^CategorySocial Media

An internet email symbol and a group of people are separated by a red prohibitory symbol No. restrictions on access to the global Internet. Censorship. Information control, society isolation policy

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post

Author
News
Date
August 6, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Algorithms (monitoring content), Cameron English, COVID-19, Facebook, Instagram, Kevin Folta, Manny Marrotta (Hitler episode), Matt Taibbi, Misinformation concept}

Is “Misinformation” Another Way to Say “Unwelcome Information”?

_{Cameron English notes that, on social media, major media outlets can botch the science with impunity but the slightest offenses, real or imagined, get others silenced} _{News

August 6, 2021

6

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Social Media}

At American Council on Science and Health (“promoting science and debunking junk since 1978”), Cameron English reflects on the handwringing among social media companies about how to crack down on “misinformation” on COVID-19. Given the number of authoritative statements made and suddenly reversed, tt seems that any such crackdown would largely be driven by politics. For example: Facebook recently announced that it would “no longer take down posts claiming that Covid-19 was man-made or manufactured,” and the company’s new policy nicely underscores this point about credibility. What was the social media platform’s justification for allowing users to discuss the lab-spillover hypothesis? It didn’t hire a team of virologists and foreign policy experts to assess the viability of competing explanations for Read More ›

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Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
July 29, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
ACLU, Amazon, Big Tech, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Google, Jen Psaki, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Twitter}

Federal Judge Strikes Down Florida Big Tech Law

_{The judge ruled that the law violates the First Amendment rights of social media companies} _{Caitlin Cory

July 29, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

A federal judge struck down the recent Florida legislation aimed at reigning in the censorship powers of Big Tech, hours before it was set to go into effect. Within days of Governor DeSantis signing the bill into law in May, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed a lawsuit, representing the biggest names in social media (such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon). They argued that the new law is a violation of their First Amendment rights as private companies. On June 30, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of NetChoice and CCIA, issuing a preliminary injunction on the law after determining that it violates the First Amendment Read More ›

Hand with microphone tied with rope, depicting the idea of freedom of the press, idea of the repression of the mass media or freedom of expression

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
July 28, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Bari Weiss, Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, Media (traditional media), Subscription media, Substack}

Newsletter Group Creates Alarm Plus Demands for Censorship

_{Substack is getting a lot of ink these days — raising both hope from readers and hand wringing from old media} _{Denyse O'Leary

July 28, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media}

The traditional media our parents grew up with are slowly dying in a chronic low-ratings crises — but surprising new media are being born. Substack is getting a lot of ink these days — raising both hope and handwringing. Its very existence shows how information is rapidly changing. At Substack, an online subscription newsletter system founded in 2017, tech guys Chris Best and Hamish McKenzie point out bluntly that the “New York Times” model of information is doomed: Today, as a result of a mass shift of advertising revenue to Google and Facebook, the news business is in crisis. The great journalistic totems of the last century are dying. News organizations—and other entities that masquerade as them—are turning to increasingly Read More ›

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Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
July 16, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Florida, Machine Learning, Poland, Privacy, Transparency, Twitter}

Governments Worldwide Pressured Twitter to Censor in 2020

_{World governments demanded the removal of content from 199 journalist sources} _{Caitlin Cory

July 16, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Twitter released its latest Transparency Report on Wednesday, revealing that in the latter half of 2020, there was a 26% increase in requests from international governments to remove posts from verified journalists. The report tracks various data from July 1 to December 31, 2020, including global legal requests and Twitter Rules enforcement. Global legal requests are divided between information requests and removal requests. Twitter received over 14,500 global government information requests, and over 38,500 global legal demands to remove content. According to the report, “94% of the total global volume of legal demands originated from only five countries (in decreasing order): Japan, India, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea.” Of the information requests received, Twitter announced that they “produced some or Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
July 5, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media

Tagged
bias, Google, GPT-3, Megan Kacholia, Muslims, Timnit Gebru}

The Most “Woke” Company Could Contribute Most to Online Bias

_{Google has got to be one of the "Wokest" companies but there is a lesson in how Timnit Gebru got fired} _{News

