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Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

wsj.com

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Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#261

Post by incrudible »

BurningFrog wrote: post #221

Tell me how this is wrong: The US is de facto converting to the Chinese model for the internet: All communication must be monitored, damaging content must be erased, and in serious cases, those responsible must be punished. If Parler gets a foreign data center, I expect a "Great Firewall of China" with American characteristics will soon follow.

You're putting the cart before the horse. No government body ordered any of this.

Trump approval remains at 40%, that's more than enough to build counter-platforms for literally everything.

I would like to welcome this as an opportunity to break the power of major tech corporations and move towards open platforms.

Unfortunately, the trend seems to be towards closed platforms that are simply echo chambers of a different persuasion.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#262

Post by Gabriel_Martin »

foogazi wrote: post #2

A failure of critical thinking skills at the national level or willful ignorance?

It's too bad that critical thinking and rationality aren't considered integral elements of preparing students to join the workforce.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#263

Post by dsnr »

bun_at_work wrote: post #234
arsome wrote: post #161

Are we really so stupid that we cannot see through this kind of thing and need to actively censor it to have civilized society continue to function? When do we just give up on democracy completely?

You'd have a valid point here if all people were 100% rational actors with perfect knowledge and agency. Unfortunately, they aren't.

> Unfortunately, they aren't.

Yet they are allowed to drive cars, fly planes, raise children, buy guns and vote but somehow cannot decide for themselves what’s good or bad, and need a higher moral entity like Facebook to babysit them. I find this a weak argument.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#264

Post by sibeliuss »

quacker wrote: post #198
arsome wrote: post #161

Are we really so stupid that we cannot see through this kind of thing and need to actively censor it to have civilized society continue to function? When do we just give up on democracy completely?

You are underestimating the power of misinformation.

After 60+ court cases challenging the election fail, and half the population still believe it's stolen, we're completely beyond the realm of misinformation (though there's plenty of that still going on). One side simply wants to seize power and is leveraging the tools at its disposal to do so.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#265

Post by bun_at_work »

hertzrat wrote: post #258
elsonrodriguez wrote: post #99

As long as Facebook is attempting to care about the spread of misinformation, can they nuke the various Flat Earth groups? I swear those people provide breeding stock for almost every other conspiracy theory on the planet.

As long as we’re talking about banning people for saying things against the consensus view, we can wipe the books of Galileos name

This is a false equivalency. Facebook, unlike the Catholic Church 500 years ago, doesn't rule anything.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#266

Post by bitlax »

MattGaiser wrote: post #209
arsome wrote: post #161

Are we really so stupid that we cannot see through this kind of thing and need to actively censor it to have civilized society continue to function? When do we just give up on democracy completely?

At this point "stop the steal" is essentially a rallying cry for militant action. Civilized society rapidly stops functioning if that action comes to fruition.

No more than "Black Lives Matter."

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#267

Post by bun_at_work »

ketamine__ wrote: post #191
dimgl wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely, this is sarcasm? If not, then I guess as a society we're starting to be okay with just outright silencing people.

Do these people have a right to broadcast their views on Facebook and be heard?

Does anyone have a right to mass audiences? No.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#268

Post by Pfhreak »

blisterpeanuts wrote: post #45
ptudan wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You neglect to mention the people that tried to raid the corridors where high level politicians were. One of those people was shot and killed instantly, point blank, after ignoring repeated warnings from officers. Not exactly peaceful

Yes, one of the "terrorists" (an unarmed woman) was shot to death by a cop. Yes she was trespassing but he used excessive force. I've watched the videos. Try again.

She was halfway through a smashed in window, charging secret service members in the room directly outside where Congress was sheltering in place. Your characterization is wildly inaccurate.

Behind her was a surging crowd who were chanting smash it down, and slamming objects into the doors in an attempt to violently break them down.

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#269

Post by BHSPitMonkey »

eznzt wrote: post #227
jowsie wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you checked the news the last few days? Plenty of people out there are stupid enough to fall for this and much worse.

Which is exactly the point. Why keep being a democracy when we don't trust the voters to do the right thing?

The posts in question are there to organize an armed assault next week, before the inauguration. The literal planning of an illegal act is where the "free exchange of ideas" argument falls flat.

Your rhetorical question reads to me no differently than "Why bother giving people freedom in the first place if we're just going to punish them whenever they murder someone? We might as well just drop the pretense and imprison everybody by default"

Re: Facebook Says It Is Removing All Content Mentioning 'Stop the Steal'

#270

Post by nip180 »

jrockway wrote: post #229
BurningFrog wrote: post #221

Tell me how this is wrong: The US is de facto converting to the Chinese model for the internet: All communication must be monitored, damaging content must be erased, and in serious cases, those responsible must be punished. If Parler gets a foreign data center, I expect a "Great Firewall of China" with American characteristics will soon follow.

I think there's quite a step from "don't use AWS to plot a violent overthrow of the United States Government" to all communication being monitored and a firewall blocking foreign sources. Why should Facebook and Amazon use their resources to help this cause?

I think it’s quite a step to say all comments with the phrase Stop the steal want to overthrow the government.

We, as a society, should be allowed to be very critical of our election process. Stifling discussions about the legitimacy of the election actually reduces my confidence in the election process. I’ve listen to their arguments and I didn’t believe them, but I feel good that people are allowed to do openly question election process and I trust the American people to make rational decisions about what constitutes a fair election.

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