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TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

theguardian.com

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Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#31

Post by flashback2199 »

boredpeter wrote: post #14
peyton wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you believe Osama bin Laden has the right to kill civilians, as he claims in his letter?

I believe that in a free democratic society people should be allowed to read a letter written by an Islamic fundamentalist who orchestrated the largest terrorist attack against the United States. I believe people should be allowed to form their own opinions about his motives beyond what US government propagandists want the US public to believe. Contrary to public belief, I don’t think they did it because they hate ou…

I think most would agree that writing shouldn't get banned like 1984 style, but tiktok picks and chooses random videos to shove in people's faces to watch, so it's not like users would have looked up this letter and were prevented from reading it, it sounds like they're trying to prevent videos about it from being shoved in people's faces who weren't looking for it, it's a bit different don't you think?

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#33

Post by scarmig »

Terr_ wrote: post #28
scarmig wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that China is hoping for some Islamist radical campaign against the USA is misplaced. China fundamentally wants order within its borders (defined as China defines them), and terrorism against any major state actor doesn't align with its goals. Its vision of a new world order is a collection of states dividing the world into spheres of influence, without individualistic activism, violent or otherwise, disrupt…

> China fundamentally wants order within its borders Aside, I have a pet theory involving how the game Battlefield 4 (2013) was banned in China. The plot does not depict China as some inherently Anti-Freedom Giant Evil Empire, but I think that--in the eyes of Chinese censors--it did something even worse: It suggested that there were cracks in the empire, that it was even possible for a rogue Chinese admiral to (in th…

I didn't follow that at all, but it seems plausible to me. "China is an evil empire hellbent on world domination" can reasonably be written off as shallow propaganda by a foreign adversary; "China is a fragile coalition of different groups that could easily shatter under stress" is far more dangerous to the CCP's ideology of a unified state, people, and most importantly party to lead them. The former seems like nonsense to anyone who has lived in China, while the latter resonates. The latter also has the shadow of history cast over it: the greatest threats to China have usually been internal division and discord, not external threats.

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#34

Post by krapp »

abracadaniel wrote: post #25
boredpeter wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My criticism of there being a few corporate gatekeepers of communication that are bullied by the government to censor content it doesn’t like is valid. You’re free to believe whatever neocon libertarian nonsense you wish.

And what if the corporate gatekeepers censor themselves due to market forces instead? Like advertisers threatening to pull funding because they don’t think it’s a good look for them.

Outside of coercion from government, self-censorship is just an expression of personal liberty and freedom of association, isn't it?

You can't believe in free speech and also believe platforms should be forced to publish speech they don't want, or advertisers to associate themselves with it.

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#35

Post by mistermann »

alphanullmeric wrote: post #3
boredpeter wrote: post #2

Noam Chomsky argues the United States is a leading terrorist state. Does that mean TikTok is going to take down anything related to US foreign policy? Are regular people not allowed to read or share content created by anyone the US government doesn’t like? Are people not allowed to form their own opinions? What a joke. The “free” democratic west where communication is limited by a handful of large corporate interests…

TikTok is a private company and your use of their service is not a right.

Similarly, the airspeed of a European swallow is roughly 20.1 miles per hour.

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#36

Post by grunka_lunka »

faeriechangling wrote: post #29
aegypti wrote: post #13

Usually advertising partners are pretty chill about their $320,000 branded hashtag campaigns promoting Al Qaeda content, concerning to see this.

Perhaps advertisers controlling all the information most people see is a bad thing? That document is one of the most important things written during the Global War on Terror and it’s a primary source. It gives insight into his mindset, what made him angry, why he did this. Yet the document didn’t have a significant impact on the course of events, it has minimal propaganda value. It’s a very important document to read…

[flagged]

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#37

Post by mistermann »

berserk1010 wrote: post #20
boredpeter wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Yes, like the peace they've brought to Middle Eastern countries like Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. Do you enjoy living in the free part of world that you can access hacker news, protected by US? you do realize that by fighting communism and dictatorships, sometimes grey areas appear, and lives are lost. Only naive people sees world as black and white. Again, if you don't like it, move to one of those dictatorshi…

I prefer an alternate approach: the enemy of my enemy (deceitful, violent Western culture) is my friend.

I believe it is more optimal for Western countries (and their citizens' lifestyles) to be taken down several pegs, and I do not mind so much if it is a net loss for everyone (as opposed to a rebalancing).

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#38

Post by mistermann »

lp0_on_fire wrote: post #5
boredpeter wrote: post #2

Noam Chomsky argues the United States is a leading terrorist state. Does that mean TikTok is going to take down anything related to US foreign policy? Are regular people not allowed to read or share content created by anyone the US government doesn’t like? Are people not allowed to form their own opinions? What a joke. The “free” democratic west where communication is limited by a handful of large corporate interests…

Chomsky argues many things but the only things you should take from him without a whole tablespoon of salt has to do with linguistics. Certainly not geopolitics.

ITT: humans who agree with their own opinions. Wow, how rare!

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#39

Post by grunka_lunka »

boredpeter wrote: post #19
alphanullmeric wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh this is hilarious. Not only do you confirm that you wouldn't support them doing what they choose to with their service in the absence of government intervention, you would actively support the same government intervention you pretended to be against if it meant you could force them to do something you benefit from. If you wanted to prove that consistency wasn't exclusive to me you've done a pretty poor job. Combin…

Wow the world has nuances. Who would’ve thought?

Expecting people on this site to thing is a little much, tbf.

Re: TikTok 'aggressively' taking down videos about Bin Laden 'Letter to America'

#40

Post by mensetmanusman »

shove wrote: post #18
alphanullmeric wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The US government should stay out of other countries business’. They should even stay out of NATO. But again, I’m sure you don’t have that level of consistency.

I’m an anarchist. The US government shouldn’t exist in the first place.

if not them, then you! or roving gun gangs :)
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