4 ms·

> If we had a functioning justice system it would find these people and charge them with fraud. The people who are making these threats feel as though they are

> If we had a functioning justice system it would find these people and charge them with fraud. The people who are making these threats feel as though they are being persecuted by a media-corporate-legal complex that is out to get them. The more you attempt to penalize these individuals for their beliefs, the more radicalized they will become.

titzer 5y ago
I'm not talking about the people spreading memes, they are just pawns. I am talking about people who own huge amounts of stock and actively trying to personally financially benefit from creating and spreading misinformation. Quadruple bad if those people are in positions of power, like politicians, doctors, or the drug companies themselves.
- chroem- 5y ago
  But that's just it: there aren't very many influencers telling people to take ivermectin. There were some official endorsements for HCQ, but ivermectin has largely been a grassroots response to people feeling as though they're not being included in the political process. Figures on the right have been telling people to take "Donald Trump's vaccine". The influencers who have discussed ivermectin, like Joe Rogan, only did so after it was already popularized.
pajamanaut 5y ago
The counterpoint to this is that they're not going to be deradicalized at this point, and that the only other option is to prevent the ideology from spreading
- chroem- 5y ago
  The feeling of persecution is literally what's driving it though, and they're not entirely wrong if the focus is "containment".
  - titzer 5y ago
    The problem with crazy people is that their entire world passes through their crazy distortion field. So even attempts to help them look threatening. Does this now suddenly mean we stop enforcing the law (against financial fraud) because it might hurt their feelings? This is dysfunction. What can we do if we're not allowed to present facts and evidence because it might trigger people? We end up walking on eggshells while the crazies take over.
    - chroem- 5y ago
      > This is dysfunction. What can we do if we're not allowed to present facts and evidence because it might trigger people? We end up walking on eggshells while the crazies take over. It's not that simple: you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. The left also holds viewpoints that moderates think are absolutely bonkers (which specific viewpoints I can't even say without risking a flamewar on HN), but we've been taught to be respectful of other people's opinions.
      - titzer 5y ago
        > you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. I didn't say that. It was a general statement about crazy people. Everyone has their own distortion fields; they are myriad and contradictory and situational. Please don't start with this left/right splitting and victimization stuff. There's a ton of shit I won't say on HN because it doesn't go over well. It's not a left/right thing, believe me.
      - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
        > you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. What would you say if - hypothetically - an entire political faction went crazy? There are examples from history.
- mikepurvis 5y ago
  Yes, but the evidence thus far is that deplatforming is pretty effective, especially in the short term— which matters for time-sensitive things like getting everyone vaccinated: - https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/06/deplatforming-works-this-new-data-on-trump-tweets-shows/ https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/06/deplatforming-works-this-n... - https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-work https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-... - https://theconversation.com/does-deplatforming-work-to-curb-hate-speech-and-calls-for-violence-3-experts-in-online-communications-weigh-in-153177 https://theconversation.com/does-deplatforming-work-to-curb-...

titzer 5y ago

I'm not talking about the people spreading memes, they are just pawns. I am talking about people who own huge amounts of stock and actively trying to personally financially benefit from creating and spreading misinformation. Quadruple bad if those people are in positions of power, like politicians, doctors, or the drug companies themselves.

chroem- 5y ago
But that's just it: there aren't very many influencers telling people to take ivermectin. There were some official endorsements for HCQ, but ivermectin has largely been a grassroots response to people feeling as though they're not being included in the political process. Figures on the right have been telling people to take "Donald Trump's vaccine". The influencers who have discussed ivermectin, like Joe Rogan, only did so after it was already popularized.

pajamanaut 5y ago

The counterpoint to this is that they're not going to be deradicalized at this point, and that the only other option is to prevent the ideology from spreading

chroem- 5y ago
The feeling of persecution is literally what's driving it though, and they're not entirely wrong if the focus is "containment".
- titzer 5y ago
  The problem with crazy people is that their entire world passes through their crazy distortion field. So even attempts to help them look threatening. Does this now suddenly mean we stop enforcing the law (against financial fraud) because it might hurt their feelings? This is dysfunction. What can we do if we're not allowed to present facts and evidence because it might trigger people? We end up walking on eggshells while the crazies take over.
  - chroem- 5y ago
    > This is dysfunction. What can we do if we're not allowed to present facts and evidence because it might trigger people? We end up walking on eggshells while the crazies take over. It's not that simple: you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. The left also holds viewpoints that moderates think are absolutely bonkers (which specific viewpoints I can't even say without risking a flamewar on HN), but we've been taught to be respectful of other people's opinions.
    - titzer 5y ago
      > you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. I didn't say that. It was a general statement about crazy people. Everyone has their own distortion fields; they are myriad and contradictory and situational. Please don't start with this left/right splitting and victimization stuff. There's a ton of shit I won't say on HN because it doesn't go over well. It's not a left/right thing, believe me.
    - SideburnsOfDoom 5y ago
      > you can't just label an entire political faction as crazy. What would you say if - hypothetically - an entire political faction went crazy? There are examples from history.
mikepurvis 5y ago
Yes, but the evidence thus far is that deplatforming is pretty effective, especially in the short term— which matters for time-sensitive things like getting everyone vaccinated: - https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/06/deplatforming-works-this-new-data-on-trump-tweets-shows/ https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/06/deplatforming-works-this-n... - https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-work https://www.vice.com/en/article/bjbp9d/do-social-media-bans-... - https://theconversation.com/does-deplatforming-work-to-curb-hate-speech-and-calls-for-violence-3-experts-in-online-communications-weigh-in-153177 https://theconversation.com/does-deplatforming-work-to-curb-...