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Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

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Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#51

Post by legostormtroopr »

beberlei wrote: post #20
poisonborz wrote: post #11

This whole ordeal is a good example how f'd up the current internet infrastructure is. For a decade or so it just seems like the beginnings of a megacorp-ruled Blade Runner-ish world. While companies have all the right to have control over whatever on their platforms, there just isn't a well known unfiltered, unmoderated, "real" spot on the internet anymore that is known to all - just some niche spots requiring techn…

In the 90s and early 2000s you had to search for the nieche content as well or know where it was located. Hundrets of different phpBBs or other forums hidden from "uninitated" people. The simplicity of central platform just has all the users going there, because they don't want to search for hours to find communities to participate in. infowars is still available at infowars.com, they just can't use the platform and…

> infowars is still available at infowars.com ...

Until the CloudFlare CEO decides that he wants to virtue signal too (like he already did with Stormfront).

Or until Microsoft decides to boot them from Azure (like they already did when Gab.ai had a post they didn't like).

Or until the DNS is revoked... which has already been done by government agencies.

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#52

Post by codemusings »

ramblerman wrote: post #42
codemusings wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It doesn't make sense that as a baker I can be forced to bake gay wedding cakes, or as a Restaurant owner I can't open a 'straight white people only' restaurant [...] What is wrong with you? What happened to you as a child that made you think this form of discrimination is even remotely acceptable?

You are completely misunderstanding his point. He is saying why is it OK for a small business to be forced to accommodate something that may be against their belief system. But the biggest corporations, who are also managing our online discourse, can pick and choose what they like.

But he's insinuating that people like Alex Jones should be protected by freedom of speech as if their fucked up ideads are some sort of alternative view that's just not for everyone.

This is a form of gaslighting that tries to establish credibility for extremists that they don't have.

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#53

Post by pjc50 »

teamk wrote: post #31
nailer wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is Alex Jones far right? From what I've seen he's insane (intergalactic pedophiles etc) and right wing, but not inciting race war or anything you'd expect from US far right groups. Maybe I'm wrong and he does, I've just never seen it.

Right wing and conspiracy oriented, but not racist, no.

http://uk.businessinsider.com/alex-jones-infowars-employees-... ?

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#54

Post by teh_klev »

nasoieu wrote: post #32
Jacqued wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I must say I have not been jealous of the US in this regard. In my opinion the state should be able to silence fascists and neo-nazis and jail them for hate speech. Unlike the US, people in Europe have experienced first hand what happens when you tolerate and enable them. Also I don't think you can call it "absolute freedom of speech" as some speech, like calls for murder of the usual fire in a theatre exemple, are i…

(Eastern) Europe has also experienced what happens when communists are in charge, yet communists are not being persecuted in any way, while fascists or nazis are. Something else is going on. Case in point: this comment is being downvoted without any explanation.

> this comment is being downvoted without any explanation

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

"Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading."

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#55

Post by beaconstudios »

kylesellas wrote: post #37
skrebbel wrote: post #2

I'm curious about how this is happening in America, of all places. As a European, I've always wondered (with a certain hint of jealousy, I might add) at the USA's absolute freedom of speech. People like the Westboro Baptist Church would've certainly been blocked from protesting here in the Netherlands. At the same time, it's now companies that are very American, both by origin and by culture, that are (letting themse…

I'm all for freedom of speech even if that speech includes ideas I vehemently disagree with (even hate speech). However, when speech incites physical violence and can be viewed as a legitimate threat, then it needs to be shut down. Parents of children who were lost during Sandy Hook received physical threats and death threats because of Jones' comments. That's the line where free speech should be censored.

so then those people should be banned. A public individual cannot be held responsible for the actions of their followers unless they called for those actions to be taken.

