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by wsatb 1726 days ago
What type of power do they really have? If you don't like their policies, don't use their services, it's that simple. The only power is in their user base. YouTube is not some necessary utility, neither is Facebook, Twitter, etc. None of these services are worth anything without users.

Social networks are unprecedented in our world. Never have you been able to spread misinformation and propaganda as quickly. I don't know what the right answer is, but it certainly shouldn't be to sit back and do nothing because "censorship". This misinformation campaign is actively killing people.
1 comments
enchiridion 1726 days ago
The right answer might be to sit back and do nothing. That seems just as likely to be correct as any intervention.

Eroding trust by overtly controlling information sets the scene for propaganda to take deeper root.

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wsatb 1726 days ago
> Eroding trust by overtly controlling information sets the scene for propaganda to take deeper root.

Your choice is to either put the propaganda in front of more eyes or have the current believers doubling down, and you choose the few? The problem is the general population does not critically think enough for the sit back and do nothing approach to work in the real world.

Also, let's be clear: the eroded trust is with a private company that owns a community-driven platform. I know I'm getting downvoted, but seriously, move on if you don't trust them, their entire business is made from you using their service.

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enchiridion 1726 days ago
>* The problem is the general population does not critically think enough for the sit back and do nothing approach to work in the real world.*

This shows we have fundamentally different views of the world, so I don’t think there much more to this conversation.

I would just say, be careful what esteem you hold other people in, because on more than a few issues your are almost certainly “the general population” to someone else with the power to censor.

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humanrebar 1726 days ago
Post offices, libraries, and telephone calls all transmit misinformation every day. Shoot, misinformation gets spread across tables at Dunkin Donuts as people talk about life.

And that's not even getting more political and pointing out all the liars and fools in charge of newspapers and even governments. I'm not saying they're all bad. I'm saying we're not considering banning politicians and newspapers for being too incorrect. Partly because the practice of choosing and empowering censors is even worse.

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