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It is basically just a proxy. I don't see how censorship could be an antidote to a "subversive political influence campaign" - if anything you're describing cen
by JohnLocke4 7mo ago
It is basically just a proxy. I don't see how censorship could be an antidote to a "subversive political influence campaign" - if anything you're describing censorship
- tovej 7mo agoCensoring foreign political influence and misinformation campaigns is just sane policy. US misinformation is no different from Russian misinformation. freedom.gov is specifically meant to spread this misinfo, freedom of speech is the stated purpose, but if you believe that, you are naive. This is obviously an influence campaign.
- rvnx 7mo agoIt has a name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtcrime https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoughtcrime The solution to disinformation is not censorship, it's education and to teach early people on how to critically think by themselves.
- SpecialistK 7mo agoIt's "thoughtcrime" and "censorship" when they do it. It's "stopping disinformation" and "protecting democracy" when we do it.
- bigstrat2003 7mo agoThat is unfortunately the truth of it. There are distressingly few people in the US these days who actually have a principled belief in freedom of speech. Both the left and the right talk up freedom of speech when they are out of power, but are quite willing to destroy it when they are in power. I would give my left proverbial for a political party that actually protects freedom of speech.
- rockemsockem 7mo agoI think the people blocking content in Europe and those "protecting democracy" in the US share most of the same political beliefs.
- tovej 7mo agoATM, nobody is blocking any actual content unless it breaks very specific laws, like CSAM.
- 13415 7mo agoBelieve it or not, removal of content is mandated on the basis of laws that have been passed by the majority of representatives elected by the people. For example, it is a crime in Germany to publicly glorify wars of aggression and use Nazi symbols or deny the Holocaust. It's also a crime to publish child abuse material. On a side note, setting up a website deliberately designed to circumvent such laws will itself likely violate the law and might lead to criminal prosecution. While the US government will certainly be protected by diplomatic immunity, other people involved probably won't be protected.
- tovej 7mo agoOh please. If a known bad actor is trying to influence your polity, the best solution is to block them. This does not mean people should not also be educated. That critical thinking is also what leads me to the conclusion this should be blocked.
- JohnLocke4 7mo agoHow exactly does a proxy spread misinfo? Also, the project isn't even functional yet and appears to have been blocked to avert piracy
- AnimalMuppet 7mo agoWell, it certainly allows and enables the spread of misinformation. That is, what's blocked? Things that people consider misinformation. Some of it really is, and some of it is just stuff that's politically unpopular with the powers that be (which they're also going to label misinformation). And then some of it falls afoul of various copyright laws or other such. But certainly real misinformation is a significant chunk of that. The proxy enables that misinformation (and disinformation) to bypass the censorship/blocking. So in that sense, yes, it spreads misinformation.
- JohnLocke4 7mo agoI agree. I just don't agree with misinformation not being protected as free speech. Surely having an INGSOC decide what is truthful enough to be shared is detrimental to free expression and thought. Heliocentrism was also misinformation at one point.
- AnnikaL 7mo agoShould the Spanish government decide what is "misinformation"? Should it be forbidden to read false or misleading statements on the Internet?
- rockemsockem 7mo agoThis is of course an influence campaign, just like government ads to get people not to smoke are influence campaigns, but where's the misinformation?
- refurb 7mo ago> Censoring foreign political influence and misinformation campaigns is just sane policy. That would be true if there were objective definitions of "foreign political influence" and "misinformation campaigns". But there isn't. One can wave their hands and say any information falls into those categories.
- tovej 7mo agoWhat rubbish. A foreign bad actor declares they specifically want to feed your people propaganda through a specific communication channel. Do you need more than two brain cells to decide whether that's an influence campaign?
- refurb 7mo agoWhat is rubbish is your inability to see the subjectivity in “bad actor” and “influence campaign”. I can wave my hand and make that claim about anything. “Oh those evil Americans and their influence campaign on free speech rights!”
- herbst 7mo agoIt's just an empty landing page I never heard about before. (Accessed from Europe by the way, without block)