A very vocal subset of Elon's followers went from "free speech absolutists" to organized mass reporting their enemies in a matter of days. That has to be some kind of record.
> A very vocal subset of Elon's followers went from "free speech absolutists" to organized mass reporting their enemies in a matter of days. That has to be some kind of record.
Keep in mind "Elon's fans" is not one guy. It's different groups of people with different agenda. Many cheered for free speech when Elon proclaimed it so. Many of those were right-wing due to the perception (and reality) that Twitter's moderators are predominantly left-leaning, and Twitter has left-leaning culture.
Those in a hurry building hitlists are not the moderates cheering for Elon. They're opportunities on far right that are taking advantage of Elon, as he's easy to manipulate right now. He wants to be liked and he wants to "score a win" for Twitter. He falsely believes he's scoring wins for Twitter by appeasing the worst of the worst on right.
He selectively edits his videos to make it look like one side starts the fighting, and only shows misbehavior by the anti-fascists, never the other side. He's a propagandist cosplaying as a journalist.
I personally (second hand, from someone who worked in a prison) know of a man who was imprisoned because he had sex with his 17 year old GF when he was 19.
I've heard about teenagers being prosecuted for taking nude photos of themselves [1] or to share with other teenage friends [2].
If your worst charge against Ian Miles Cheong is that he correctly pointed out draconian enforcement of these laws, then you're on the wrong side of this. The US imprisons too many people in general and this is no exception.
He's also correct that the age of consent in almost all of Europe is 16 or under. The only exceptions I see are Turkey and Vatican City.[3] The same is true in Canada and most of North America. It's even true in 32 US states. I don't see why that Tweet was included in the screenshot, as if we should be offended by the truth.
The other Tweets are offensive, but sound like jokes. Without context it's impossible to tell. MeidasTouch is clearly trying to attack Ian Miles Cheong so there's no reason to assume good faith (like not misrepresenting jokes as serious).
It is bizarre when a law designed to protect you becomes so it extreme, it actually harms you. But it's true.
Another example is the insane ways in which "zero-COVID" policies are enforced in China, resulting in probably more deaths than if they were a lot more lenient (at this point).
Please explain how journalist Ben Collins, who they've been mass-targeting, is part of Antifa. There's a huge list of people that have been mass-reported who have nothing to do with Antifa. Anyone who crosses alt-right propagandist Andy Ngo has been subject to mass-reporting.
And yet, Ben Collins is not banned. It's almost as if a bunch of trolls can mass report people, and the company will handle the reports according to policy.
My point wasn't that twitter was acquiescing to every mass-report attempt. My point is that the "free speech absolutist" line was always BS. They'll turn a dime to suppress any speech they don't like as soon as they get the chance.
Yes, agreed. Right wing internet trolls are full of shit. Your mistake lies in thinking that these are the only people who support Musk.
You're focusing on the absolute worst of the worst, ignoring the millions of people who genuinely support free speech. We're very happy with what has taken place at Twitter.
Read my comment again. I specifically said "a very vocal subset".
As someone who genuinely supports free speech, you should have a real problem with the troll army. Instead you immediately leapt to "well they weren't successful this time, so all is well". Harassment doesn't always have to result in an outright ban to still have a chilling effect.
Keep in mind "Elon's fans" is not one guy. It's different groups of people with different agenda. Many cheered for free speech when Elon proclaimed it so. Many of those were right-wing due to the perception (and reality) that Twitter's moderators are predominantly left-leaning, and Twitter has left-leaning culture.
Those in a hurry building hitlists are not the moderates cheering for Elon. They're opportunities on far right that are taking advantage of Elon, as he's easy to manipulate right now. He wants to be liked and he wants to "score a win" for Twitter. He falsely believes he's scoring wins for Twitter by appeasing the worst of the worst on right.
Sad to watch.