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#56

Post by sparkzilla »

kylesellas wrote: post #37
skrebbel wrote: post #2

I'm curious about how this is happening in America, of all places. As a European, I've always wondered (with a certain hint of jealousy, I might add) at the USA's absolute freedom of speech. People like the Westboro Baptist Church would've certainly been blocked from protesting here in the Netherlands. At the same time, it's now companies that are very American, both by origin and by culture, that are (letting themse…

I'm all for freedom of speech even if that speech includes ideas I vehemently disagree with (even hate speech). However, when speech incites physical violence and can be viewed as a legitimate threat, then it needs to be shut down. Parents of children who were lost during Sandy Hook received physical threats and death threats because of Jones' comments. That's the line where free speech should be censored.

When people say "I'm all for freedom of speech, but..." it means they aren't actually for freedom of speech at all. In your case it seems you are willing to curtail a broadcaster's speech because of your arbitrary rule that some of that person's followers may have threatened violence or sent death threats. Alex Jones has indulged in conspiracy theories, but as far as I know he has not called for violence or anyone's death. If we apply your rule, then how do we deal with the many death threats against President Trump by ordinary people and even celebrities. Are we to ban their preferred newspapers, TV and YouTube channels too? After all, where could they have got such an idea? If your standard was applied consistently then then there would be no media.

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#57

Post by bitwize »

Alex Jones will be fine. He's been around since the 90s, when shortwave radio -- that bastion of white supremacists, conspiracy theorists, fundamentalists, and other assorted kooks -- was his primary means of contact with his audience.

If anything this will make Alex, and his followers, even crazier, as his censorship by major Web outlets only PROVES that the DEMONS behind the New World Order are plotting to silence the righteous!

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#58

Post by DanBC »

teamk wrote: post #6

Its pretty insane that public businesses are forbidden from discrimination on most grounds (political views, religious views, etc) of who it employs, or who can enter their business, but its perfectly fine for FB, Google, Apple, Twitter, etc., to completely control the content of the conversation on their platforms. It doesn't make sense that as a baker I can be forced to bake gay wedding cakes, or as a Restaurant ow…

> It doesn't make sense that as a baker I can be forced to bake gay wedding cakes,

In the UK you're not forced to bake gay wedding cakes. You have the choice to bake cakes and not bake any wedding cakes at all. What you can't do if you're a business is refuse to provide cakes to people because they have (or you perceive them to have) a protected characteristic.

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#59

Post by loriverkutya »

poisonborz wrote: post #39
beberlei wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the 90s and early 2000s you had to search for the nieche content as well or know where it was located. Hundrets of different phpBBs or other forums hidden from "uninitated" people. The simplicity of central platform just has all the users going there, because they don't want to search for hours to find communities to participate in. infowars is still available at infowars.com, they just can't use the platform and…

The majority of people only access these distribution platforms. The "they still have a website" argument equals to "in a dictatorship, you still have a home and you can say anything between its walls, people can come to you and listen". The internet is / should be much more than that. I always found "disapproval by removal/banning" to be absurd. The true way of them not gaining ground is by educating people. Yes, it…

You never lived in a dictatorship, do you? If people comes to your home and you say something against the "system", they will come and take you, the people who were listening to you and probably your family too. And you are probably not coming back.

I really wondering, how would you educate somebody who is shouting and threatening other people. Also, can you imagine how you would feel, if your child was killed in a school shooting and then somebody is telling everybody, that you are lying?

If you want to educate this idiot, go ahead, and before you try to do it, stop him from hurting people, who are already having the worst time of their life...

Re: Twitter Suspends Alex Jones for Seven Days Over Tweet

#60

Post by DanBC »

ramblerman wrote: post #42
codemusings wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It doesn't make sense that as a baker I can be forced to bake gay wedding cakes, or as a Restaurant owner I can't open a 'straight white people only' restaurant [...] What is wrong with you? What happened to you as a child that made you think this form of discrimination is even remotely acceptable?

You are completely misunderstanding his point. He is saying why is it OK for a small business to be forced to accommodate something that may be against their belief system. But the biggest corporations, who are also managing our online discourse, can pick and choose what they like.

> can pick and choose what they like.

No, these big businesses cannot say "no tweets about gay weddings".

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