These companies want nothing more than to be hands off and they tried to play the free speech card for a long time. The problem is that the large online forums

These companies want nothing more than to be hands off and they tried to play the free speech card for a long time. The problem is that the large online forums with no social consequences eventually get taken over by extremists every time. I agree this power should not be centralized in a few companies, but neither do I think we can afford to do nothing. The big problem in the modern age is that the reasonable majority is staying silent while the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum are given free rein to spout demagoguery, which is amplified by engagement-driven algorithms. Politics and the mechanics of control aside, one thing is certain: we can not get out of this situation if someone does not start standing up for the truth. Tump's disregard for the truth was deeply unsettling, and if his tactics are seen as successful and taken up by the left, then we are in for civil war.