Facebook and YouTube are receding from their role as watchdogs against conspiracy theories ahead of the 2024 presidential election
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People have a huge misconception of what free speech is. Free speech is the ability to speak against or question the government without consequence. It doesn’t have anything else to do with saying whatever you want to say.
Example:
“Cheerios are made by milking bats.” is not free speech. It’s just a lie.“The president is wrong, and doesn’t know what he’s doing.” is exercising my right to free speech.
The misconception is that freedom of speech means anything other than freedom from prosecution by the state for your speech. It does not mean you are entitled to a platform, it does not mean you cannot be shouted down, and it does not mean private entities cannot (or even should not) censor your speech.
It’s important to keep unpopular speech legally protected. It’s not at all important to ensure it has a robust platform. For example, Nazis should not be arrested for saying Nazi things; but they should absolutely be deplatformed, socially shunned, and have a blind eye cast when they get punched in the mouth for saying Nazi things in public.
Constitutional right to free speech does not equal a right to a platform for that speech. Disinformation should not be legally prosecuted but, it’s absolute horse shit to claim that social media companies owe it the same indifference as the government does.
Stop conflating the legal right to free speech with the (non-existent) right to use someone else’s platform for said speech.
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Much like screaming FIRE!! in a crowded venue, there has to be a limit on free speech, and that limit is typically when it causes harm to other people
I’m glad the EU is acting to combat this, but there’s a deeper problem. The amount of people who lack basic critical thinking skills, and can’t figure out the truth of facts for themselves. The amount of people who’ve become convinced vaccines are dangerous, being just one recent example of this.
Eroding the aspects of public education that contribute to people’s critical thinking skills and civics knowledge has been in the republican playbook since the Regan administration. Not that we were all that known for it before then…
