zlacker

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1. vel0ci+(OP)[view] [source] 2022-12-16 04:05:56
> A small number of large tech companies have collectively managed to gain a huge amount of control over what information millions of people are allowed to see.

Hmm, yes, that's why nobody can go to InfoWars anymore, right? They're banned from Facebook and YouTube, so I guess it's impossible to hear anything they have to say.

What's this? infowars.com still loads? It has videos on it? Impossible, the leftist lizard demons banned it

Wake me up when port 443 requires written consent from Zucc to operate.

replies(3): >>Ajedi3+G2 >>labste+Q5 >>mschus+7E
2. Ajedi3+G2[view] [source] 2022-12-16 04:23:14
>>vel0ci+(OP)
Just because those few large companies only control what ~95% of people see instead of ~100%, that doesn't mean everything's fine. Or are you arguing Musk's censorship of Twitter here isn't a problem because people can just go to InfoWars to find out where Elon's jet is?
replies(1): >>vel0ci+G3
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3. vel0ci+G3[view] [source] [discussion] 2022-12-16 04:31:36
>>Ajedi3+G2
I agree it doesn't really matter that these accounts are banned. The only thing worth pointing out is literally this exact account was something Elon pointed to as an account he would protect on Twitter as an example of his support of free speech.

He can ban away, but he's just proving his free speech stance is meaningless. He'll just ban whatever he doesn't like regardless of if it's legal or not. Which is fine, but don't hold him up as some defender of free speech.

4. labste+Q5[view] [source] 2022-12-16 04:44:22
>>vel0ci+(OP)
Wake me up when Elon stops hitting port 420.
5. mschus+7E[view] [source] 2022-12-16 09:15:09
>>vel0ci+(OP)
> Hmm, yes, that's why nobody can go to InfoWars anymore, right? They're banned from Facebook and YouTube, so I guess it's impossible to hear anything they have to say.

The thing is, deplatforming works. Banning far-right actors has drastically reduced the reach of their messages [1]. Personally, I see this as a Good Thing, simply because of the potential that spreading hate has to escalate to actual, real-world violence, from murders like in Charlottesville to an outright attempt at instigating a coup.

At every sudo prompt, we get the warning "With great power comes great responsibility" - for good reasons. It's the same with running a social network connecting literally billions of people... those operating them have great power by the sheer market size of their platforms, and a huge responsibility for just how much of the bad side of humanity can be empowered by them. Whatsapp, for example, was directly linked to dozens of murders and severe injuries after lies and propaganda led to lynch mobs [2][3][4].

[1] https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/06/deplatforming-works-this-n...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_WhatsApp_lynchings

[3] https://www.dailystar.co.uk/tech/news/chilling-whatsapp-chil...

[4] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-61794986

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