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Most Americans Think Facebook and Twitter Censor Their Political Views (bloomberg.com)
According to a new Pew Research Center study, 72 percent of those polled (from a sample of 4,594 adults) think it's likely companies such as Facebook and Twitter actively censor political views that they consider objectionable. The study finds that Americans don't trust those companies to be impartial when it comes to partisan politics. Bloomberg reports: Republicans, more than their Democratic counterparts, displayed concern over perceived political bias. Eighty-five percent of Republicans and those who labeled themselves conservative independents said it's likely that social media platforms censor political speech. And 64 percent of Republicans think technology companies support the views of liberals over conservatives. The majority of Democrats, meanwhile, think it's likely that social media platforms censor political viewpoints, coming in at 62 percent. But only about a quarter of Democrats worry that these companies support the views of conservatives over liberals.
As volatile as politics are now, I wouldn't trust anyone to be "objective" anymore. Shit, even my local donut shop is starting to get too heavy-handed with the politics on their Facebook page.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
I don't understand why it is that anyone trusts these companies at all when it comes to anything.
I hate the thought that we may look back fondly one day soon on an earlier era where most businesses welcomed all customers, regardless of their political beliefs. The way things are going, I wouldn't be surprised to see most Silicon Valley-based social media platforms outright banning all posts supporting Trump by the 2020 elections, combined with a backlash from the right that only ratchets up the anger on both sides.
It's just not healthy for us to take politics this personally. A similar thing happened in the U.S. in the 1850's, with Congressmen literally beating each other on the Senate floor. And it ultimately lead to a civil war.
This story, which suggests more right-wingers think companies are biased toward left-wing politics reminds me of a fun quote: "Reality has a liberal bias." I suspect, based on politics in the USA at the moment, Republicans are running out of excuses as to why the world doesn't agree with their views. Suspecting censorship and blaming "fake news" seems to be all they have remaining to keep their bubble intact.
It's kind of like watching religious people claim evolution is fake or that you can't test for the existence of God because He needs to be taken on faith. The amount of mental twisting and denial is amazing and horrifying to watch.
In my opinion, the issue became palpable in the 1990s with the beginning of the consumer internet age, the massive expansion of telecommunications powers, and the beginnings of the anti-public education campaign. The truth is that the vast majority of people in American have no clue how these businesses work or how their tech works. And they're OK with it because they like what their tech gives them AND they actually like complaining about it. Everyone wants an easy life of luxurious rebellion.
"Yes, I want to be able to say three words to my handheld device and for that device to tell me exactly how to get home... but I HATE that this corporation knows where I live! They have too much power!"
Thus, I can't be surprised when told that people love their Facebook and Twitter with one tongue and speak conspiracy with another. We keep teaching people be exactly like this.
Plenty is getting done at the federal level. Problem is, the left is extremely angry about it. Instead of trying to win votes, they're aggressively attacking anyone who thinks differently from them. See the Bernie-Bro assassination attempt on Scalisle, the attack on Rand Paul, following Sarah Sanders to the next restaurant after asking her to leave, Maxine Waters advocating stalking people, the harassment of the Florida attorney general.... the list goes on. The left, now more than ever, thinks that they're so much better than their opponents that any depraved act is justified to get back on top.
Fact is they're nuts and going insane with rage. While I derive some guilty pleasure from watching youtube videos of far-away left wing cranks going apoplectic; it's not so fun seeing someone I know and like (who has been a generous host to me at several parties) falling apart on facebook. Her world is collapsing because folks she doesn't agree with got elected, and they're starting to play by some of the rules established by the left under Obama.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
One of the reasons I quit facebook a few years ago was that I was getting too much political propaganda in my feeds through friends sharing every crack-pot theory. It was definitely not biased towards a liberal view point.
The fringes on both ends of the spectrum are virtually the same, basically militant in their approach. I'm more concerned with the mainstream conservatives willing to sell out their values simply to support the candidate with the R next to his name. Anyone thinking Trump is religious is a fool.
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
As an American it saddens me to truthfully say that most Americans today are dumbasses. ...
You might enjoy this from a few nights ago. The Daily Show interviews Trump supporters about Space Force
(Note: The above snippet on Twitter is an excerpt from a longer segment about the recent Trump South Carolina rally.)
Some excerpts from an article on the segment:
But when Kosta asked a series of Trump supporters what “Space Force” is, all he got were answers like “something we’ve been missing for a long time,” “a little bit of everything” and, in the words of one older gentleman, a “cloud computer.” That same man was worried that “terrorists” might threaten our “freedom” from space. “I think Space Force could help us prevent the next 9/11,” he said.
While NASA is “only going to tell us what they want us to know,” these Trump fans believe that the president will “tell us the truth about what’s out there.”
