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Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

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Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#191

Post by mcculley »

dvtrn wrote: post #146
tuna-piano wrote: post #133

There's an unsolved conundrum I haven't heard mentioned yet. After the 2016 election, there was a thought that too much false information is spreading on social media. This happens in every country and across every form of communication - but social media platforms seem particularly worrysome (and is particularly bad with Whatsapp forwards in some Asian countries). So what should the social media companies do? Censor…

Media literacy and criticism classes in middle school?

I have been wondering how one would teach enough evolutionary psychology and neuroscience to children to make them less susceptible to memetic engineering. Now that we have gone from human marketers to automated systems working to influence purchases and votes, traditional media criticism seems insufficient.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#192

Post by Cthulhu_ »

throwanem wrote: post #49
Traster wrote: post #36

I think this is going to be a discussion thread that is almost inevitably going to be a shitshow, but anyway: There are people who advocate the idea that private companies should be compelled to distribute hate speech, dangerously factually incorrect information and harassment under the concept that free speech is should be applied universally rather than just to government. I don't agree, I think it's a vast over-re…

Why should that be clear? Judging them by their actions rather than their words, it's quite plain that "free speech extremists" are no such thing, except inasmuch as it applies to them. They demand to be free to say whatever they like, and they demand everyone else be required to listen while they do it.

They ARE free to say whatever they like; their problem is that they then have to face the consequences.

I mean I can say whatever I want on this platform as well, but if I cross a line my posts will be hidden and eventually my account blocked. And that is fair, it's what I agreed to, and not only that but it's morally just.

The free speech extremists confuse freedom of speech with protection from consequences.

Interestingly, Trump and some other celebrities on Twitter have had special protection from said consequences.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#193

Post by luckydata »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #168
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #156

I hope he goes through with it, then gets dragged for abuse of power. But that's not likely to happen; the president has too much power, and there are no checks and balances in place. He is only still in power because his party voted to keep him in a sham 'trial', and they only voted in favor because else their party would look divided.

It's remarkable that Trump has consistently been against free-speech but still has the support of a non-trivial number of self-described "libertarians" like Thiel. This is in the 1st amendment sense as saying he wants to open up libel laws in 2016 [0] to his comments on video games [1] and flag burning [2] to in the broader sense in his anger at the kneeling protesters [3]. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the…

It’s surprising only if you take them at face value. I don’t and I’m never surprised, it’s all quite predictable actually.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#194

Post by majewsky »

shadowgovt wrote: post #108

I notice this post is flagged. HN will do what it do, but I can't escape the feeling that in an era where a President uses Twitter, HN will become less relevant as a technological discourse destination if it lacks the will to touch the ramifications of technology and politics combined.

We have enough forums that allow or encourage political discussions and then inevitably devolve into hyper-partisan shitshows (Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, etc.). It's nice to have a refuge that's mostly free from this dynamic.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#196

Post by dragonwriter »

alharith wrote: post #157
nojito wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

twitter is a private organization. Regulating the speech of private organizations is a dangerous slope to be on.

Private organization that enjoys the legal protections of a platform. Reclassify them as a publisher. Can't have it both ways.

> Private organization that enjoys the legal protections of a platform. Reclassify them as a publisher. Can't have it both ways.

You absolutely can, and that's even been a norm in the US since CDA Section 230 was implemented specifically to make that possible, within certain bounds, which Twitter sits well within.

Admittedly, that's been progressively chipped away recently.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#197

Post by w0m »

jdhn wrote: post #160
raziel2p wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How? Forbid all of it? Forbid what, exactly - any app that allows communication between more than 1 person? Even if Twitter were to go bankrupt tomorrow, something else would come to replace it.

If Trump actually closed it (not going to happen), then something may come along to replace Twitter, but it certainly wouldn't act like Twitter.

Why wouldn't it? Proven good formula and a hole in the market. A dozen clones would spring up immediately.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#198

Post by newacct583 »

palsir wrote: post #176
itchyjunk wrote: post #151

Hm, is fact checking solved problem? I remember someone here had their game flagged just because it referenced SARS-CoV-2. I hear almost daily horror stories of youtube algo's screwing up content creator. As a human, I still struggle a lot to read a paper and figure out what I just read. On top of that, things like the GPT2 from OpenAI might generate very human like comment. Is there no way to consider social media a…

Fact checking is far from a solved problem. The can of worms that Trump opened when he started the "fake news" conversation is still very much open.

Trump didn't start that "conversation". "Fake News" was a term originally intended to reflect the false "news-like" advertisements that were being purchased on social media (primarily Facebook, and primarily targetting conservative users). Trump appropriated it as a way to label unflattering news coverage from mainstream sources.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#199

Post by dx87 »

mabbo wrote: post #140

> Public Service Announcement: The Right to Free Speech means the government can't arrest you for what you say. It doesn't mean that anyone else has to listen to your bullshit or host you while you share it. > The 1st Amendment doesn't shield you from criticism or consequences. > If you're yelled at, boycotted, have your show cancelled, or get banned from an internet community, your free speech rights aren't being vi…

That's such a stupid comic. The 1st Amendment doesn't give you a right to free speech, it says they won't take away your right.

Re: Trump threatens to 'close' down social media platforms

#200

Post by IgorPartola »

akhilcacharya wrote: post #168
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #156

I hope he goes through with it, then gets dragged for abuse of power. But that's not likely to happen; the president has too much power, and there are no checks and balances in place. He is only still in power because his party voted to keep him in a sham 'trial', and they only voted in favor because else their party would look divided.

It's remarkable that Trump has consistently been against free-speech but still has the support of a non-trivial number of self-described "libertarians" like Thiel. This is in the 1st amendment sense as saying he wants to open up libel laws in 2016 [0] to his comments on video games [1] and flag burning [2] to in the broader sense in his anger at the kneeling protesters [3]. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the…

Thiel seems to want to use Trump to break the US system of government because he thinks that’s the only way to move forward. He’s disrupting.
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