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If you take a look at https://www.allsides.com/blog/capitol-hill-breach-riot-coverage-demonstrates-media-bias https://www.allsides.com/blog/capitol-hill-breach-

If you take a look at https://www.allsides.com/blog/capitol-hill-breach-riot-coverage-demonstrates-media-bias https://www.allsides.com/blog/capitol-hill-breach-riot-cover..., you'll see a deep analysis of a double standard in how media covered this riot versus other such events (including past riots at the capitol!). A significant number of riots took place in 2020, and this is true even in DC. For example just take a look at the photos and videos in https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/31/fires-light-up-washington-dc-on-third-night-of-george-floyd-protests https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/may/31/fires-light-..., which shows damage on a far greater scale than this recent capitol riot. Lots of people and organizations on Twitter or Facebook had organized these events, which included looting, property damage, vandalism, assaults, arson, and more. Many politicians, such as AOC, condoned and even encouraged these events (see https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/1348030442159689736 https://twitter.com/ConceptualJames/status/13480304421596897...). This extends to news media as well, who often mislabeled violent riots as "peaceful protests" and excused them or covered them in a sympathetic way (see https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/07/media-downplays-blm-antics-riots-change-tune-trump-capitol-riot https://dailycaller.com/2021/01/07/media-downplays-blm-antic... or https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/rage-at-capitol-assault-makes-excuses-for-summer-riots-all-the-more-disgraceful https://nypost.com/2021/01/08/rage-at-capitol-assault-makes-...). All these actors were inciting violence, certainly to the standard Twitter uses to judge them (https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspension.html https://blog.twitter.com/en_us/topics/company/2020/suspensio...). These other past events included much more significant economic damage in the billions and many more deaths than the capitol riot. So why are all those people and organizations allowed to continue using their social media accounts? Why weren't those same participants, organizes, enablers, and sympathizers criticized just as heavily by politicians, news media, social media, and others? This is a clear double standard, where criminality and violence is permitted if those who are in control of these platforms (news outlets, tech companies) agree with your cause and share your ideology.

jmahyoung 6y ago
Excellent post. Why is this riot causing bans whereas in May it was encouraged? I want to see an informed rebuttal here, does anyone have it?
- throwawaysea 6y ago
  I really think it is because people were aligned to the political causes of those riots and were willing to use violence to achieve their political goals (which happens to be the dictionary definition of 'terrorism'). Even those who were not committing violence themselves, like politicians, were willing to excuse others engaged in violence. Here are four quotes from politicians inciting rioting in a much more explicit way than Trump - I say more explicit particularly because by the time they said these things, there was already widespread rioting: https://twitter.com/BernardKerik/status/1347652272852004877 https://twitter.com/BernardKerik/status/1347652272852004877 (Ayanna Pressley, Kamala Harris, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi) The violence was also not just confined to May. In Seattle, there's a group called EDM (Every Day March) that conducts illegal riots blocking highways every single day (literally on over 200 days so far since George Floyd). They organize themselves on social media, particularly on Instagram where they have two accounts and document/evangelize their own crimes (https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle and https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle). Note that Facebook has not banned them, GoFundMe allows them to fundraise on their platform, and local politicians support their actions and false claims (example https://twitter.com/cmkshama/status/1288511663948230657 https://twitter.com/cmkshama/status/1288511663948230657). Another example is Rose City Antifa in Portland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_City_Antifa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_City_Antifa), which is the oldest and most active antifa group in the US, and has been engaged in riots throughout 2020. They have done things like beat a journalist who was documenting their crimes (https://thepostmillennial.com/judge-dismisses-anti-slapp-motion-clearing-way-for-andy-ngo-lawsuit-against-rose-city-antifa https://thepostmillennial.com/judge-dismisses-anti-slapp-mot...), set fires at a courthouse (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/portland-protests-damage-cleanup.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/portland-protests-dama...), vandalized federal buildings (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8670207/Portland-protesters-gassed-marching-ICE-building-11-people-arrested.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8670207/Portland-pr...), and repeatedly assaulted police officers. This disgusting terrorist group still has a presence on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sometimesantisocialalwaysantifascist/ https://www.facebook.com/sometimesantisocialalwaysantifascis...) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa) even though they are explicitly and consistently violent. As an aside, isn't it interesting that people are still gaslighting everyone by claiming that antifa is "just an idea"? When's the last time an "idea" showed up to a court and filed a fraudulent anti-SLAPP motion after viciously beating a journalist?

jmahyoung 6y ago

Excellent post. Why is this riot causing bans whereas in May it was encouraged? I want to see an informed rebuttal here, does anyone have it?

throwawaysea 6y ago
I really think it is because people were aligned to the political causes of those riots and were willing to use violence to achieve their political goals (which happens to be the dictionary definition of 'terrorism'). Even those who were not committing violence themselves, like politicians, were willing to excuse others engaged in violence. Here are four quotes from politicians inciting rioting in a much more explicit way than Trump - I say more explicit particularly because by the time they said these things, there was already widespread rioting: https://twitter.com/BernardKerik/status/1347652272852004877 https://twitter.com/BernardKerik/status/1347652272852004877 (Ayanna Pressley, Kamala Harris, Maxine Waters, Nancy Pelosi) The violence was also not just confined to May. In Seattle, there's a group called EDM (Every Day March) that conducts illegal riots blocking highways every single day (literally on over 200 days so far since George Floyd). They organize themselves on social media, particularly on Instagram where they have two accounts and document/evangelize their own crimes (https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle and https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle https://www.instagram.com/morningmarchseattle). Note that Facebook has not banned them, GoFundMe allows them to fundraise on their platform, and local politicians support their actions and false claims (example https://twitter.com/cmkshama/status/1288511663948230657 https://twitter.com/cmkshama/status/1288511663948230657). Another example is Rose City Antifa in Portland (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_City_Antifa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_City_Antifa), which is the oldest and most active antifa group in the US, and has been engaged in riots throughout 2020. They have done things like beat a journalist who was documenting their crimes (https://thepostmillennial.com/judge-dismisses-anti-slapp-motion-clearing-way-for-andy-ngo-lawsuit-against-rose-city-antifa https://thepostmillennial.com/judge-dismisses-anti-slapp-mot...), set fires at a courthouse (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/portland-protests-damage-cleanup.html https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/us/portland-protests-dama...), vandalized federal buildings (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8670207/Portland-protesters-gassed-marching-ICE-building-11-people-arrested.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8670207/Portland-pr...), and repeatedly assaulted police officers. This disgusting terrorist group still has a presence on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sometimesantisocialalwaysantifascist/ https://www.facebook.com/sometimesantisocialalwaysantifascis...) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa https://twitter.com/RoseCityAntifa) even though they are explicitly and consistently violent. As an aside, isn't it interesting that people are still gaslighting everyone by claiming that antifa is "just an idea"? When's the last time an "idea" showed up to a court and filed a fraudulent anti-SLAPP motion after viciously beating a journalist?