4 ms·

> For those who support Trump, "deplatforming" is a major concern, as Trump has now lost access to essentially all of his base via social media. There are also

> For those who support Trump, "deplatforming" is a major concern, as Trump has now lost access to essentially all of his base via social media. There are also a lot of people who are concerned about the dangerous precedent being set, regardless of whether they support this individual or not.

hug 6y ago
That is true, and it was remiss of me (and a good example of recency bias) to at all imply this is a Trump-specific problem.
- BlueTemplar 6y ago
  I'm afraid that Trump's case is exceptional to the point that it's only hindering the discussion about what Twitter(/Facebook/YouTube) should be allowed or not to do.
lotsofpulp 6y ago
The payment networks have been banning risky clients for many decades. Many other businesses do the same, so I don’t think this is any new precedent. And it’s trivial for someone kicked off of the big social media networks to make there own website and post whatever they want.
germinalphrase 6y ago
I have a hard time understanding why people feel like this is a new thing. If I start shouting obscenities during a live interview on ANY major media outlet, they will immediately kick me off. Is their refusal really the end of Free Speech?
- frogpelt 6y ago
  Consider it from this perspective: Donald Trump was elected, not because he represented conservative people so well. Not even close. He was elected because conservative opinions have been given so little credence versus liberal opinions on the biggest platforms that they turned to someone who would fight those platforms head on. Liberal voices and opinions have been lauded, applauded, and promoted more than their fair share by most media and social media platforms for decades. That has created deep resentment in large areas of the country. Donald Trump is a symptom of the disease that American politics and the associated media outlets have contracted. He is not the disease itself. The way he is acting is not that surprising to anyone who pays attention to his personality. And the response in the last week by media and social media and big tech companies has also not been surprising, although I think they should have been more measured. But the underlying problem still remains. De-platforming Donald Trump will not fix the broken and biased system. And every move and countermove escalates the resentment.
  - rzz3 6y ago
    Very well said.
  - germinalphrase 6y ago
    I hear you - but, at least in my case, it doesn’t feel true. I’m from a small town in the upper Midwest. My entire childhood and teenage years were dominated by Rush Limbaugh/Charlie Sykes/et al on the radio and Fox News on the television (always Fox News). Did NPR/CNN/etc exist? Sure - but I (literally) didn’t know anyone who listened/watched them until college. This idea that conservatives are being crushed under the boot of “liberal” media feels like a cop-out. Conservative politicians could have gone big tent in the 80-90’s, but they didn’t. They focused on consolidation of a specific demographic and are now in a kerfluffal because that base is becoming a cultural minority. Edit: also - the resentment was always there. Go listen to Rush in the 90s. Nothing about what conservatives are complaining about is new.
wussboy 6y ago
Preventing dangerous incitement to violence is in no way recent, not is what is happening now in any way new. The only difference between now and 200 years ago is the amount of damage that speech that is unconstrained by social norms can do. I get very frustrated with all this "Oh no, if we prevent this dangerous person from saying dangerous things our society will fall apart!" while it has been precisely this clamping down on dangerous speech throughout the last ten thousand years that allows us to live together at all.
M2Ys4U 6y ago
I think the precedent of "if you incite violence you're no longer welcome" is a perfectly fine precedent to set.
- zaroth 6y ago
  This would be great if it applied universally. Except, 2020 demonstrated very clearly it only applies to specific violent protest, not all violent protest in general.

hug 6y ago

That is true, and it was remiss of me (and a good example of recency bias) to at all imply this is a Trump-specific problem.

BlueTemplar 6y ago
I'm afraid that Trump's case is exceptional to the point that it's only hindering the discussion about what Twitter(/Facebook/YouTube) should be allowed or not to do.

lotsofpulp 6y ago

The payment networks have been banning risky clients for many decades. Many other businesses do the same, so I don’t think this is any new precedent. And it’s trivial for someone kicked off of the big social media networks to make there own website and post whatever they want.

germinalphrase 6y ago

I have a hard time understanding why people feel like this is a new thing. If I start shouting obscenities during a live interview on ANY major media outlet, they will immediately kick me off. Is their refusal really the end of Free Speech?

frogpelt 6y ago
Consider it from this perspective: Donald Trump was elected, not because he represented conservative people so well. Not even close. He was elected because conservative opinions have been given so little credence versus liberal opinions on the biggest platforms that they turned to someone who would fight those platforms head on. Liberal voices and opinions have been lauded, applauded, and promoted more than their fair share by most media and social media platforms for decades. That has created deep resentment in large areas of the country. Donald Trump is a symptom of the disease that American politics and the associated media outlets have contracted. He is not the disease itself. The way he is acting is not that surprising to anyone who pays attention to his personality. And the response in the last week by media and social media and big tech companies has also not been surprising, although I think they should have been more measured. But the underlying problem still remains. De-platforming Donald Trump will not fix the broken and biased system. And every move and countermove escalates the resentment.
- rzz3 6y ago
  Very well said.
- germinalphrase 6y ago
  I hear you - but, at least in my case, it doesn’t feel true. I’m from a small town in the upper Midwest. My entire childhood and teenage years were dominated by Rush Limbaugh/Charlie Sykes/et al on the radio and Fox News on the television (always Fox News). Did NPR/CNN/etc exist? Sure - but I (literally) didn’t know anyone who listened/watched them until college. This idea that conservatives are being crushed under the boot of “liberal” media feels like a cop-out. Conservative politicians could have gone big tent in the 80-90’s, but they didn’t. They focused on consolidation of a specific demographic and are now in a kerfluffal because that base is becoming a cultural minority. Edit: also - the resentment was always there. Go listen to Rush in the 90s. Nothing about what conservatives are complaining about is new.

wussboy 6y ago

Preventing dangerous incitement to violence is in no way recent, not is what is happening now in any way new. The only difference between now and 200 years ago is the amount of damage that speech that is unconstrained by social norms can do. I get very frustrated with all this "Oh no, if we prevent this dangerous person from saying dangerous things our society will fall apart!" while it has been precisely this clamping down on dangerous speech throughout the last ten thousand years that allows us to live together at all.

M2Ys4U 6y ago

I think the precedent of "if you incite violence you're no longer welcome" is a perfectly fine precedent to set.

zaroth 6y ago
This would be great if it applied universally. Except, 2020 demonstrated very clearly it only applies to specific violent protest, not all violent protest in general.