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The problem is that this is proof that the slippery slope of social media censorship already has a causality. Twitter banned ZeroHedge, an irreverent but very w
by camjohnson26 6y ago
The problem is that this is proof that the slippery slope of social media censorship already has a causality. Twitter banned ZeroHedge, an irreverent but very well known financial website, for months just for pushing this theory. Yesterday’s crazy conspiracy theories become today’s plausibilities.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-bans-zero-hedge-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/twitter-bans-zero-hedge-coronav...
- scythe 6y agoZH singled out an individual and made statements that could subject him to harassment. That's not merely a case of having the wrong suspicions about globally significant events.
- syrrim 6y ago>made statements that could subject him to harassment Not sure what said statements were, but as described, that is not at all a reason to ban someone. On the internet, legitimate criticism very frequently leads to harassment. That is not at all the fault of the critic, and as long as they didn't intend to cause harassment, it's no reason to ban them.
- blueboo 6y agoPerhaps some details will clarify things. ZeroHedge published and publicized an article "Is This Man Behind The Global Coronavirus Pandemic?" with the face, address, and phone number of an individual -- along with an invitition for readers to pay him a "visit".
- towergratis 6y agoTo be fair, although we are a bit better here in west, we are still far from perfect. Letting the POTUS call it China virus, is despicable.
- camjohnson26 6y agoLet’s stay on topic. The truth is that many people were reluctant to even consider the lab theory because it might look anti-Chinese at a time when Trump was blatantly attacking them and blaming them for the virus with no evidence. The point is that politics led to censorship that made it difficult to consider all possibilities.
- LudwigNagasena 6y agoIt is sad that so many people would rather compromise their integrity rather than agree with Trump.
- aantix 6y agoThe mere mention of the word Trump, and any sort of nuanced, pro/con conversation is lost. It becomes an emotional response. A sad state of public discourse.
- shawnz 6y agoI agree that was in poor taste, but would you say the naming of "Zika virus", "Ebola virus", or "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome" is despicable?
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- pstuart 6y agoIn the OP's case it was done for deflection of blame rather than trying to track where the mutations are first noted. You might have noticed there's some stuff in the news about hate crimes against asians -- there's a direct correlation there.
- Mountain_Skies 6y agoYou may have also noticed that one of the most active stories on HN right now is 'How U.S. media lost the trust of the public'.