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I hope RWW is able to continue on after this. They do important work. This exposes what everyone already knows. YouTube (Google... err... Alphabet) doesn't r

I hope RWW is able to continue on after this. They do important work. This exposes what everyone already knows. YouTube (Google... err... Alphabet) doesn't really have a problem with the conspiracy theories and right wing propaganda. They just don't want the drama. Nutjobs watch for hours and apparently click on advertisements.

bena 5y ago
I don't think it's quite that sinister. Those who spread and consume conspiracy theories have one thing in abundance a lot of people don't: time. They can flag whatever they don't like as offensive or as violating DMCA or whatever third thing. Not just once, not just twice, but all day. And showing a video of someone taking a shit on a sidewalk to show how people are making videos of shitting on the sidewalk is still showing someone taking a shit on the sidewalk. It falls in that realm of "Well, technically, it's against the rules to show people shitting on the sidewalk." So even if they are showing the content to then explain why that content is wrong or bad, they're still technically showing the content. I'd wager that Right Wing Watch gets far more flags and reports than the content creators they show so they can debunk them. And if you're only dealing with reports and flags in a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" kind of way, it'll be a long while before you get to the source, because the fanbase of the source will be overwhelming you with reports and flags on channels with critical content showing the offending content as a demonstration of why it is offensive.
- metalliqaz 5y ago
  HN prevented me from responding because of the downvote brigade. Anyway the analogy isn't a good match. Shitting on the sidewalk is obscenity, there's no reason to reproduce it without censoring it when discussing it. That's not true of quoting conspiracy theories and propaganda when criticizing it. Context matters greatly.
  - bena 5y ago
    I was just using it as an easy example of something we should all agree is disagreeable without touching anything even remotely resembling a real issue.

bena 5y ago

I don't think it's quite that sinister. Those who spread and consume conspiracy theories have one thing in abundance a lot of people don't: time. They can flag whatever they don't like as offensive or as violating DMCA or whatever third thing. Not just once, not just twice, but all day. And showing a video of someone taking a shit on a sidewalk to show how people are making videos of shitting on the sidewalk is still showing someone taking a shit on the sidewalk. It falls in that realm of "Well, technically, it's against the rules to show people shitting on the sidewalk." So even if they are showing the content to then explain why that content is wrong or bad, they're still technically showing the content. I'd wager that Right Wing Watch gets far more flags and reports than the content creators they show so they can debunk them. And if you're only dealing with reports and flags in a "squeaky wheel gets the grease" kind of way, it'll be a long while before you get to the source, because the fanbase of the source will be overwhelming you with reports and flags on channels with critical content showing the offending content as a demonstration of why it is offensive.

metalliqaz 5y ago
HN prevented me from responding because of the downvote brigade. Anyway the analogy isn't a good match. Shitting on the sidewalk is obscenity, there's no reason to reproduce it without censoring it when discussing it. That's not true of quoting conspiracy theories and propaganda when criticizing it. Context matters greatly.
- bena 5y ago
  I was just using it as an easy example of something we should all agree is disagreeable without touching anything even remotely resembling a real issue.