July 5, 2021

4

Business and Finance, Social Media}

Here’s a paper worth revisiting, “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?” (March 3, 2021), if only for the principal author’s trouble associated with publishing it. Although Google had hired Timnit Gebru to do ethics consultation, an executive, Megan Kacholia demanded that she remove all suggestion of her affiliation. In the ensuing uproar, Gebru ended up no longer employed there. The paper in question was, in Gebru’s mind, pretty unobjectionable. It surveyed the known pitfalls of so-called large language models, a type of AI software — most famously exemplified by a system called GPT-3 — that was stoking excitement in the tech industry. Google’s own version of the technology was now helping to power the Read More ›

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Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
June 28, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
Amazon, apple, Facebook, Google, Josh Hawley, robber barons, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book), Theodore Roosevelt, Twitter, Woodrow Wilson}

A Book Review: The Tyranny of Big Tech

_{A beautiful defense of the common man and woman against a technological elite} _{Caitlin Cory

June 28, 2021

5

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

“Our republic has never been more hierarchical, more riven by class, more managed by an elite than it is today,” writes Josh Hawley in The Tyranny of Big Tech. Who might that elite be? According to Hawley, it’s not our politicians, our lawyers, our Ivy League graduates, or our Hollywood celebrities. It’s Big Tech – those big names like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple, and Google that have embedded themselves in our lives to an almost irreversible degree. Hawley has spent his career as a U.S. Senator, and formerly as Missouri’s Attorney General, holding Big Tech accountable where others don’t dare tread. In investigations, in legislation, and now in this book, Hawley has confronted the antitrust and privacy violations committed by Read More ›

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Author
News
Date
June 26, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Social Media

Tagged
Damian Joseph Quinn, Happy Hunting (film), Jess Wolinsky, Jordan M. Hahn, Science fiction, Social media (obsession)}

Killing People for “Likes” on an Alien Planet: Sci-fi Saturday

_{If only this crisp tale didn’t sound so much like the social media we actually know} _{News

June 26, 2021

15

Arts & Culture, Social Media}

“Happy Hunting” at DUST by Jess Wolinsky and Jordan M. Hahn (June 22, 2021 at DUST, 2020 at IMDB, 8:06 min) Content warning: Suicide depiction Happy Hunting is a story of Tyler (also known as @66Shadow), an influencer who will do anything to gain followers. In his quest for fame, he now finds himself live-streaming on the nearby planet Proxima Centauri B, where researchers infected with a cosmetic abnormality are hunted for sport, to break @SgtSurge’s kill record. Tyler hunts with precise skill, allowing him to track and kill three victims despite their pleas for mercy, all while hamming it up for his drone companion, who live-streams his every move. He is then attacked by a potential fourth victim, catching Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 24, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Black American culture, Cancel culture, Clarence Thomas, Douglas Murray, Evan Gerstmann, Jason Riley, Jeremy Hunt, Kay Coles James, Larry Elder, Thomas Sowell, Thomas Sowell: Common Sense in a Senseless World (film), Uncle Tom (film), Walter E. Williams}

Black American Conservatives Lead Fight Against Cancel Culture

_{They “trigger” bullies when they say what they think needs to be said, not what the Cancel mob insists on hearing} _{Denyse O'Leary

June 24, 2021

6

Censorship, Social Media}

British writer Douglas Murray dissects social media’s Cancel Culture, in a typically unsparing fashion: All ages have their orthodoxies. And if writers, artists, thinkers and comedians do not occasionally tread on them, then they are not doing their jobs. Meanwhile human nature remains what it is. And just as some children will always pull the wings off flies and fry small ants with their toy magnifying glasses, so a certain number of adult inadequates will find meaning in their lives by sniffing around the seats in the public square until they find an aroma they can claim offends them. Douglas Murray, “How to fight back against ‘cancel culture’” at Spectator (January 24, 2020) Black American conservatives “trigger” Cancel Culture when Read More ›

