Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

blog.twitter.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

731–740 of 1001 posts

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#731

Post by benlivengood »

handmodel wrote: post #65
ve55 wrote: post #44

This ban seems to heavily take advantage of the current moment, as it's obvious that he has tweeted worse things in the past. It's strange that they picked such a poor way to justify the ban when they could have made a significantly stronger case, and in doing so could have convinced millions more people that they are trying their best to apply policies evenly. For example, I have a hard time imagining why they chose…

I think the logic isn't that hard. Person says bad things to whip up a mob - Twitter unsure to take him seriously or literally. Mob actually materializes and several people die - Twitter sure they now have to take him literally

Person says SARS-Cov-2 is no big deal or cured with quackmeal, causes deaths, not de-platformed.

I think it's a calculated risk knowing that Biden's win was actually certified so there's now no way this can come back and bite them. I am sure in an alternate universe @PresidentForLife would have been able to tweet indefinitely.

Twitter wants no skin in the game.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#733

Post by Timothycquinn »

tylermenezes wrote: post #300
allendoerfer wrote: post #167

Does anybody have a solution to the bigger underlying question of de-platforming and censorship on online platforms? As far as I can tell, there are two general viewpoints: a) Censorship is bad, free speech is good. You should counter bad arguments with better arguments. b) There are types of speech, which are proven to lead to violence in the long-run. Also, some things can be proven as untrue. Lies are bad. I have…

> Does anybody have a solution Yes. Get rid of newsfeed algorithms that optimize recommendations for engagement. It won't solve our current problem, but that's what cause it. They took pg's Fluff Principal and weaponized it.

Agreed, that is a significant cause. However, that must coincide with a updated monetization model for the platforms to account for the inevitable drop in user engagement. This free platforms model is a hot mess.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#734

Post by wolco5 »

This is interesting.

The deplatforming of Trump by left leaning tech companies creates a new platform that threatens all other platforms.

Is this the first deplatforming that will result in deplatforming of the original platform?

As the right flocks else where the left has no one to fight with. The places becomes a real echo chamber with a large drop in usuage.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#735

Post by thefucnjosh »

notadev wrote: post #413
handmodel wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the logic isn't that hard. Person says bad things to whip up a mob - Twitter unsure to take him seriously or literally. Mob actually materializes and several people die - Twitter sure they now have to take him literally

Should there be a distinction when the bad things aren't said on Twitter itself? Ignoring the argument that what happened in DC was the culmination of Trump's incitement throughout his presidency, his order to his supporters to march to the Capitol, and claiming he would be marching with them, was _the_ direct call to action. It was given during his in-person speech in DC. Why should Twitter ban him for that? I think…

If you sympathize with people who are terrorists...you're a terrorist sympathizer. That's just how words work.

That being said: "Should there be a distinction when the bad things aren't said on Twitter itself?" There shouldn't for corporations, presidents public figures etc. because they have PR teams.....however, for normal people there should be. For example Youtube recently banned the "Nelk boys" channel with the justification being this creepy authoritarian statement. "If a creator's off-platform behavior harms our ecosystem we take action to protect the community"

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#736

Post by 1MachineElf »

snoshy wrote: post #107
Rebelgecko wrote: post #54

Is it just my perception, or is their actual justification using the 2 quoted tweets kinda weak? Interpreting his boycott of an event as a call to violence seems like a huge stretch. It seems like they wanted to shoehorn a justification using his 2 latest tweets when the actual reason goes back further.

Agreed. It very well may be coded speak to rile up some supporters and drive them to violence, but that's hardly clear to the average observer. There are so many other instances of direct calls to incite violence, it's rather sad that these were the two that broke the camel's back.

The problem with saying speech is a "dog whistle" is that there is no defense against it. If people in power do not trust my words, then how can I convince them that they are trustworthy without appeasing them?

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#737

Post by [deleted] »

zests wrote: post #562
Rebelgecko wrote: post #54

Is it just my perception, or is their actual justification using the 2 quoted tweets kinda weak? Interpreting his boycott of an event as a call to violence seems like a huge stretch. It seems like they wanted to shoehorn a justification using his 2 latest tweets when the actual reason goes back further.

I sit here dumbfounded at all of this. People believe that Trump saying he won’t be somewhere is inciting violence. I saw conservatives lose their brain with Obama in 2008 (“ODS”) and I lost faith in “the right”. In 2015-2021 I lost whatever faith I had left in “the left” (“TDS”). Its been over four years of ridiculous takes in the media, including social media, and its not funny any more. Political fanaticism seems…

[deleted]

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#738

Post by awak3ning »

danijelb wrote: post #701
awak3ning wrote: post #642

Very disturbing example of censorship and de-platforming. The rationale for permanent ban seems both reactionary and subjective. The scant analysis provided under the "Assessment" stretches the words and context of the tweet to imbue it with the most uncharitable meaning possible. This should be dismaying to non-political and political citizens alike, as well as supporters and non-supporters of this individual. I bel…

That's not what censorship means. Actual censorship, which was seen in Eastern and Central Europe and some other places during communism meant that you're literally not allowed to say certain things. You'd be prosecuted by the government if someone reported you or the government found out in any way that you were spreading certain kind of "forbidden" ideas. It didn't matter where you said it, when you said it, to how…

This seems like a fairly antiquated view that does not map well to the current era or actual definition of censorship (A cursory internet search will help to better inform you as to what censorship entails and what actions may reside within the purview of censorship).

One does not have to prosecuted by the government in order to have their speech censored, access to a public forum revoked, or have their livelihood and career threatened.

There are things you simply cannot say within our society due the fact that they are deemed subversive or improper. This arbitrary ability to ascribe these labels to speech and thereby limit its reach and punish those who speak it is the very abuse of power that is characterized as "censorship".

A government is one institution that concentrates power that can be a censor, but in modern times there are alternative organizational structures that are both powerful and global that can perform the act of "censorship".

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#739

Post by yongjik »

oceanplexian wrote: post #537

IMHO there are things that are much more scary than some trespassing into government buildings or a riot. The possibility that we might slide backwards from traditionally liberal ideas spawned from the enlightenment is utterly terrifying. And we are rapidly heading in that direction.

> IMHO there are things that are much more scary than some trespassing into government buildings or a riot.

Yeah, like, some people trespassing into government buildings in the middle of officially declaring the next president, with an intention to disrupt the procedure, at the urge of the current outgoing president. Now that is some scary shit.

Re: Permanent suspension of @realDonaldTrump

#740

Post by busterarm »

danijelb wrote: post #640
bsimpson wrote: post #338

Beyond things that are broadly considered reprehensible (e.g. videos of rape), I'm not convinced that moderation/deplatforming is healthy for society. I definitely get the "my company - my rules" POV. The First Amendment doesn't apply to private spaces. Then again, I'm not convinced that moderators ought to have the power to control what sorts of ideas are interrogated publicly (e.g. in the company of strangers). It'…

I think that we should look at phone numbers for the solution. I can call my friend on another phone network with no problem. My friend can transfer his number to a third company and I can still reach him on the same phone number. So the solution would need to be a standardized protocol and a guarantee that you can freely switch your whole account to a different provider. Imagine if you're on Twitter and you can foll…

This is only possible because phone service is considered a utility and a number is like an address. These same rules prevent the phone company from doing things like declining your business and censoring your calls.

The fact that these social media companies are not utilities is the entire reason that they need Section 230 protection.

It sounds to me like the argument that you're making is that access to the internet _and_ identity on the internet are utilities that Americans cannot legally be deprived of. But that would make it so that Twitter could not ban people in the first place.

Post reply on HN