And then there was the guy who thought the formation of “Space ISIS” was a real possibility. “It doesn’t make a lot of sense and would be wasting a lot of dollars,” he said. “But at the same time, it’s going to be cool.”
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Part of the problem is politics has gone beyond policy, but to identity.
If you are the tough guy then you should be a republican.
If you are an intellectual then you are a democrat.
If your religious then you are a republican.
If your an atheist then you are a democrat.
It isn’t about policy anymore it is personal. It is about the other side trying to stop your way of life and your values.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Social media reinforces homogeneity. Part of it is the echo chamber effect, partly because it is so easy to find people based on your opinions and interests.
When you are 'forced' to interact with neighbours, colleagues etc. even with location and social strata providing some conformity, there's still a greater need to accomodate differences of opinion and even belief. At the same time, being accepted and knowing that you 'belong' even if you don't have exactly the same beliefs and opinions means that there's less pressure to conform.
Finding and knowing your role in a community is a powerful drive. Communication technology has taken our drive to belong and exaggerated it into something unhealthy.
Compromise is no longer as necessary. People are unpractised at it and it takes work to overcome our 'us and them' drive. Easier to simply find a place of like minded people and not deal with 'other'. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Trump only demanded that the existing laws on the treatment of illegal immigrants be enforced. And he inherited these laws from his predecessors. The illegal immigrants bring minor children with them because they work better than a passport. If you want to invade the US all you need to do is bring a child with you. Although over 1/3rd of the minor children being detained crossed the border by themselves. Obama was partial to making executive orders and that is not always a bad thing. Relying on executive orders for the country's immigration policy is not a good solution. The Legislative Branch is the guilty party in the immigration policy debate. The Democrats are crying about the detained children but have not offered a solution to the problem. They are content to use the detained children to attack the President. The Democrats and Republicans that make up the Legislative branch is ultimately responsible for almost every problem the country faces. Immigration, trade, military deployments, and the economy. And the braying public doesn't even understand that the Executive Branch does not have the power to effect the major issues of the day. The President is just the front man. A President cannot dictate laws or even influence the national budget. While every one is focused on the President related investigation the actual culprits are safely out of the spotlight. And the Democrats, Socialists, Communist, Republicans, and Independents are all guilty of forgetting that every action creates a reaction. The Democrat calling for people to harass anyone working for Trump better be ready for a Republican to push back. And for god's sake there is another Presidential election in 2 years and Trump will be gone. Relentlessly hounding everything he says or does just means the next Democrat to become President will face the same type of tactics.
And the post asking if you would you serve Hitler if he came into your business establishment is a trick question. Hitler would have just killed or imprisoned anyone trying to dictate any of his actions.
So what if the facts are wrong?
Then they're not facts, and you refute them with actual facts. Duh.
The pertinent question isn't really "what if they're wrong"; it's "what if they're right". If you have a policy of censoring anyone you believe to be wrong, you aren't even leaving yourself open to the possibility that YOU might be wrong. This is how dictatorships operate. They don't argue with you, they don't consider your position, they just shut you up and lock you away the moment you say anything they don't like.
I would far rather have a marketplace of ideas in which any crank can say whatever stupid thing pops into their mind than a marketplace of ideas where only popular things can be said. The former might be annoying and anarchic, but the latter is far, far more dangerous. All progress ceases when intelligent disagreements aren't even allowed to take place.
Straw man.
The examples were provided as a refutation of the 'it is legal' defence.
Horseshit. "The examples" were themselves a strawman since nobody ever argued that legal and moral are the same thing. The previous guy merely pointed out that the government is enforcing the law the way they're supposed to, rather than ignoring it the way a certain previous administration did.
You think the law is immoral? Great, start a campaign to change it. Meanwhile the government has a duty to enforce it as it's written.
It's neither dishonesty nor hyperbole when 45's "fine people" are literally marching in the streets with the swastika. Sorry, not sorry... if it talks like a nazi, goose-steps like a nazi, and sieg heil's like a nazi; it's a goddamned nazi.
Imagine all the people...
So everyone that choses to march or support black lives matter are responsible for what the more extreme in their group said since they didn't branch off and make their own separate march?
If it's possible for illegals to obtain what passes for welfare benefits in the US, then perhaps the US benefits system needs to be fixed
The vast majority of US benefits require that you show citizenship or a green card (permanent, non-citizen resident).
There's a tiny bit of benefits available to everyone, but that's things like emergency room treatment at a hospital. You can't live on them.
However, the vast majority of Republicans believe "welfare" 1) still exists (it ended in the 1990s), 2) is far more generous than it actually is, and 3) that there are more programs than actually exist. They have believed this since the 1980s and are not going to return to reality any time soon.