Books and crumpled paper in the bin. Books that do not read, low-grade literature, copy space

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
June 22, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
Amazon, blacklisting, Cancel culture, censorship, Josh Hawley, Regnery Publishing, Simon & Schuster, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

The Tyranny of Big Tech: The Book That Almost Wasn’t

_{How cancel culture came for a book taking on Big Tech monopolies} _{Caitlin Cory

June 22, 2021

8

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

On May 4, Regnery Publishing released The Tyranny of Big Tech, a book written by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) uncovering the deceptive and antitrust practices of companies like Facebook and Google, and laying out a policy plan to break up the monopolies and protect the interests of America’s common men and women. The book has done well. In its first week, it became the number one bestseller in three separate categories on Amazon lists, and it made the Publisher’s Weekly list of hardcover nonfiction at No. 6. “Big Tech represents today’s robber barons,” Hawley writes in the first chapter, “who are draining prosperity and power away from the great middle of our society and creating, as they do, a new Read More ›

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Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 18, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Babylon Bee, Cancel Culture (pushback), Chrissy Teigen, Christian Toto, Comedy, J.K. Rowlings, Jon Del Arroz, Jordan Peterson (attempted Cancelation), Mark Steyn, Pedro Domingos, Roy Meredith, WorldCon 76}

Books: The First Step in Fighting Cancel Culture

_{Malicious envy was always out there but before social media it could rarely assemble so large a mob} _{Denyse O'Leary

June 18, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media}

Many writers and artists are beginning to speak out and take action, recognizing that sharing the cost of speaking up reduces its burden. Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
June 18, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Authors, Book Publishing, Books, Cancel culture, Chrissy Teigen, Games (computer games), Krishdee Dismon, Leo Benedictus, Richard Dawkins, Science fiction (and Cancel Culture), Scott Cawthon, Writers}

Books: Cancel Culture As an Invisible Army of Censors

_{The new censorship is different from traditional “banned” or “challenged” lists because a younger, much more active crowd is behind it} _{Denyse O'Leary

June 18, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Censorship, Social Media}

For authors, Cancel Culture, powered by social media, is becoming a serious business. A poorly thought-out tweet from years past — or merely one to which socially powerful people take exception — may destroy a career. The mob has hit genre fiction hard. One author, studying the trend, recounts, Since March, I have been sending discreet messages to authors of young adult fiction. I approached 24 people, in several countries, all writing in English. In total, 15 authors replied, of whom 11 agreed to talk to me, either by email or on the phone. Two subsequently withdrew, in one case following professional advice. Two have received death threats and five would only talk if I concealed their identity. This is Read More ›

Business risk control concept, Businessman protect wooden block fall to planning and strategy in risk to business Alternative and prevent. Investment Insurance Business.

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Author
News
Date
June 16, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Anthony Fauci, Big Tech censorship, censorship, Josh Hawley, Mark Zuckerberg, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

The Push to Break Up Big Tech Monopolies

_{Facebook is "acting as an arm of the state," says Florida's governor} _{News

June 16, 2021

5

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox’s Sunday Morning Futures, hosted by Maria Bartiromo, over the weekend. The two discussed Big Tech’s alarming censorship power and Florida’s efforts to combat that power. Recent government emails obtained through Freedom of Information Act lawsuits suggest that Dr. Anthony Fauci and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg coordinated what should and should not be dispersed through social media platforms regarding COVID-19 and its origins. “Do you believe Fauci colluded with Mark Zuckerberg? Does this expose Facebook to legal action?” Bartiromo asked DeSantis. DeSantis answered by calling Facebook “an arm of the state”: Here’s an example of working with Fauci where Facebook, you can argue, is essentially acting as an arm of the state, because they’re Read More ›

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Author
News
Date
June 9, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Amazon, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Free speech, Google, Mark Zuckerberg, NetChoice, Parler, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, Senate Bill 7072, Twitter}

Censoring the Censors? Florida’s Anti-Censorship Law

_{What exactly does the law do, and why is Big Tech sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it?} _{News

