6 ms·

It's quite bizarre to constantly hear Elon Musk talk about free speech and unbanning everyone, and then this ongoing list of left-leaning accounts get nuked. An

It's quite bizarre to constantly hear Elon Musk talk about free speech and unbanning everyone, and then this ongoing list of left-leaning accounts get nuked. And not just left-leaning. The Oatmeal's Twitter account (https://theoatmeal.com/ https://theoatmeal.com/) was "permanently banned" couple of days ago for no given reason. Activism got it back, but imagine you're not popular. Your account is gone forever just like that. It's pure chaos.

DLA 4y ago
- someNameIG 4y ago
  That just sound childish, "you where mean to me so I'll be mean back"
- krapp 4y ago
  They didn't really, that's just a Trumpist conspiracy theory trying to equivocate the racist and violent speech among its base with legitimate and mainstream conservative speech, and the banning thereof with political persecution by a shadowy, all-controlling leftist cabal. But conservative speech always has and still does exist on social media, everywhere, in abundance. In fact, Twitter (and other social media platform) algorithms have been shown to amplify right-wing content more often than left-wing content, not suppress it. Which is of course why they're trying so hard to control it.
  - BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
    I'm not sure I fully believe the algorithms promoted right-wing content, although I do believe the algorithm promotes controversial content, which is one of the strategies on the right, as more of a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. It's also self-evident, honestly, that the human moderators, which overviewed the decisions of the algorithm in Twitter 1.0 were predominantly left-leaning, with many LGBTQ+ members working as contractors, moderating from home. The sad thing for me is the hypocrisy. Here is Elon coming and proclaiming himself a "free speech absolutist" and "comedy is now legal", and then start banning accounts in large swaths on a whim based on whatever right-wing $8 badge buyers tweet at him, including a whole group of apolitical comedy accounts. This will shrink Twitter and turn it into Parler. The right see the destruction of Twitter as a win, and it is a win, but quite a short term one. This network will rebuild itself elsewhere, and you won't have $44 billion ready every time for the next hostile takeover. I see this as a huge missed opportunity to have a truly inclusive platform that welcomes everyone and takes no sides. I have no idea if Elon Musk lied about this intentionally or he was coached and tricked into it by his right-wing supporters, but he shot his investment in the foot.
    - krapp 4y ago
      >I'm not sure I fully believe the algorithms promoted right-wing content, although I do believe the algorithm promotes controversial content, which is one of the strategies on the right, as more of a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. The right isn't a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. The right has always been the primary political and cultural force in the US, to the point that what counts as "the left" in American politics (the Democratic Party) is still ideologically center-right. I agree with you about Elon and the eventual fate of Twitter, although I fear you haven't yet seen that the entire "free speech absolutism" debate and the narrative that social media platforms are captured and controlled by a leftist agenda was always about promoting right-wing accelerationism and never about political neutrality or free speech. There is a reason you've rarely if ever seen these discussions or passionate defenses of absolute free speech take place in defense of left-wing speech, only right-wing speech. And it isn't because left-wing speech is never censored or suppressed - it very often is (particularly LGBTQ speech, which is often categorized as "sexual" or NSFW regardless of its content.)
- BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
  I'm not left or right, but I see the hypocrisy of you cheering for the exact mistreatment you fought against a month ago. How's that about irony?
  - josephcsible 4y ago
    Remember that the hypocrisy goes the other way too. Before Elon bought Twitter, the prevailing opinion was "it's okay for the people who own social networks to ban opposing viewpoints". The people who thought that now all suddenly think it's not okay, just because their side doesn't own the social network anymore.
    - BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
    - EnKopVand 4y ago
      In what world did you see this? At least here in Europe the main conversation about Social Media has been that it shouldn't be operated by big tech companies. We've always viewed Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, and so on. Basically the way Americans are now viewing TikTok. Especially in the wake of Snowden. It's true that more people are now putting actions behind their words, and leaving Twitter for the Fediverse because of the new leadership at Twitter, but this seem to be only partly because of the right-wing turn and much more because of the instability showing just how insane it is for the world to let a social media platform be moderated by the whims of a billionaire. I frankly think Trump is right to stay on Truth. Because what happens when Elon eventually loses interest in Twitter and sells it to someone else? That is the strength of the Fediverse to be honest. You get to operate your own servers that are part of the larger whole. This would let journalists, politicians and NGOs run, and more importantly moderate, their own "Twitter" that is still part of the larger whole. Here in Denmark it would allow our government agencies to operate a "Twitter" where all our elected officials could have an account and not have to rely on an American tech company to moderate their feeds, or risk being banned for violating American laws. Yes, the consequence will very likely be that ultra right-wing networks will be largely isolated, but that's still free speech.

