Apple Removes Infowars from Podcast Directory

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 3:01 PM UTC

neurobashing wrote: post #47

iamdave wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an Austinite (well now Iowan) who grew up with plenty of Alex Jones on the airwaves, it's stuff like this I'll actually-in a morbid kind of way-really miss. I suppose you have to be exposed to it long enough to grow numb to it but Alex Jones became a source of entertainment as I grew older just to see what wackiness he'd come up with next. Gay frogs still manages to put a grin on my face even on my most stressful…

I agree; I "got into" Alex Jones because it was genuinely funny to see this narrative of a reality that exists only in video games and conspiracy fiction. It was so nakedly transparent as a kind of LARP and entertainment to front a largely boring reactionary conservatism (edit: and sell powders). That all changed when either he "lost the plot" and began to believe it all, or the constant need to stay ahead of the new…

Post by wu-ikkyu » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

rounce wrote: post #107

qrbLPHiKpiux wrote: post #95

I may disagree with what you say but I'll defend with you the right to say it. Apple's wrong here.

Only problem with that is when the other uses the rights you have afforded them to either infringe or incite infringement upon your freedoms.

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

resters wrote: post #113

Anyone of average intelligence who spends 30-60 seconds listening to Alex Jones will quickly realize that Jones suffers from some kind of mental illness or personality disorder, and that there is nothing of interest or value to learn from his rants. Those who ignore the obvious signs and still choose to listen to it do so for their own, identity-driven or emotional reasons. This is the same process that causes humans…

Post by KozmoNau7 » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

staunch wrote: post #78

vanderZwan wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eh, no. The Streisand effect applies to getting attention to something that wouldn't have otherwise, and gaining momentum because of it. This is about providing a platform to someone who willfully spreads lies. There has been research into the effects of Reddit clamping down on hate speech a few years ago. Guess what: not giving assholes a platform actually works . It's still a cesspool but less so than it used to be…

> Guess what: not giving assholes a platform actually works. In other words, these platforms are powerful enough to silence people. Today, it's people you agree with silencing. Tomorrow, it may be people you disagree with silencing. It's not a good thing that massively powerful private companies are deciding what speech should be allowed and what should not. The law doesn't require it, but as users, we should demand…

Post by unit91 » Mon, Aug 06, 2018, 3:03 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #77

unit91 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, by the private individual. The problem is many things that were major moments in world history didn't pass the ruling-class's "minimum legitimacy requirement" at the time. Top-of-my-head examples: the Magna Carta, the Protestant Reformation, Indian Independence, anybody else's independence, Snowden, etc.

The Magna Carta is literally an agreement among the ruling class. By "legitimacy" I don't mean that people agree with the conclusion being expressed, but that people agree it's at least an attempt at a structured argument based on actual facts. The 95 Theses were complaints against real injustices, not a set of fabricated smears. Colonial independences generally were discussable - and discussed - at the time and in a…