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Some things he writes in that thread - like the big tech companies not caring about politics - is so bafflingly far removed from reality (especially obvious for
by tazjin 5y ago
Some things he writes in that thread - like the big tech companies not caring about politics - is so bafflingly far removed from reality (especially obvious for anyone who has worked at them) that it makes me wonder whether he's intentionally distorting it, or actually believes that.
- crasch4 5y agoHe'd have to be stupid to believe it, and I don't think he's stupid.
- sillysaurusx 5y agoThe thread isn’t great. He says a lot of things that are mistaken. I don’t understand why people hold him up as some kind of authority on the topic. My theory is that a lot of people had an axe to grind, and that thread was sufficiently aligned with them.
- throwaway042122 5y agoIndeed. It's bizarre to see him argue that Twitter censors news simply because it wants to avoid mobs, when the company has stood by and done nothing to stop actual Twitter mobs that have gotten innocent people fired for doing nothing (for a couple examples look at David Shor[1] or this random Chipotle manager[2]). And there are certain issues where Twitter has stated that you simply aren't allowed to take an opposing view or you'll be kicked off their platform. You might argue that their decision to take sides is a good thing, but I don't know how anyone can argue that it's nonexistent. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/stop-firing-innocent/613615/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/stop-firin... [2] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chipotle-rehires-manager-viral-video-incident-labeled-racist-n938141 https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chipotle-rehires-manage...
- astrange 5y agoDavid Shor wasn't fired by a Twitter mob - wouldn't his manager have to be on Twitter for that? He was fired via backchannel complaints or a very emotionally sensitive email list.
- throwaway042122 5y agoI think you're confusing two different things. Here's a New York Magazine article that goes over what happened[1]. After Shor tweeted this: > Post-MLK-assasination race riots reduced Democratic vote share in surrounding counties by 2%, which was enough to tip the 1968 election to Nixon. Non-violent protests increase Dem vote, mainly by encouraging warm elite discourse and media coverage. A twitter mob went after Shor, including people tagging the CEO of his company (who _is_ on Twitter, not sure what the confusion is there) and asking them to "Come get your boy." A few days later, he was fired. Four days after that[2], he was kicked off the Progressphiles list for being "racist." If you don't like New York Magazine, here's a Vox article that goes over what happened[3]. [1] https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/case-for-liberalism-tom-cotton-new-york-times-james-bennet.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/case-for-liberalism-... [2] https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/white-fragility-racism-racism-progressive-progressphiles-david-shor.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/06/white-fragility-raci... [3] https://www.vox.com/2020/7/29/21340308/david-shor-omar-wasow-speech https://www.vox.com/2020/7/29/21340308/david-shor-omar-wasow...
- astrange 5y agoHuh, I thought the email list stuff happened before he was fired. Guess not. The culture didn't last long - people usually fight back at the mobs now, who have died off some. Now it only exists in minor extremist form where leftists (anti-Epstein conspiracists) and rightists (many other kinds of conspiracists) go around calling random people pedophiles. Twitter still doesn't ban them if you report them though. Also, that research he quoted is from a Black researcher (Omar Wasow) who is still around tweeting himself and seems well respected.
- selimthegrim 5y agoDo you think Wasow would have picked that moment to promote his research?
- rayiner 5y ago
- etherael 5y agoIt's not that bizarre. It's called lying.
- agentdrtran 5y ago"And there are certain issues where Twitter has stated that you simply aren't allowed to take an opposing view or you'll be kicked off their platform." such as?
- philosopher1234 5y agoIt’ll be something about race
- cr__ 5y agoWhat do you mean?
- tdfx 5y agoThere was a time when you weren't allowed to say that the SARS-COV-2 might've leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan. That's the most prominent, indefensible example of moderation gone awry and proof that the censorship model can be successfully abused by bad actors to suppress potentially valid opposing views. Imagine how many other issues have been suppressed but haven't reached the level of visibility that issue did.
- trompetenaccoun 5y agoThere are literal mob calls to get people killed, like that Pakistani woman who was accused of "blasphemy" against Islam a few weeks back. I think twitter would have done something about all those users tweeting she should be hanged if she were American and had the right sort of identity but like this they don't even care.
- roguecoder 5y agoThe paradox of tolerance is that if you let people promote an "opposing view" to some people's right to exist as equal citizens, you drive the people they are attacking off your platform, no one wants to advertise on you & you become 4chan.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]