Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads • Hacker News Board

corey_moncure wrote: post #17

mulletbum wrote: post #5

Why does the alt-right have issues with them being banned from systems, but don't see issues with themselves banning others from systems. For example, Twitter bans them from using Twitter, but the /r/The_Donald echo chamber bans anyone with a counter view to their own. If you want freedom to speak on certain platforms, you need to provide the same rights to everyone.

I'm very interested in this topic. Do you have concrete evidence of contrary voices being silenced by administration in /r/The_Donald? It may bear some consideration that this particular sub-reddit is itself silenced by having its stories removed from the front page by algorithm, which to me represents as great a sin or greater.

I've been banned on at least a half dozen accounts for posting anti-Trump comments on that subreddit. So, yeah.

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#64

Post by akerro » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

kelukelugames wrote: post #20

mwill wrote: post #14

I can only see this as furthering the echo chamber that caused many to be so blindsided by Trumps victory. I would like to see specifically why these people were suspended. If they're engaged in harassment obviously the suspension should hold up. If it really is just mass reporting for political speech (I've had friends msging 'targets' for reporting purely for them admitting to voting for Trump), I can only see it a…

I've seen no evidence of trump supporters being targeted. There is no trend. edit: wait, is it possible that just because I don't see it happening doesn't mean it isn't? Kind of like police brutality against black lives?

I didn't followed too much news recently, but two that I heard about, I bet there was/will be more.

http://www.dailywire.com/news/10664/video-trump-voter-dragge...

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/anders-vendel...

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#65

Post by CoryG89 » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

nameless912 wrote: post #16

module0000 wrote: post #3

People love having their speech limited, I'm sure this will work out great for twitter.

This isn't the limitation of free speech, this is a private company telling one of its users that they aren't welcome due to their behavior. It's like if you were at a store and started soapboxing about loudly right in front of the register, the manager of the store is 100% allowed to ask you to leave. Freedom of speech means your speech isn't illegal , not that you will suffer no consequences for it. ETA: some peopl…

Except that Twitter is not a private company. They are a publicly traded corporation.

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#66

Post by partiallypro » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

mulletbum wrote: post #5

Why does the alt-right have issues with them being banned from systems, but don't see issues with themselves banning others from systems. For example, Twitter bans them from using Twitter, but the /r/The_Donald echo chamber bans anyone with a counter view to their own. If you want freedom to speak on certain platforms, you need to provide the same rights to everyone.

I don't know if you can quite draw that parallel. /r/The_Donald (which I myself am banned from) isn't the entire platform. Twitter is an entire platform. The_Donald is meant to be an echo chamber, much like Sanders for President was, they too would ban people on a whim. However, me being banned from /r/The_Donald is not any where near being banned from Reddit itself. Someone blocking me on Twitter is not me being banned from Twitter.

My fear here is that Twitter and Facebook are now political machines, even if I agree with what they are doing -generally-. Facebook is cracking down on "fake news," I saw fake news all the time on Facebook, from left (re: vaccines, GMOs, The Kochs) and right (re: Obama, Hillary, Global Warming.)

So, which is Facebook going to crack down on, and which one isn't it going to? I get trolled on Twitter more from the Right, but I do get trolled from the Left as well. Which is Twitter going to crack down on? They don't seem to have an open coherent policy. If I'm harassed by left and right, but I see more of the right being banned, at what point does this stifle speech?

Sure Twitter and Facebook are private companies and can run themselves in whatever manner they wish, but if they -do- have a bias, they should be open about it. If Facebook and Twitter wants to win my trust that they are handling this correctly, they should make the data of their bans public. Even old forums have a ban list and often reasons for bans as public. There is no such public face for these two platforms. They don't even have to have names/handles as public, just a graph that shows the data behind it.

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#67

Post by AimHere » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

laumars wrote: post #8

I'm not sure I agree with this. I think I'd rather have people with extreme opinions talking in the public where they are subject to counter arguments than somewhere less public where their message goes unchallenged.

The next leader of the most powerful nation on earth already elected on a campaign that openly advocated torture and war crimes and made all sorts of racially charged insinuations. The USA seems set to embark on a terrifying policy of mass deportations in a few months.

A white supremacist is set to be installed as White House Chief of Staff, and his previous incarnation was as owner of news outlet talking in the public arena, presumably having his message challenged in exactly the manner you describe.

I think that your way of doing things has already run its course.

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#68

Post by croon » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:37 PM UTC

JorgeGT wrote: post #29

mulletbum wrote: post #5

Why does the alt-right have issues with them being banned from systems, but don't see issues with themselves banning others from systems. For example, Twitter bans them from using Twitter, but the /r/The_Donald echo chamber bans anyone with a counter view to their own. If you want freedom to speak on certain platforms, you need to provide the same rights to everyone.

Do Twitter and /r/The_Donald have equivalent mission statements, though? I don't think Twitter aspires to be a meeting point for extreme political views.

Isn't that exactly the point? One bans for extreme views/hate speech, one bans for dissent.

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#69

Post by the-dude » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:38 PM UTC

jinfiesto wrote: post #45

arkitaip wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But these alt-right figureheads aren't your average trump voters. They actually are racist and nasty people and we shouldn't group them together with other conservative/right/trump voters.

I'm not sure why the above is down-voted. There's a litany of evidence to suggest that this is actually true.

Such heavy claims require evidence. Also, it is painting one group as a whole, which reminds me of ...

Re: Twitter suspends alt-right figureheads

#70

Post by beedogs » Wed, Nov 16, 2016, 2:38 PM UTC

hermiti wrote: post #33

croon wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People love having their speech limited, I'm sure this will work out great for twitter. I love having hate speech limited, if that's what you mean.

The problem with banning hate speech is that it is relative. Next up, books will be banned because they incite alternate opinions.

Yeah... probably not.