4 ms·
I think you have the wrong interpretation. Harmful narratives forming is not the failure here, that is an old "problem" with free speech. [0] The problem Twitt
by disambiguation 5y ago
I think you have the wrong interpretation. Harmful narratives forming is not the failure here, that is an old "problem" with free speech. [0]
The problem Twitter emphasizes is that free speech and anonymity do not work at scale. Pre-internet, speech always had a degree of accountability because you know who's saying what. Now, you don't know if you're engaging with with an ad team, a bot-net, a trained cohort in another country, or just your dumb neighbor's political views.
The reasonable netizen has to assume the majority of what you see online is manipulated and fake. We can't fairly say the worst parts of twitter are purely a failure of free speech.
That being said, its an age old battle which system is better: one that is free, open, optional, and sometimes gets it wrong or one that is closed, managed, unavoidable, and can't be reviewed when it does get it wrong.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_the...
- alfiedotwtf 5y agoI think people should stop saying today's context is "Shouting fire in a crowded theater" and instead compare today's environment to "Everyone in the theater shouting fire every second throughout the whole movie while everyone smokes a cigarette"
- disambiguation 5y agothe point is, there's a difference between "shouting fire in a theater" vs. "russian agents disguised as patrons shouting fire in a theater with the express purpose of causing chaos and harm"
- alfiedotwtf 5y agoIs there an actual difference in the eyes of patrons?
- disambiguation 5y agorelativism is the wrong answer. intent and identity matter. knowing who caused you harm and why is necessary in stopping it from happening again. in the real world, society depends on neighbors working together towards a common notion of the greater good. if I live in a community that I depend on and I cause chaos, I will feel the consequences. if I am a foreign agent, I am decoupled from those consequences, and may even benefit by virtue of undermining an enemy. if the bad actors out weigh the good actors, then society cannot function. and if you see your neighbors as being as bad as your enemies, then your enemies have truly won.