DLA 4y ago

someNameIG 4y ago
That just sound childish, "you where mean to me so I'll be mean back"
krapp 4y ago
They didn't really, that's just a Trumpist conspiracy theory trying to equivocate the racist and violent speech among its base with legitimate and mainstream conservative speech, and the banning thereof with political persecution by a shadowy, all-controlling leftist cabal. But conservative speech always has and still does exist on social media, everywhere, in abundance. In fact, Twitter (and other social media platform) algorithms have been shown to amplify right-wing content more often than left-wing content, not suppress it. Which is of course why they're trying so hard to control it.
- BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
  I'm not sure I fully believe the algorithms promoted right-wing content, although I do believe the algorithm promotes controversial content, which is one of the strategies on the right, as more of a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. It's also self-evident, honestly, that the human moderators, which overviewed the decisions of the algorithm in Twitter 1.0 were predominantly left-leaning, with many LGBTQ+ members working as contractors, moderating from home. The sad thing for me is the hypocrisy. Here is Elon coming and proclaiming himself a "free speech absolutist" and "comedy is now legal", and then start banning accounts in large swaths on a whim based on whatever right-wing $8 badge buyers tweet at him, including a whole group of apolitical comedy accounts. This will shrink Twitter and turn it into Parler. The right see the destruction of Twitter as a win, and it is a win, but quite a short term one. This network will rebuild itself elsewhere, and you won't have $44 billion ready every time for the next hostile takeover. I see this as a huge missed opportunity to have a truly inclusive platform that welcomes everyone and takes no sides. I have no idea if Elon Musk lied about this intentionally or he was coached and tricked into it by his right-wing supporters, but he shot his investment in the foot.
  - krapp 4y ago
    >I'm not sure I fully believe the algorithms promoted right-wing content, although I do believe the algorithm promotes controversial content, which is one of the strategies on the right, as more of a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. The right isn't a cultural underdog trying to get visibility. The right has always been the primary political and cultural force in the US, to the point that what counts as "the left" in American politics (the Democratic Party) is still ideologically center-right. I agree with you about Elon and the eventual fate of Twitter, although I fear you haven't yet seen that the entire "free speech absolutism" debate and the narrative that social media platforms are captured and controlled by a leftist agenda was always about promoting right-wing accelerationism and never about political neutrality or free speech. There is a reason you've rarely if ever seen these discussions or passionate defenses of absolute free speech take place in defense of left-wing speech, only right-wing speech. And it isn't because left-wing speech is never censored or suppressed - it very often is (particularly LGBTQ speech, which is often categorized as "sexual" or NSFW regardless of its content.)
BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
I'm not left or right, but I see the hypocrisy of you cheering for the exact mistreatment you fought against a month ago. How's that about irony?
- josephcsible 4y ago
  Remember that the hypocrisy goes the other way too. Before Elon bought Twitter, the prevailing opinion was "it's okay for the people who own social networks to ban opposing viewpoints". The people who thought that now all suddenly think it's not okay, just because their side doesn't own the social network anymore.
  - BulgarianIdiot 4y ago
  - EnKopVand 4y ago
    In what world did you see this? At least here in Europe the main conversation about Social Media has been that it shouldn't be operated by big tech companies. We've always viewed Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Reddit, and so on. Basically the way Americans are now viewing TikTok. Especially in the wake of Snowden. It's true that more people are now putting actions behind their words, and leaving Twitter for the Fediverse because of the new leadership at Twitter, but this seem to be only partly because of the right-wing turn and much more because of the instability showing just how insane it is for the world to let a social media platform be moderated by the whims of a billionaire. I frankly think Trump is right to stay on Truth. Because what happens when Elon eventually loses interest in Twitter and sells it to someone else? That is the strength of the Fediverse to be honest. You get to operate your own servers that are part of the larger whole. This would let journalists, politicians and NGOs run, and more importantly moderate, their own "Twitter" that is still part of the larger whole. Here in Denmark it would allow our government agencies to operate a "Twitter" where all our elected officials could have an account and not have to rely on an American tech company to moderate their feeds, or risk being banned for violating American laws. Yes, the consequence will very likely be that ultra right-wing networks will be largely isolated, but that's still free speech.