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Social Media Censorship Is Scary
Townhall.com ^ | August 1, 2020 | Christina Herrin

Posted on 08/01/2020 10:49:08 AM PDT by Kaslin

One of the many great things about being an American is that we have the right to freedom of speech. I may not agree with what my neighbor has to say, but I will fight to the death for his or her ability to say it. This concept was a founding principle that is now in jeopardy because of the monopoly power wielded by social media giants.

An example of this disturbing trend occurred this week when a video from several frontline doctors who questioned the status quo position on COVID-19 treatments and protocols was summarily scrubbed from most top internet and social media sites.

After going “viral,” the video was immediately taken down by Twitter, YouTube, and several other prominent platforms. Unfortunately, many Americans missed the opportunity to watch the video before it was removed.

The reason for removal stems from the concern that the content contained in the video was misinformation about hydroxychloroquine (an extremely politicized drug used to treat COVID-19) and other information about the virus.

It would have been great to have been able to discuss the content of the video within this opinion editorial, but unfortunately, the video was censored by Big Tech so rapidly that even I have not been able to watch the entire video.

With that being said, this type of “cancel culture” creates an environment where people are mostly exposed only to their small polarized echo chambers. They are less likely to encounter alternative views and information, which exacerbates division.

Coronavirus, like many issues in America, has been politicized to a point where medical professionals are shut out of the discussion if they don’t agree with the status quo. Isn’t the media supposed to present all angles and give credence to experts who have alternative opinions?

The idea that simply disagreeing with the masses or dissenting from government mantras results in such backlash is disturbing in the least.

Perhaps John Stuart Mill said it best, “The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”

The main issue with censoring information and alternative opinions is that it reduces the ability of one to critically think and analyze facts. The information in the video could have been a complete hogwash. Or of a riveting new discovery, or a mixture of both. Unfortunately, millions of Americans will likely never know what the doctors said in the video.

In America, we treasure the idea of a robust public discourse. In many ways, Americans engaging in debate is how we have made major progress. Questioning the status quo can lead to very good outcomes and should be welcomed, not banned. Imagine if abolitionists or women’s rights advocates were banned from stating their opinion because those in charge simply disagreed with their positions.

The behavior by social media companies and other tech giants to quell certain opinions and information does no good, except to keep those in power in the driver’s seat.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: firstamendment; freedomofspeech
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1 posted on 08/01/2020 10:49:08 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin

100% Controlled = 100% Fake


2 posted on 08/01/2020 10:58:27 AM PDT by butlerweave
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To: Kaslin

What if....let’s say 75% of facebookers closed out their accounts and dropped them permanantly...


3 posted on 08/01/2020 11:00:57 AM PDT by exnavy (american by birth and choice, I love this country!)
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To: Kaslin

I’m old enough to remember Letters to the Editor. They were always subject to editing for length and to remove anything the editor thought wads inappropriate or libelous. That’s because the newspaper was a publisher and could be held legally responsible for what it published.

The phone company could not be sued if someone made a slanderous statement over it’s lines because it was not a publisher, but a neutral platform or common carrier.

As long as the exercise editorial judgement, we must stop treating social media companies like neutral platforms and hold them responsible for the content they publish.


4 posted on 08/01/2020 11:01:31 AM PDT by bigbob (Trust Trump. Trust the Plan)
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To: Kaslin
What if we had a repository for content that twitter censored ? As twitter suspends a user another user tweets the same thing and gets suspended. Then another user tweets and so on. It would operate like a chain letter. After enough users were suspended maybe people would listen!
5 posted on 08/01/2020 11:21:15 AM PDT by GOWM (grumpy old white man)
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To: Kaslin

Lib-Whackjobs inspired Political Correctness and killed Freedom Of Speech. RIP.

Just say something controversial. You get fired, your family leaves you, your friends and social media accounts disappear and your house is torched and your car is destroyed.

All I said was “Nice day, eh?” It was a little cloudy that day. Sigh.

;-)


6 posted on 08/01/2020 11:21:58 AM PDT by Tunehead54 (Nothing funny here ;-)
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To: bigbob
They are involved in "election interference!"

Crimes have been committed.

7 posted on 08/01/2020 11:23:28 AM PDT by TruthWillWin
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They’re opt-in web services. There are alternatives.

