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by thaumasiotes 2296 days ago
> Does that make it misinformation? I think it's a terrible idea to start using that label any time someone's wording isn't clear enough for our liking.

When someone's hypothetical sloppy wording changes their statement from true to false, it's fair to call that "misinformation". Telling people false things is spreading misinformation. Spreading misinformation with a pure heart is still spreading misinformation. The state of your heart doesn't matter.
1 comments
notacoward 2296 days ago
"State of your heart" is itself a misleading phrase, implying good vs. bad or benevolent vs. malevolent when the operative distinction is intentional vs. unintentional. See how easy it is to misrepresent without meaning to? That distinction is well established in law, and most definitely does matter if people are calling for things to be censored.
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thaumasiotes 2296 days ago
> The distinction between intentional vs. unintentional is well established in law

Sure, this matters for things like negligence standards. Why would it matter here?

> and most definitely does matter if people are calling for things to be censored

Um... again, why? People usually call for censorship based on the content of the speech.

> This has nothing to do with the "state of one's heart" (nice strawman there)

I think you've confused our positions. I'm the one arguing that whether you're spreading misinformation has nothing to do with the state of your heart. You're the one arguing that it does. The whole argument you're making here is "even though this is misinformation, I would rather call it something else, because I sympathize with the people spreading it".

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notacoward 2296 days ago
That's a heinous mischaracterization of my position. "Misinformation" has a common connotation of intent and malice, not mere accident or disagreement. You know, like when people deliberately misrepresent others' arguments because they think (mistakenly BTW) that it strengthens their own.

Because of that connotation, people call for misinformation to be eliminated from public platforms (i.e. censored). I think that's a terrible idea because we've already seen how that works out, every time Trump yells "fake news" and everyone rushes to suppress whatever got him angry. We don't need more of that.

You obviously feel differently and that by itself is OK, but the tactics you're using exemplify the problem and utterly destroy your own point. Please do continue without me.

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