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YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

reuters.com

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Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#4

Post by systemvoltage »

ipython wrote: post #2

And yet these platforms are actively disseminating Chinese propaganda about the issue: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/22/technology/xi...

I have a hunch that a lot of division in the US atleast has some role or interference from Russia/China. No proof, but to me it makes sense and it is so easy to do, we've seen it happen in the past (Cambridge Analytica), and if I were an adversary of the United States, I would be trivial to sow discord amongst the populace. We're currently witnessing some fractures in the US military leadership as well.

I don't mean to sound conspiratory, but I guess I kinda do. We're going to have a hard time getting along with each other in the future. It is going to get worse. :-( I also fear closing down our open platforms, so it is a lose-lose situation.

Reminds me of the white doves and hawks analogy from Richard Dawnkins' Selfish Gene. Until there are too many hawks, the doves suffer. Btw, this has nothing to do with good/evil, just exploitation of social settings where trust is the default state. Too many hawks and the population starves so it reaches an equilibrium, but also oscillates over evolutionary time scales.

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#5

Post by tpmx »

jimbob45 wrote: post #3

I can understand the copyright stuff because Google can’t possibly afford the fight against the MPAA/RIAA. Why wade into politics though? What gain does Google obtain through political censorship?

Pretty sure they're still trying really hard to get GCP functional in mainland China, somehow. You know, like how Amazon/AWS made it: https://www.amazonaws.cn/en/

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#6

Post by LordOfWolves »

jimbob45 wrote: post #3

I can understand the copyright stuff because Google can’t possibly afford the fight against the MPAA/RIAA. Why wade into politics though? What gain does Google obtain through political censorship?

I’m going to take a guess that perhaps it has to do with Google’s ability to continue to commercially operate in China.

Perhaps X leadership from Google spoke with Y leadership from China and reached this compromise in order to avoid a potential all-out ban of Google’s services in China, similar to - though nowhere close to the same reasoning behind - the US’ ban of Huawei telecommunications equipment.

PLEASE NOTE that this is purely conjecture. I am not affiliated with Google or China, in any way, shape, or form. This should not be taken as fact.

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#7

Post by mc32 »

I'm sure YT is going to trot out some stock reason for not re-instating the videos.

But this is pathetic. When YT goes on a bandwagon for some cause or other, this doesn't happen, but it appears to happen when the politics don't align with either their own politics or may offend one of their markets or their sponsors.

So, I guess it's their platform and they can do what they want, but there is a danger that this will tilt one-way and leave no room for this kind of dissent. And that is a great loss.

I hope they grow a conscience but I rather doubt it.

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#8

Post by kemonocode »

Conspiracy nuts and other unsavory members from fringe communities do make for odd bedfellows when one is being actively censored, thus why I am loathe to promote Bitchute et al. Best second alternative would be their own Peertube instance, but that of course requires them to put up their own infrastructure.

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#9

Post by Enginerrrd »

systemvoltage wrote: post #4
ipython wrote: post #2

And yet these platforms are actively disseminating Chinese propaganda about the issue: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/06/22/technology/xi...

I have a hunch that a lot of division in the US atleast has some role or interference from Russia/China. No proof, but to me it makes sense and it is so easy to do, we've seen it happen in the past (Cambridge Analytica), and if I were an adversary of the United States, I would be trivial to sow discord amongst the populace. We're currently witnessing some fractures in the US military leadership as well. I don't mean…

Can you elaborate on the fractures in militrlary leadership you mentioned? Or point me to somewhere I can learn more?

Re: YouTube takes down Xinjiang videos, forcing rights group to seek alternative

#10

Post by LegitShady »

jimbob45 wrote: post #3

I can understand the copyright stuff because Google can’t possibly afford the fight against the MPAA/RIAA. Why wade into politics though? What gain does Google obtain through political censorship?

if the pandemic and 180 turnaround on the ability to speak about covid not coming from natural occurrence didn't wake you up to the idea that these platforms think they are the arbiter of truth, nothing will.
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