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I can navigate my browser to Al Jazeera, RT, or Xinhua without interference. Meanwhile, China has a national firewall imprisoning its netizens. So, while most A

I can navigate my browser to Al Jazeera, RT, or Xinhua without interference. Meanwhile, China has a national firewall imprisoning its netizens. So, while most Americans opt to live inside filter bubbles, they are free to escape if they so choose. Not so for the citizens of China, who live in the iron grip of the CCP. That’s to say nothing of censorship. I can post “f** Joe Biden” on any social platform in the U.S. Meanwhile, a Chinese netizen compares Xi to Winnie the Pooh and gets a visit from the police. And their post never sees the light of day. These aren’t differences of degree. They are differences of category.

fidotron 2y ago
Americans live in a society lying to them by omission. You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels, and you almost certainly go on a watchlist if you visit too much. The whole point is to remove anything that may cause a passive media consumer to question what is presented to them.
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels They’ve each run ads on billboards in New York. I distinctly remember Xinhua’s in Time Square.
  - fidotron 2y ago
    Recently? Al Jazeera America closed down some years ago. (2016 apparently).
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      Definitely after 2016, but before Covid.
      - fidotron 2y ago
        At the risk of a tangent, were Xinhua seriously fishing for a US audience? Or was it more kudos from the billboard? My parents used to be addicted to Al Jazeera, then some unspecified incident occurred and we were never to speak of it again. All very strange.
- reaperducer 2y ago
  You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels Al Jazeera is widely known across the country, and during the time I had cable television was available in every city in which I lived. RT is available over-the-air on free regular broadcast channels in some American cities. You can't get less restricted than that. You speak like someone who's never even been to the United States.
  - fidotron 2y ago
    Al Jazeera America stopped in 2016. RT America was removed from most services as of 2022 and hasn't been broadcasting since. This is changing in the wrong direction and you are getting less free over time. > You speak like someone who's never even been to the United States. You speak like someone who's never left it.
    - reaperducer 2y ago
      You speak like someone who's never left it. Darn it, then decade I spent in Asia and the 100+ trips to Europe and the Middle East didn't prepare me for the rapier banter of some rando on the internet.
      - fidotron 2y ago
        Dishes it out but can’t take it? How appropriate.
        reaperducer 2y ago
        Say "hi" to the Chairman for us.
    - throwawayq3423 2y ago
      Both AJ and RT are widely available online. Your bar of "American cable networks must grant licenses to broadcast hostile foreign state propaganda" is one that no other country abides by. In fact, even the idea of allowing CNN or BBC to broadcast into people's homes in Russia is so laughable, I don't know why you even brought it up, or what your point is.
throw310822 2y ago
> I can navigate my browser to Al Jazeera, RT, or Xinhua without interference The reason you can is that very few people actually do. As the Tik Tok affair shows, the moment the US suspects it might have some real competitor in controlling the narrative, it shuts them down. Maybe it's the right thing to do, but it's worth taking note that it's how things are.
portaouflop 2y ago
Yes the categories of “our glorious leader” on one side and “their wretched despot” on the other. The categories of “our objective news” and “their state propaganda”. “Their brutish enforcers” vs “our noble police”. You have to accept that the era of American exceptionalism is over and we’ll all be measured by our actions rather than the dreamy stories told.

fidotron 2y ago

Americans live in a society lying to them by omission. You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels, and you almost certainly go on a watchlist if you visit too much. The whole point is to remove anything that may cause a passive media consumer to question what is presented to them.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels They’ve each run ads on billboards in New York. I distinctly remember Xinhua’s in Time Square.
- fidotron 2y ago
  Recently? Al Jazeera America closed down some years ago. (2016 apparently).
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    Definitely after 2016, but before Covid.
    - fidotron 2y ago
      At the risk of a tangent, were Xinhua seriously fishing for a US audience? Or was it more kudos from the billboard? My parents used to be addicted to Al Jazeera, then some unspecified incident occurred and we were never to speak of it again. All very strange.
reaperducer 2y ago
You have to have learned AlJazeera, RT or Xinhua exist, because they're not going to be shown to you by normal channels Al Jazeera is widely known across the country, and during the time I had cable television was available in every city in which I lived. RT is available over-the-air on free regular broadcast channels in some American cities. You can't get less restricted than that. You speak like someone who's never even been to the United States.
- fidotron 2y ago
  Al Jazeera America stopped in 2016. RT America was removed from most services as of 2022 and hasn't been broadcasting since. This is changing in the wrong direction and you are getting less free over time. > You speak like someone who's never even been to the United States. You speak like someone who's never left it.
  - reaperducer 2y ago
    You speak like someone who's never left it. Darn it, then decade I spent in Asia and the 100+ trips to Europe and the Middle East didn't prepare me for the rapier banter of some rando on the internet.
    - fidotron 2y ago
      Dishes it out but can’t take it? How appropriate.
      - reaperducer 2y ago
        Say "hi" to the Chairman for us.
  - throwawayq3423 2y ago
    Both AJ and RT are widely available online. Your bar of "American cable networks must grant licenses to broadcast hostile foreign state propaganda" is one that no other country abides by. In fact, even the idea of allowing CNN or BBC to broadcast into people's homes in Russia is so laughable, I don't know why you even brought it up, or what your point is.

throw310822 2y ago

> I can navigate my browser to Al Jazeera, RT, or Xinhua without interference The reason you can is that very few people actually do. As the Tik Tok affair shows, the moment the US suspects it might have some real competitor in controlling the narrative, it shuts them down. Maybe it's the right thing to do, but it's worth taking note that it's how things are.

portaouflop 2y ago

Yes the categories of “our glorious leader” on one side and “their wretched despot” on the other. The categories of “our objective news” and “their state propaganda”. “Their brutish enforcers” vs “our noble police”. You have to accept that the era of American exceptionalism is over and we’ll all be measured by our actions rather than the dreamy stories told.