2 ms·
> If you can memory-hole a president of the United States, is there anyone on earth that you cannot completely dominate, in whatever channel or manner you chose
by throwawaysea 6y ago
> If you can memory-hole a president of the United States, is there anyone on earth that you cannot completely dominate, in whatever channel or manner you chose to manipulate?
Exactly. The power to make someone invisible to others feels like something out of Black Mirror. Everyone claiming that Presidents (or others) did just fine before the Internet and social media is missing the point. Relevance, visibility, and existence are all concepts that are only meaningful in a relative sense. In a world where the vast majority of information seen by humans comes from large digital platforms, being banned in cyberspace but visible in meatspace effectively means you are blocked from society, since attention is largely given only to information on these giant tech platforms.
This is why large tech platforms are public accommodations, as SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas eloquently described in his recent opinion (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-197_5ie6.pdf https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-197_5ie6.pdf). For those short on time, summaries of his arguments can be found at various news sites (Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/06/technology-202-clarence-thomas-takes-social-media-companies-power/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/06/technolog... or Daily Wire: https://www.dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-hints-that-congress-could-strip-social-media-giants-of-first-amendment-protections-comparing-them-to-public-accommodations https://www.dailywire.com/news/clarence-thomas-hints-that-co...).
Glenn Greenwald also had a great write-up on the incredible power these platforms wield, which is far greater than most governments even (https://greenwald.substack.com/p/congressional-testimony-the-leading https://greenwald.substack.com/p/congressional-testimony-the...). In this article, under subsection #2, Glenn reviews the various world leaders who responded publicly to American social media banning Trump as an unacceptable and ominous event.