[DoreenMichele]

Twitter is being used by both sides to fight over a narrative. Nothing new in that respect.

It's a narrative that could get one side kidnapped, tortured, imprisoned for years and potentially killed.

I've seen previous incidents where Facebook and other platforms were nightmare fuel for locals and the platform didn't even have moderators who spoke the local language for purposes of reviewing the issue.

These platforms are thrilled to get millions of new users in various countries then wash their hands of the consequences to those users and their real lives. I don't think criticism of this fact is unreasonable. Locals just want a fair shake similar to what Westerners get in such cases.

[SpicyLemonZest]

But isn't it more complicated than that? A Western journalist falsely accused of being an agent for a foreign power wouldn't get much help from Twitter either - I'm familiar with a couple who are routinely accused of being Russian agents.

I get why this guy wants more, and I can understand the perspective that Twitter has to take into account the context of local countries and which kinds of speech might be dangerous. But can Twitter really adopt an explicit corporate policy that Pakistan isn't allowed to have as much free speech as the rest of the world because it's too violent?

[Maursault]

> Pakistan isn't allowed to have as much free speech as the rest of the world because it's too violent?

Not all speech is free speech. In the US, there are limitations, such as harmful or offensive content, and this includes speech that is both false and dangerous.

This is not a free speech issue. The OP is being stalked. Fundamentally, stalking is a threat of injury or death, as well as unwanted surveillance by an individual or group, and stalking behavior includes precisely this type of harassment. The OP's life is in obvious danger. This is a criminal issue.

If the OP is in the US, I'd recommend researching how to request political asylum.

Unsolicited advice to all: stay off of any social media unless it includes anonymity. Protect your identity. In the US, only two things can happen to you by participating in non-anonymous social media:

#1) nothing

#2) you get fired

Pakistan has raised the stakes and turned #2 into "you get abducted and killed."

Fuck Twitter. What a shitty platform. If I wanted to effect political change in a third world country, I would found a secret society, secretly install a printing press somewhere, and run it 24/7. That is how you kill fascists.

[SpicyLemonZest]

I just don't understand what we're talking about here. The source article doesn't say that anyone has stalked him, surveilled him, or threatened him. His complaints are that someone said he's "inciting violence" when that's not an accurate characterization of his perspective, and that someone said he works for an organization he doesn't work for. In the US neither of these things are a big deal and could not be a criminal issue.

Again, I do understand that the stakes are higher in the kind of country where people are routinely lynched for blasphemy. But I don't think it's a lack of cultural sensitivity or some blindness to consequences that stops Twitter from applying different standards here! Most Pakistanis would not, I think, appreciate being told that because they live in the wrong country Twitter won't let them speak so freely.

[Maursault]

> The source article doesn't say that anyone has stalked him, surveilled him, or threatened him. His complaints are that someone said he's "inciting violence" when that's not an accurate characterization of his perspective, and that someone said he works for an organization he doesn't work for. In the US neither of these things are a big deal and could not be a criminal issue.

No. I'm the one who said he is being stalked.

> In Pakistan, activists and journalists are routinely picked up (abducted) and tortured by the country's police and secret services. Same happened this time, some of the top journalists and anchors were picked up - some without warrants with fake cases filed post-arrest. Some of these journalists remain under custody till date. These journalists, according to reports, have been stripped and tortured under custody.

> The current Minister for Planning and Development falsely accused me of inciting violence, probably in the hopes of building a false case and narrative against me, when I had only called for people to question their politicians. These people were showing their frustration because I was out of their reach and could not be abducted for the time being. What came from the Minister was maybe an exaggeration or a veiled threat, but what started happening after was more insidious. To start off their harassment campaign against me,

He is definitely being threatened and stalked. It's the abuse of the parody account to defame the OP. That would be all fine and good if not for the regular disappearing of Pakistani journalists and protesters. If anything like this happened in the US, let's say the KKK started disappearing journalists and protesters, once that kind of environment existed, any sort of online shenanigans spotlighting private individuals, slandering and defaming them, if it regularly happened to the disappeared before they disappeared, then it would be a very big deal, investigated, prosecuted, with felonies and significant jail time delivered, even without that particular victim being kidnapped or murdered.

[specialist]

Get out of the kitchen if you can't stand the heat.

If social medias don't want to sweat the small stuff -- accountability for being the disease vector for genocide, pogroms, and personal vendettas -- then they shouldn't operate in that capacity.

[dcow]

Yes I agree 100%. If Twitter is going to arbitrate then they better do so fairly and soundly across all peoples. My criticism is of the expectation that such fair arbitration can happen unilaterally in the first place especially in a politically charged environment. Twitter has not demonstrated an ability to be impartial and fair in the past. They are a US company partial to US politics. Specifically, they lean rather liberal in their moderation decisions. As you say, they want users, not justice (even though at certain times they have made small motions towards perceived “social” justice). They are simply not equip to replace the judicial systems of the world and expecting them to do so is a little bit crazy in my opinion. The reality is they have no legal authority anywhere.

I agree the author’s criticism is fair. My point was a reminder that the expectations here may not live up to reality and it might be best to seek other help. Even if Twitter removes this misinformation, the author will not be safe and will likely, if the story is to be believed, be detained and tortured the minute they step onto Pakistani soil, sadly. I think the reminder that “Twitter can’t make you safe” is a fair and practical one too, despite whether it should have to be that way or not.