s like having your best buddy who thinks and walks and talks like you as the hall monitor. This is leading to not just a closed ‘hive mind’ online but also shutting down of any nuanced or in depth discussion and dissection. It’s like the clowns have taken over the circus.

ThrowawayR2 6y ago

> "first amendment rights anymore on the web" The First Amendment does not and never did apply to corporations; it is a subset of free speech that specifically only binds what the government may do.

jelliclesfarm 6y ago
Is this better or no different than the good old days of flame wars in bbs and irc? At least one had anonymity back then. It’s like living in bizarro world now.

iphonexyz 6y ago

(Non American view) Every platform needs rules, as there are always abusers. 4chan had an issue With cp. Facebook censors delete cp, suicide videos, torture etc. You can’t have a “censorship free” platform. There must be rules, but should those rules be decided by tech guys or politicians? I suggest quitting social media. Because truth is buried in a sea of lies. Social media promotes what is popular (shocking) not what is truth. Millions of bots spread shocking fake news like Qanon, covid conspiracies. This is damaging your country. Several terrorist attacks happened in your country, inspired by propaganda on social media. The amendment was written for humans. Sure free speech, but should free speech apply to millions of robots spreading fake news? It’s not like tech companies don’t know bots are spreading propaganda, they just ignore it because it’s “not a priority”. While platform rapidly censor nudity, they seem to ignore anti American botnet propaganda. Stories like “covid created by NATO”, “bill gates made nano bots vaccine” etc. Should social media be a platform for hatred? Lies? Terrorists? Today it is. The AI terrorism of social media will only get worse. And your tech companies seem to ignore it.