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Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

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Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#541

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a message, directly to law enforcement, that he thinks it’s okay for them to shoot protestors so long as there is looting. I can’t see how anyone would see that as anything other than a crime against humanity

I don't know why you're getting down voted. Trump's words are a quote of someone who believed that "... it’s okay for them to shoot protestors so long as there is looting." Trump is very much saying he believes looter should be shot.

I have taken down this same argument you made elsewhere on this topic and I ask that in addition to your not arguing about something that didn’t happen and how you hypothesize people you cannot name would react, that you make the argument just once and not paper all over a topic with exact copies of it.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#542
post #171

This is amazing news, and I hope Twitter adopts this policy for all rules violations. Much better than deleting tweet or banning accounts, this lets people decide what they want to see. (Except for obvious spammers etc. which should probably be banned.) Even better would be if there were user-configurable "lists", whereby you could decide upfront what you want / don't want to see (like many sites do right now with NS…

We can hope Twitter adopts and enforces policies equally across the board, but they won't and I don't think they can either.

As an example of how they won't do so, consider that there are people literally organizing violent riots and destruction of property on Twitter right now, and they have not been banned or had their tweets/accounts hidden. Ilhan Omar's daughter was caught doing so herself, amplifying rioting supported by Antifa and DSA (Democratic Socialists of America), as documented in https://thepostmillennial.com/ilhan-omars-daughter-shows-sup.... While hundreds of people are inciting violence and using Twitter to organize violence in Minneapolis, the company has done nothing to stop it, and yet they're willing to block Trump's tweet on the theoretical enforcement of laws against criminal rioting? Clearly this is a discriminatory bias in action.

As for how they can't do so: Twitter is a Silicon Valley company. It mostly employs young, far left liberals. Its internal culture is heavily influenced by where it is located and the people it employs. Their Hateful Conduct Policy (https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/hateful-condu...) is also subject to that cultural/political influence. For instance, this policy notes that "misgendering" is not allowed. But if you're on the other side of the transgender debate, and feel that pronouns should be based on biology-derived gender, and don't think trans women and biological women should be lumped into a group, then you might be banned. Put another way, Twitter has encoded political stances into their operating procedures, and there's no escaping that even if they expressed a wish to treat their customers equally across the board.

There are only two ways out. One option is that Twitter admits it is biased, that they do discriminate against certain viewpoints, and that they do exert editorial control over their platform. The other option is that they return to viewpoint neutrality, avoid censorship/blocking, and only do so to the minimal extent explicitly required by law.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#543
post #168

In fairness, Trump's tweets are not about actually doing anything, they are more about getting votes. So arguing the feasibility of suggestions outlined in a Trump tweet kind of misses the point.

No. This man holds the office of the POTUS. There are certain responsibilities that come with it. The officeholder cannot make deadly threats publicly and expect everyone to just shrug it off.

But does that responsibility extend to other members of Government, or just the President?

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#544
post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue is that the rules are being enforced selectively. Just this week Twitter fact checked Trump's opinion on mail voter fraud by linking to other experts' opinions. It seems more like a move to influence the election rather than enforcing the rules.

Let’s entertain the possibility that Twitter is doing this to influence the election. So what? There’s no law prohibiting these types of businesses from supporting a political candidate. They could plaster a huge “Vote For X” banner at the top of every person’s profile. Don’t like it? Don’t use it. It’s not like Twitter is tax-exempt which would prohibit it from endorsing candidates like Churches.

By the same argument, Google could exclude a political candidate from their search results entirely, or bolster a fabricated news story claiming the candidate was a child-molsting satanist to the top of their results. Would you also consider that acceptable?

These companies have become, for many, infrastructural. For these companies (who also sell advertising) to take these kinds of actions would essentially be them bypassing campaign finance rules to give MASSIVE contributions of free advertising to candidates. I think its fair to argue that that would be unacceptable interference.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#545

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://twitter.com/RaheemKassam/status/1266340243134963712 EDIT: Scroll down a bit, the original poster made their account private a few moments ago

"Violence" against property doesn't really compare to killing people, IMO. I don't really even think property damage should be included in the definition of "violence" and maybe Twitter agrees with me. She also didn't say what to burn down. Trump was very clear that looters are who he wanted shot. Burn it down is a common saying that can mean anything from literally burning stuff to just tearing down a system in orde…

> "Violence" against property doesn't really compare to killing people, IMO.

That's the kind of thing that results in the insidious left-wing bias of sites like Twitter. Moderators who don't believe that property damage is a blatant violation of peoples' rights, but do believe peoples' rights are violated by mere words alone, and moderating in accordance with such views.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#546
post #191

As President, or any public figure, you are responsible not only for the intention of your words, but also every feasible interpretation of your words, as well as the impacts of your words, regardless of intention. I say this not to imply that Trump didn't know that this statement could be taken in multiple ways, but to remind people that even if it can it doesn't matter. It's tragic this has happened, and also tragi…

Every feasible interpretation? No way. That’s not gonna work. No one would be able to say anything. At best people would talk like ex Fed chair Greenspan. Undoable.

Yes, every feasible interpretation. That doesn't mean you can't say anything without multiple interpretations, but it _does_ mean that, if you are called on another interpretation of your words, then you spoke unclearly. You need to clarify your meaning and apologize if it was flagrant.

Yes, that is a lot of overhead for communicating. That's what I believe we should expect of our elected leaders. Sadly, nearly half of voting Americans don't seem to agree with me.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#547
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Because literally this week Trump tweeted something and then followed it up with an executive order.

He also promised to throw Hillary in prison for the emails. Still waiting on that one.

I think a lot of people are still waiting, and hoping, on that one but it will never happen. Politicians at that level don't seem to go to jail much.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#548

In fairness, Trump's tweets are not about actually doing anything, they are more about getting votes. So arguing the feasibility of suggestions outlined in a Trump tweet kind of misses the point.

It was a message, directly to law enforcement, that he thinks it’s okay for them to shoot protestors so long as there is looting. I can’t see how anyone would see that as anything other than a crime against humanity

I think it’s a threat directed at private gun-owning citizens that would be willing to take the law into their own hands. I’m old enough to remember the L.A. riots, where the police essentially peace’d out and let the resulting storm “work” itself out. It was God-awful for everyone involved, from the looters to the business owners to the innocent bystanders watching idly by.

Trump is warning the looters that they are taking their lives in their own hands, not just against the police, but against other private citizens protecting their property.

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#549

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The DOJ needs to break them up for violating the public trust... Twitter, Facebook, et al are entertainment . There's not trust to violate.

Even if they were an informational service having the DOJ "break them up" would be way more illegal than anything they could directly publish.

You can have a monopoly and not abuse your power, or you can have your monopoly broken up. The Sherman Antitrust act still exists. Law still exists. There are already multiple anti-trust investigations underway by the states, and the DOJ.

There is bipartisan support to break them up. Ask Warren.

What is illegal about enforcing the law?

Re: Twitter hides Donald Trump tweet for “glorifying violence”

#550

It's long past time to regulate social media like a phone company, natural monopoly, or common carrier. The DOJ needs to break them up for violating the public trust, then limit their ability to refuse service to law abiding citizens moving into the future. Government has every right to force companies to be neutral platforms through regulation. It's time to revoke/enforce section 230, especially the "good faith" cla…

> regulate social media like a phone company, natural monopoly, or common carrier.

Twitter is not a public utility.

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