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Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

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121–130 of 281 posts

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#121

Back in the '90s, when you entered AOL Instant Messenger chatrooms there was always disclaimers saying that certain content (swearing, hate speech, sexual material, etc.) were subject to be filtered out, or would cause you to be kicked. Message boards and forums have always had moderators and admins who could censor at will. You're posting on one right now. Can anyone explain how Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc. is q…

They’re the equivalent of the public square today, and should be regulated like utilities.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#122

I’d like to see Antifa added to this growing list as well. The article states this group has “ties to dangerous real-world activities”. Does anyone know of any? Or is this just conjecture? The article’s statement was fairly vague.

If you're optimizing for "ties to dangerous real-world activities" it's weird that you'd pick anti-fascist protestors before considering cops and soldiers. Cool ideology you have there.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#123
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What if Google and Twitter deside that those "alternatives" are hateful for disagreeing politically and stop linking them on their platforms making it extremely difficult/impossible to find them?

What does Google have to do with this discussion about Twitter?

I think your parent is talking about Twitter, Google and the other internet platforms and infrastructure.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Twitter isn't the government. Nor are QAnon-conspiracy-theorists comparable to . So no. You could, however compare Hitler banning the Jews from civil service to Trump creating new guidelines that ban trans-women from shelters. That is a government action to marginalize a class of people those in positions of power find undesirable.

Twitter might not be the government but it surely is an institution that has a significant amount of power and influence on society. So much so that I think the public should pressure them to adhere to liberal values like free speech and rightly get upset if they dont.

And regarding the fact that conspiracy theorists arent an ethnic group, sure thats right they are not. They are still an ideological group. Are we committed to making a society that works for a diverse range of ideological groups or do we have to fit inside the box of what Jack Dorsey thinks is normal to participate in society? I think the american value of right to pursue happens means powerful institutions should be extremely careful before judging some group as not being normal or fit for society. Or I guess we can give up these values because now we dont like the results.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#125

Back in the '90s, when you entered AOL Instant Messenger chatrooms there was always disclaimers saying that certain content (swearing, hate speech, sexual material, etc.) were subject to be filtered out, or would cause you to be kicked. Message boards and forums have always had moderators and admins who could censor at will. You're posting on one right now. Can anyone explain how Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc. is q…

The scale. These major platforms are becoming increasingly dominant forms of communication and mediums of expression. There's a real question about when they cease being just another website or chatroom and become a public utility.

Then regulate them, break them up, nationalize them, etc. But don't pretend that internet communities don't have the power to moderate their content. It's inherent to the format and has always been with us.

One would imagine in the '90s, AOL was probably as dominant as Facebook or Twitter is today- large enough to push its own alternative to URLs ("AOL Keywords"). The difference was there were far fewer people on the internet and the internet and computers in general were not as significant to our day-to-day lives. I doubt that Twitter today acts any differently from AOL Time Warner in Y2K.

Finally, scale is a measure of quantity, not quality.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#126

I’d like to see Antifa added to this growing list as well. The article states this group has “ties to dangerous real-world activities”. Does anyone know of any? Or is this just conjecture? The article’s statement was fairly vague.

As an antifascist, I'd like to list some things [0] which I haven't done and which I do not imagine are parts of healthy antifascism, but which I can understand that Twitter might ban folks for encouraging or doing: * Doxxing * Brandishing weapons in a family restaurant [1] * Targeting journalists for violence * Targeting public figures who have been accused of crimes for violence [2] * Targeting politicians for viol…

Seeing how deeply you've been downvoted makes me so embarrassed to be on this hell website. Too bad you can't delete your account.

EDIT: Your downvotes prove my point.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#127

> We will permanently suspend accounts Tweeting about these topics that we know are engaged in violations of our multi-account policy, coordinating abuse around individual victims, or are attempting to evade a previous suspension — something we’ve seen more of in recent weeks. So is Twitter essentially admitting this rule is only enforced against groups they don't like? If they're spreading hatred against some groups…

This has already been stated by them on the record multiple times. The last I seen was on Joe Rogan I believe. In that episode the CEO stated that trans is a protected class and it would be a ban-able offense for a Christian to tell a trans person they are their biologal sex (male / female). Obviously Christian vs Non would have differing viewpoints towards this subject.

She also stated they made they decision internal how they personally feel is best.

Personally, I believe that any monopoly having power to silence a crowd should be held to a legal standard. Ban all or ban none.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Twitter isn't the government. Nor are QAnon-conspiracy-theorists comparable to . So no. You could, however compare Hitler banning the Jews from civil service to Trump creating new guidelines that ban trans-women from shelters. That is a government action to marginalize a class of people those in positions of power find undesirable.

Twitter might not be the government but it surely is an institution that has a significant amount of power and influence on society. So much so that I think the public should pressure them to adhere to liberal values like free speech and rightly get upset if they dont. And regarding the fact that conspiracy theorists arent an ethnic group, sure thats right they are not. They are still an ideological group. Are we com…

Twitter isn't going to shoot you. Twitter isn't going to imprison you. Twitter isn't going to unperson you.

If you think Twitter is influential enough that it is quasi-governmental in authority, you should pursue anti-trust regulation.

But otherwise, no Twitter is nothing like a government, and getting kicked off a platform isn't suppression of speech anymore than a me choosing not to publish your book us suppression of speech.

I highly value the right of any entity to express their speech the way that see fit. That includes Twitter's right to kick people off their platform. I don't agree with the weaponization of "free speech" and liberal values that is common among certain groups, as it is used to quell criticism. When you start weaponizing your "free speech" as a way to constrain others, you are no longer reflecting liberal values.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#129
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's totally incorrect. That conspiracy began on 4chan's Politically Incorrect board.

AFAIK that's the origin of the "QAnon" shit too, so I'm not sure that really contradicts much.

It's now banned and ridiculed on the same board. Nearly every poster recognizes it as either an intelligence Psy Op or a LARP. So yes it does contradict that statement.

Re: Twitter bans 7k QAnon accounts, limits 150k others as part of broad crackdown

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So like, say, a cake shop?

Sure, exactly like that. People who believe there’s a vast conspiracy of celebrities to drain “adrenochrome” from children to gain eternal life or whatever aren’t a protected class, after all.

You’re saying a private company is allowed to decide who they want on their property. This must hold for all private companies, no?
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