>The effect is the same on society, why are they treated differently? the mechanisms shouldn't matter. If FB (or HN) is to be held at a differnt standard, they

>The effect is the same on society, why are they treated differently? the mechanisms shouldn't matter. If FB (or HN) is to be held at a differnt standard, they should either be "100% neutral except illegal pics" or be forced to have full transparency on all their algorithms and editing decisions. What I post on HN or Facebook or in a comment section of the NYT is my responsibility, because I am the source of those posts. What the NYT publishes as news or opinion is their responsibility as the source of those items. As for the algorithms in use, that's one of the reasons I quit FB seven years ago. But such algorithms are irrelevant to who authored a particular piece of prose. The author might be liable for libel/defamation (assuming that can be proved), but the platform that hosts their content is not. I'm not sure why you're having such a hard time with this. And I'm going to stop trying to explain it to you. Good luck!