Elon Cleaning House

I am obviously not the only one that made the unintended connection

 

Good thread by David Frum on the difficult issue of social media moderation policies as applied to foreign interference, disinformation, etc. There are no easy answers, at least in general application applying general rules and considering unintended consequences. But the complaints from Matt, Bari etc. are just absurd, and Frum frames them aptly

 

If you are not disturbed by the amount of pressure that was being applied to social media by both the Trump and Biden administrations, I don’t know what to tell you. In no way should any administration be pressuring Twitter to suspend or suppress certain voices. That Trump allowed this proves he’s just another cog of the deep state. Can anyone here explain how this sort of activity is appropriate for any presidential administration??

 

Twitter is a company. They can moderate however they want. They can fold or stand up to White House pressure. Why can’t right wingers understand that? Just don’t read twitter if you don’t like it.

 

Not disturbed at all by this case. Pressuring twitter to remove anti-vax misinformation is a good thing.

 

So what exactly did Berenson say that got him banned? It is kind of hard to evaluate without knowing it.

At some theoretical level I think it is problematic when social media bans legit speech, I am of the view they are private companies and are free to make such decisions as they choose, including making bad decisions. They do this all the time. They have a profit interest in filtering their content. Maybe as a platform they wanted to appeal to liberals and suppress conservative speech? That’s unfortunate but I don’t see it as illegal or unconstitutional.

I think musks involvement only demonstrates how hard it is to moderate content and how easily it is to get it wrong. Even Bari Weiss called him out on it.

Elon Musk Blasts Crony Bari Weiss for Disagreeing With Journalist Ban

 

You guys don't seem to get it. The issue is not with Twitter making their own moderating decisions to moderate content on their platform. The issue is our federal government pressing Twitter to make certain moderating decisions. The federal government shouldn't be having off the record discussions with Twitter, urging them to promote certain Twitter accounts and suppressing others. The federal government shouldn't be having off the record discussions with Twitter on who to ban and who not to ban. I'm fine with Twitter making those decisions for themselves. I am not fine with our federal government throwing their weight around in this manner. That's how dictatorships begin. The shocking part is that you guys are so nonchalant about it. What would you say if DeSantis wins in 2024 and his administration begins a widespread effort to manipulate social media giants on what content to promote, suppress or outright ban? And it wasn't just Biden.... Trump admin did it too.

 

Ok, I get that, but for all the hype I am still not exactly clear on what the feds were doing. I don’t think consulting intelligence agencies on the potential for election disinformation is off limits, understanding the potential for motivations and bias depending on who you are consulting.

Can you give some specific examples? I’ve asked others and they show me pictures of tweets or office emails that really don’t tell me anything.

Also, tell me how Twitter working with Feds is worse than Fox News coordinating news and messaging directly with the White House when Trump was in the office?

 

If DeSantis were pressuring twitter for the public good, like removing anti-vaccine misinformation, I would not have a problem with it. But DeSantis would more likely be pressuring twitter for his own political good. He's already shown numerous times that he will abuse his power in this way. And he has just created an anti-vaccine panel to spread vaccine misinformation himself.

 

If you’re familiar with the latest installment on Twitter files, then you know there are tons of examples of the federal government pressing Twitter to remove tweets, ban tweeters and suppress certain tweeters. That’s a direct attack by the federal government against free speech.

Fox News is not a social media platform and they are not undermining the people’s right to free speech by toeing the company line.

There are several examples in Twitter files of highly respected physicians and scientists being silenced.

 

What weight did they throw around? Apple won’t unlock its phones with intense pressure from the government. That is because they don’t want to lose public trust. It’s profit. Same with twitter. They can handle themselves just fine as long as they are on the right side of the law moderating it’s platform as it sees fit is on the side of the law.

 

Highly respected? Like Lapado?

 

The right to free speech does not extend to social media.

 

I love how you all continue to gloss over this with apples and oranges comparisons. The bottom line is the government is trying to control the narrative and that is what authoritarian regimes do. And just as you’re doing, authoritarian regimes often rationalize the behavior with “we’re doing this in the best interests of the people.” No, you’re doing it in the best interests of holding onto your power and you’re looking for ways to increase your grip.

 

Bari Weiss has zero credibility. Zero. I’m not weighing in on whether she should be permitted to post, although I would block her were she a poster here. But no one should promote her.

Berenson is subhuman. When Alex Wahl dropped dead, he published that it was likely from the vaccine and that his wife should feel responsible for his death because she is a physician on the Administration’s Covid-19 Advisory Board and promotes vaccination. He is subhuman. No one should ever give him a voice. He would have no role in a civilized society.

 

Why is Bari Weiss so bad? Yes she can be annoying, and harping on left winging cultural idiocy is her lane, but she’s not always wrong.

I don’t know anything about Berensen or Alex Wahl.

 

But it wasn't, so it's not. No need for the conspiratorial "ifs."

 

How much time do you have? But the whole "Twitter files" nonsense is about as obvious as it gets in terms of Bari Weiss having zero credibility. Of course, she had zero credibility with me long before that (as a result of her hypocritical "cancel culture" crusade and her being an "anti-woke" warrior).

 

Like I said the whole cancel culture / some thing is her lane. Given you don’t think either exist I can understand why you don’t like her. I on the other hand do think they exist, and are problematic, but in the scheme of things their importance is exaggerated.

You yourself use the tactics - you’ve called me a racist and trans phobe when my opinion didn’t agree with yours. While people on social media and message boards shaming people into compliance isn’t necessarily a good thing, I don’t think it is one of the top 25 issues of our time.