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WordPress Bans Fascist Website Linked To Charlottesville Killer (fastcompany.com)
tedlistens writes: WordPress has said that it does not censor websites like that of self-proclaimed fascist group Vanguard America. But last night, the group's site was taken offline for violating the company's terms of service. The about-face was likely prompted by Vanguard's participation in last weekend's Unite the Right rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia, during which James Alex Fields drove his car into a crowd, killing one person and injuring 19. Fields has claimed allegiance to Vanguard America; the group denies that Fields was a member. For WordPress to drop a site, even a fascist site, is a very big deal; the same is true of GoDaddy's and Google's decision to drop their registration of neo-Nazi site the Daily Stormer (another site that GoDaddy previously said would be permitted on free speech grounds). WordPress hasn't explained the shift in its approach to the website: the company's user agreement and terms of service have not changed since Charlottesville. That policy, like that of other tech platforms, has long stood by strict neutrality and freedom of expression. That may now be changing.
I call BS. There are plenty of platforms which like to spout that platitude, but have special rules when it comes to naked people. Other platforms disallow "adult content" altogether. Yet point out that a platform is supporting white supremacists, and the "free speech" card gets played.
Nudity is treated as more offensive than racism. Think about how messed up that is. We're only seeing this reaction from GoDaddy / WordPress now because there were full-on Nazis in Charlottesville.
It's just PR. It's not like corporations are people.
Pretty sure that there are going to be a lot of people thinking that they might be able to use terms of service to try and suppress sites with dissenting opinions to their own right now, from right across the political spectrum. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I suspect that GoDaddy, Google, WordPress, and the rest are about to find out it's a very steep and slippery one as well. First they came for the Alt-Right...
On the otherhand, GoDaddy, Google, WordPress, et al are private companies and as such are free to set their own ground rules in the same way that malls, sports stadiums, and other private venues can - within reason - set their own specific rules while on their private property. A right to freedom of speech means that people have a right to say what they want, but is most certainly does not obligate others to provide them with a soap box to stand-on or force them to listen to what they want to say. As long as they are prepared to live *and* die by that sword, then that's entirely up to them - there are always going to be plenty of alternative vendors that are not quite so choosy.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
What? Are you high?
Fascism is an economic model and has nothing to do with Donald Trump or Nazis.
Really? Really???
"Fascism is a form of radical authoritarian nationalism, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and control of industry and commerce, that came to prominence in early 20th-century Europe."
"National Socialism (German: Nationalsozialismus), more commonly known as Nazism, is the ideology and set of practices associated with the 20th-century German Nazi Party, Nazi Germany, and other far-right groups. Sometimes characterised as a form of fascism that incorporates scientific racism and antisemitism, Nazism's development was influenced by German nationalism (especially Pan-Germanism), the Völkisch movement and the anti-communist Freikorps paramilitary groups that emerged during the Weimar Republic after Germany's defeat in First World War."
I'm sorry, but you absolutely do not get to paint this a color that pleases you.
Fascism does indeed have a few economic ideas in it, but that's only a very small part of what fascism actually is. Saying Fascism is nothing more than an economic policy is like saying a five course dinner is about the glass of water they serve alongside it.
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Looks pretty peaceful to me. Nobody ran him over with a car. In fact, he was completely unharmed. Isn't this the kind of protest you spend hours on here defending?
Same as muslims calling for the execution of atheists and gays? Shut them down too?
How about BLM saying there are "too many white people"?
A business that is open to the general public must serve the general public. A bakery must sell to all customers and WordPress must sell to all customers.
If you're scared of your govt then you need to further restrict its powers
Vote 3rd Party in 2016 and beyond
Mmm, immigrants and globalism are the root of all the world's problems
I can't say I saw GP say that they were.
Your sarcastic statement, however, is as patently false as the statement: Immigrants and globalism don't cause any problems.
Like most things, the truth is somewhere in between, and trying to pretend otherwise just makes people look like ignorant fools.
The woman died because a neo-Nazi fuckwit ran her over. There is no other reason no matter how much you try and whitewash it