June 9, 2021

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Originally published by Dr. Karl Stephan at Engineering Ethics On May 24, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill designed to stop social media firms from censoring free speech. At least that’s what the governor’s website claims it does. Two big-tech industry groups, Netchoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sued the state of Florida in early June over the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1. What exactly does the law do, and why are organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Google sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it? People of certain political persuasions need not look far for motivations to pass such a law. Following the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of this year, Read More ›

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Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
June 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Big Tech censorship, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Fourteenth Amendment, Free speech, Google, John Snyder, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, Senate Bill 7072, Twitter}

Big Tech Sues Florida Over New Censorship Law

_{Facebook, Twitter, and Google are fighting back against a Florida law that seeks to reign them in} _{Caitlin Cory

June 8, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Technology trade companies representing Facebook, Twitter, and Google are suing Florida over its new law regulating the editorial and censorship powers of large social media platforms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on May 24, the first of its kind in the nation to curb the powers of online companies to remove and censor content and users. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – technology trade groups that have been vocal about their opposition to the law – filed the lawsuit against Florida the following Thursday in Tallahassee federal court. DeSantis and other supporters of the new law argue that its purpose is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of ordinary Florida citizens Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
June 4, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, capitalism, Communism, Elon Musk, Grimes, TikTok}

“AI is fastest path to Communism,” says Elon Musk’s partner

_{In a viral TikTok video, the singer/songwriter said AI will lead us to a world of leisure and no work} _{News

June 4, 2021

4

Artificial Intelligence, Arts & Culture, Social Media, Technocracy}

Social media was aflood yesterday with confusion and intrigue when Grimes – a Canadian singer/songwriter and 3-year partner to technological entrepreneur Elon Musk – said that “AI is actually the fastest path to communism” and encouraged communists to embrace the technology if they want to see their political dreams come true. Grimes (born Claire Elise Boucher) posted a short video to TikTok on Thursday, proposing that artificial intelligence could lead us to a utopia in which no one has to work and everyone lives in leisure: “I have a proposition for the communists. So, typically most of the communists I know are not big fans of AI. But if you think about it, AI is actually the fastest path to Read More ›

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
June 3, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
banned from YouTUbe, censorship, Eric Metaxas, Florida, Free speech, Naomi Wolf, Scott Atlas, social media, Texas, YouTube}

Big Tech Scrubs Religious Radio Show From YouTube

_{This isn't the first time YouTube has infringed on free speech} _{Caitlin Cory

June 3, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

YouTube removed an entire radio show from its platform this week, hosted by popular Christian author and social commentator Eric Metaxas, citing violations of their community standards. Metaxas – author of biographies on the lives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther, and William Wilberforce, among many other books – announced the news to his social media pages on Tuesday. “It’s happened,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “Despite our going FAR out of our way to comply with their arbitrary ‘community standards’, YouTube decided to remove every single video we’ve ever done on the Eric Metaxas Show off their platform.” The Eric Metaxas Radio Show, humorously called “The Show About Everything”, has featured a host of big name guests, including former Read More ›

This is the State Capitol building. It has a large concrete stairway leading up to it with large columns holding up the facade.

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
May 26, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Florida, John Snyder, Ron DeSantis, Senate Bill 7072, social media, Twitter}

Florida Governor Signs Bill Reining in Big Tech

_{The bill Governor DeSantis signed is the first in the nation to ban social media companies from deplatforming political candidates} _{Caitlin Cory

May 26, 2021

5

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

In the current national battle between Big Tech and Big Government, a new Florida law will punish social media companies for discriminating against political viewpoints and deplatforming political candidates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on Monday. The legislation protects Florida citizens and political candidates from inequitable viewpoint censorship. “Now more than ever, social media has really become the twenty-first century public square,” John Snyder, a Representative in the Florida House, told Mind Matters News. “It’s evolved from what used to be just a platform where people could post thoughts and pictures to now this is a tool that people rely on to communicate with their family, to talk with their friends, to air their grievances, and really to Read More ›