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YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

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Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I were looking into traveling from the US to Europe this summer, if the borders had opened up earlier. At the time, Germany was not allowing cloth masks on public transport. N95, surgical masks, or stay home. So here we have a sitting US senator being censored for agreeing with the German health authorities. WTF?!?

If he meant that "cloth masks aren't good enough " he could have said that. But he's a senator. His statement was a dog whistle to his base. They're not looking for an argument that people should be wearing N95s, they want to discredit all masking. The word "prevent" is a red herring -- nothing is 100% -- the goal is to decrease infection, not prevent it.

> If he meant that "cloth masks aren't good enough" he could have said that.

He could have, but he didn't. You're not his editor.

> But he's a senator.

He's also a physician. He might know something about infectious diseases that you don't.

> His statement was a dog whistle to his base.

Maybe it was. So what?

> They're not looking for an argument that people should be wearing N95s, they want to discredit all masking.

It's his prerogative to take whatever position he wants to take. He's a physician and an elected member of the United States Senate. I for one want to hear his expertise, even if it disagrees with the conclusions you've already made.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#182
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lots of misinformation on YouTube is bad for people and isn't stopped. And I would hardly call Google, YouTube's owners, a "company with a conscience" since nearly their entire business is based on predatory surveillance advertising. In a democratic society, the elected leaders need to communicate their ideas, however wrongheaded. If they aren't allowed to communicate, how do they reach their electors and how do they…

YouTube is NOT the government. If Rand Paul was arrested for his speech, that would be a violation of his First Amendment rights and wrong. The right to speak does not compel a private platform to carry that speech. Certainly Fox News gives RP and his ilk plenty of opportunity to spread their harmful propaganda. So it's not like, even in a practical sense, his ability to express himself has been curtailed.

Lincoln was not even on the ballet In several states. That lead to a civil war.s

We are reaching/past the point where open speech is no longer allowed. That makes next steps scary.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#183
post #3

> YouTube indicated that examples of the offending content in the video included the line: “Most of the masks you get over the counter don’t work. They don’t prevent infection.” > It also included the quote: “Trying to shape human behavior isn’t the same as following the actual science which tells us that cloth masks don’t work.” Regardless of what you think about YouTube's misinformation policy, I don't think this i…

How much of this is about 'masks' and really about Rand Paul calling for mass civil disobedience against COVID restrictions?

Here's the full video:

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1424399282447298563

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#184
Youtube likes to push its own agenda about masks or whatever , yet it's still under protection as an online platform , article 230 and all? Why are they not legally liable while literally every other agenda-pushing medium is? Why havent the other mainstream media taken this to court yet?

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The phrases "doesn't work" and "doesn't prevent" have become staples of the COVID disinformation toolkit. Anything that is not exactly 100% effective transforms into "doesn't work" in the narrative. Educated experts will never say something is 100% effective, so this is always an easy way for detractors to "prove" that the experts agree XYZ doesn't work. EDIT: Other examples: Some people have gotten pregnant while on…

Rand knows this 100%, and I find it pretty fascinating from a creative perspective to watch him speak on these topics. He's a senator and an MD. He is well aware of how infection control works, but he also knows that his ultimate job as a politician is to make arguments that will resonate with his constituents. He knows exactly what landmines to throw into a sentence to make it mean one thing to an expert, but sound…

> he also knows that his ultimate job as a politician is to make arguments that will resonate with his constituents

Wider context check, his job as a politician is to serve his constituents by leading, even when it may be difficult. Pandering to the lazy and ignorant in a state of perpetual campaigning is an utter dereliction of duty.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#187
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I read one study that indicated an N95/KN95 mask was 10 times more effective than the regular (non) medical masks. I always thought it was unusual that the US government just didn’t mail KN95 masks to people, or widely distribute them at cost. And encourage their use. If something is 10 times less effective, it’s basically not even effective in comparison to what’s possible.

N95's for daily long-term use just isn't feasible. I've had a bunch of them from long before COVID19 for working with some auto detailing chemicals and I can't wear one for more than 10 minutes. Breathing becomes extremely difficult, maybe it would get better with time but it gets to a point where I constantly feel like I'm about to pass out.

There are new ones made with nanofiber instead of the typical ones made of meltblown fiber. The nanofiber ones are more breathable, check out AirQueens, rated kn95.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he meant that "cloth masks aren't good enough " he could have said that. But he's a senator. His statement was a dog whistle to his base. They're not looking for an argument that people should be wearing N95s, they want to discredit all masking. The word "prevent" is a red herring -- nothing is 100% -- the goal is to decrease infection, not prevent it.

The phrases "doesn't work" and "doesn't prevent" have become staples of the COVID disinformation toolkit. Anything that is not exactly 100% effective transforms into "doesn't work" in the narrative. Educated experts will never say something is 100% effective, so this is always an easy way for detractors to "prove" that the experts agree XYZ doesn't work. EDIT: Other examples: Some people have gotten pregnant while on…

I'm not sure this tack is sufficient to defend YouTube's policy. This is quite close to arguing that a sitting senator shouldn't have opinions on what government policy is meant to be achieving.

Rand Paul is (1) elected (2) holds a medical license. YouTube is suspending him because (1) he is disagreeing with government policy and (2) they don't like his medical opinion. I think it is fair to say you are defending (1) here?

He is far more qualified to decide what the public discourse is than you, I and YouTube's censorship team.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I were looking into traveling from the US to Europe this summer, if the borders had opened up earlier. At the time, Germany was not allowing cloth masks on public transport. N95, surgical masks, or stay home. So here we have a sitting US senator being censored for agreeing with the German health authorities. WTF?!?

If he meant that "cloth masks aren't good enough " he could have said that. But he's a senator. His statement was a dog whistle to his base. They're not looking for an argument that people should be wearing N95s, they want to discredit all masking. The word "prevent" is a red herring -- nothing is 100% -- the goal is to decrease infection, not prevent it.

This, he doesn't care about the science or saving lives. He cares about maintaining and growing his power and he thinks the way to do that is with these sorts of dog whistles to his base.

Re: YouTube suspends Rand Paul for seven days

#190

Youtube likes to push its own agenda about masks or whatever , yet it's still under protection as an online platform , article 230 and all? Why are they not legally liable while literally every other agenda-pushing medium is? Why havent the other mainstream media taken this to court yet?

> Why havent the other mainstream media taken this to court yet?

Standing, for starters. "My neighbor hasn't been busted by the cops for his huge marijuana operation" isn't actually something you can sue your neighbor over. They'd have to harm you directly, somehow. Similarly, "My competitor in this industry isn't being held to a standard I'm being held to" isn't something you can sue over.

Rand Paul might, might have standing to bring such a lawsuit. Maybe.

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