Telecom news is the real threat

CNN is ATT
NBC, MSNBC are Comcast

Federally licensed telecom providers


8 posted on 08/01/2020 11:29:37 AM PDT by Gene Eric (On Don't be a statist!)
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To: Kaslin

All or the social media giants need to be broken up they are trying hard to control the majority of public political information so it fits their social agenda and political point of view.

These people are Arrogant, Un-American, and intentionally manipulating the social media to be anti conservative by controlling or eliminating conservative input.

They need to be stopped ASAP/broken up, or totally and instantly shut down.


9 posted on 08/01/2020 12:11:14 PM PDT by oldenuff35
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To: Kaslin
Call these brain-dead lemmings what they are.... Social Media Marxist Bully's"
10 posted on 08/01/2020 12:23:45 PM PDT by yoe (Want to HELP the Slave Trade and Drug Cartels in USA? Vote for a democrat........)
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To: Kaslin

Twitter is playing doctor when they have not even hired a resident real and true health expert to make these judgements and decisions yet... The job is still available in fact...

https://careers.twitter.com/en/work-for-twitter/202007/data-science-manager-health1.html


11 posted on 08/01/2020 12:31:46 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Kaslin

And here is another one still not filled as a “health narrative” expert...

https://careers.twitter.com/en/work-for-twitter/202007/staff-data-scientist-consumer-product-health-team2.html


12 posted on 08/01/2020 12:39:04 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Kaslin

And another for machine learning algorithms concerning health issues...

https://careers.twitter.com/en/work-for-twitter/202005/software-engineer-systems-health-machine-learning-infrastructure0.html

They are acting without any qualified professional scientific judgement or scrutiny as it is right now. Pure politics based on a narrative and propaganda. “Their” experts are not even in place yet.


13 posted on 08/01/2020 12:45:15 PM PDT by Openurmind (The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world it leaves to its children. ~ D. Bonhoeffer)
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To: Kaslin

I have all 3 videos safely downloaded and playable from my hard drive, backup and multiple other offline devices.


14 posted on 08/01/2020 1:02:50 PM PDT by conservativeimage (When you realize world leaders are continuing Charles Mansons HELTER SKELTER)
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To: butlerweave; All

There’s too much use of personality hate Trump preferences as the excuse for quote, impeachment, unquote. It’s a distraction from the real reason.

What should be looked into and brought to public attention is the connection to the corruption used by the swamp creatures Trump would put a screeching halt to. And offered as the real reason why they are going after Trump.

In political campaigns while the use of Social Electronic Formats are useful in presenting political positions. Relying solely on using those venues is a mistake because of their SEF content limitations and media bias .

Consideration of the use of reprinted material including handouts and flyers such as of articles in FR and the planning of area saturation distribution known as “blitzing” in the targeted area is essential of one wants to win.

DO IT LIKE THIS
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An all sides news collecting site by volunteers
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Burisma Paid Joe Biden $900,000 for Lobbying – Ukrainian MP
Ukraine News Agency ^ |KYIV. Oct 9 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden received $900,000 for lobbying activities from Burisma Group, Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada member Andriy Derkach said citing investigation materials the amount of $900,000 were transferred to the U.S.-based company Rosemont Seneca Partners, open sources, in particular, the New York Times, is affiliated with Biden. payment for consultative services,”;http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3785536/posts

Obama gave Pearson Publishing $350 million to create Commoncore text and Pearson gave Obama a $65 million dollar book deal in return. Investment Watch ^ | 12/8/19 |The Obamas’ $60m book deal has broken all records. From James Patterson to JK Rowling and Pope John Paul II, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3805839/posts

Chelsea Clinton is worth big bucks — Here’s how she managed to make all that money Fox News ^ | 1/12/2020 | Tammy Bruce Posted on 1/12/2020, 3:33:01 PM New York Post reported back in 2015 an estimated net worth of $15 million Barron’s, revealed that Chelsea Clinton has now reaped $9 million in a corporate board position. In 2011, her mother was still secretary of state, she was appointed to IAC/, an Internet investment company. receives an annual $50,000 retainer and $250,000 worth of IAC stock , according to Barron’s .Politico reported she is rewarded with $600,000 a year doing occasional fluffy feature stories.. Vanity Fair found, after she parted ways with NBC News in 2014, she ended up making $26,724 per minute .http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3807636/posts

The thing that triggered these riots was the MSM reporting of the Floyd demise and spiking the facts behind his condition at the time. Because of that getting those facts out are desperately needed

Why not print this up and pass around in your precinct

Get News about corruption spiked by MSM
Presented and sourced in Free Republic. com/
An all sides news collecting site by volunteers
with no ads or fees which uses donations
below just a sample Punch up link for
http://www.freerepublic.com/

The democrat controlled media racist killing reporting was a deliberate miss portraying of the six foot seven inch 200 plus pound Floyd as an innocent black who was being forceably restrained because he was black not because he was resisting arrest.When He was legitimately arrested for passing a counterfeit $20 dollar bill he was resisting arrest and was a threat if not secured. But the media was not mentioning his size or reporting that Floyd was removed from a squad car because he was acting up under the influence of drugs and also later was discovered to have COVID 19. Which suggests his physical condition may have led to his death which the media turned into a murder change and a charge of serious abuse by police because of police efforts that were tried to get him who under control. Check out
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3853159/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3855598/posts Latest post
further confirmation here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3865226/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3850910/posts Floyd on drugs
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3851693/posts (confirm had covid19)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3852373/posts (2 cops were trainees)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3852275/posts#16 neck hold use world wide
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3863889/posts Floyd complained 20 times
This posting has comments that reveals that both the arresting officer and Floyd knew each other and had worked together in bar security
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3851100/posts
If Obama had urged blacks to believe in the justice system and comply with the police would we be confronting his use of creating racial division now ?
The results of politically induced miss reporting incidents where blacks have resisted legitimate arrest began to be used earlier during and after the post Zimmmerman trial, then on to the Ferguson episode. Obama’s abuse of the “Bully Pulpit” which seemed to promote resistance to legitimate arrest led to black gangs attacking non blacks found innocently traversing black neighborhoods and to a score of murders or life changing injuries and later attacks of theft and vandalism on local businesses as well as attacks and murders of police officers during that period

Get this news out there which MSM won’t
LOOK WHO IS USING CHINESE SLAVES
Pro-Black Lives Matter Corporations
many are Using Chinese Slave Labor
in their factorys in that moslem province
using prractices which Trump condemed
7/9/2020, 2:25:08 PM · by yoe
Daniel Greenfield/Sultan of Knish ^reports on
| July 9, 2020 | Coca-Cola CEO
would like you to know that it cares
about oppression and believes America is evil.
In a rambling statement by CEO James Quincey*
check out these postings in http://www.freerepublic.com/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3868414/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3861557/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers.com/3863465/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2863322/posts
Most of this is happening in the area where Turkmen live
who are racially different


15 posted on 08/01/2020 1:07:26 PM PDT by mosesdapoet (mosesdapoet aka L.J.Keslin posting here for the record hoping somebody might read and pass around)
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To: Kaslin
Isn’t the media supposed to present all angles and give credence to experts who have alternative opinions?

Precious.

16 posted on 08/01/2020 1:16:23 PM PDT by workerbee (==)
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To: Kaslin

About time. The people who own these companies want to destroy the country that made them rich.
If some snowflake is offended by someone’s words then these companies can add a Hide button.
The democrats do not believe in free speech.

Trump White House Implements Executive Order on Online Censorship: Prevents Tech Giants from Altering Users’ Free Speech
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/07/huge-trump-white-house-implements-executive-order-online-censorship-prevents-tech-giants-altering-users-free-speech-demands-transparency-moderation-practices/


17 posted on 08/01/2020 1:21:28 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (homeless guy. He just has more money....He the master will plant more cotton for the democrat party)
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To: Kaslin

By “Social Media,” we mean a handful of leftist billionaires.


18 posted on 08/01/2020 2:05:21 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (Trump is solving the world's problems only to distract us from Russia.)
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To: Kaslin; All

Doctor gives link to new website after her site was scrubbed. Must see 5 min video with Tucker Carlson.

http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/simonegold/index?tab=articles


19 posted on 08/01/2020 3:03:35 PM PDT by heterosupremacist (Resistance to tyrants is obedience to God. Thomas Jefferson)
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To: Kaslin

newspeak


20 posted on 08/02/2020 2:47:35 AM PDT by trebb (Don't howl about illegal leeches, or Trump in general, while not donating to FR - it's hypocritical.)
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