With Elon Musk purchasing Twitter the concern now is free speech. Imagine a place where someone may something mean and not be punished for that. Mean tweets almost got the President impeached! Well, the truth is they did impeach him, twice, but he was acquitted on both occasions. But they are not calling it free speech, those that are so deeply concerned, they are calling it misinformation. And anything that doesn't agree with their view is misinformation. Remember this is the same group of people that offered alternative facts in legal proceedings. It wasn't misinformation at all, it was an alternative fact.
Personally, I don't care who owns twitter or facebook, any other web site or social media platforms. I have absolutely no stock, no investment in any of them. As we used to say, I don't have a dog in the fight. To me all of those things are used voluntarily. That means the responsibility lies with you! If you go on there believing everything you read, that's your issue, no one else's. Back in the day when the newspaper was the primary source of information and gossip (misinformation) the editor was held accountable for the content. There were instances when people didn't like what was printed so they simply burned the press down!
Today those same people would just shut the dissenters up! No one is talking about shutting down twitter, closing the newspaper office, no the talk is to not allow you to say anything contrary to what the editor wants. And that content is solely based on profits, either directly or indirectly. The old adage applies, follow the money. The problem with newspapers is the same as with twitter, some folks believe everything printed. If it is on the internet it must be true. Pay no attention to the proliferation of fraud, scams, and outright lies that we spend thousands of dollars on in an effort to block, everything else must be true. If a celebrity or someone famous says it, well that's solid, concrete, absolute truth! Everyone knows celebrities are especially informed in the field of politics, national policy, health care and racial injustice and inequity! Well liberal celebrities are anyway.
The real issue here isn't freedom of speech, it is freedom from accountability. In the anonymity of the world wide web you can say and do pretty much anything you want. The only real problem is when others find out who you are. The cyber sleuths will find out too. The collection of our private information is the focus of all internet based commerce! I don't care if they are just providing you with free games or trying to sell you stocks, the bottom line is to collect information useful to there purposes. Everywhere you go, you are asked for your e-mail address, as a minimum. Now I'm basically pretty ignorant about how all of this works, this cyber stuff and computer tracking. IP addresses and all that means something to somebody.
The end result is you can be identified if it serves a purpose. Criminals are exploiting that every second of every second of every day. But a criminal makes no profit when you just say something mean or disagree with a political view. No money to be made in that. Therefore you are not held to account. Well unless you decide to run for political office, apply for a prestigious job, or something like that. Then your mean tweets and disagreements might be used against you. Corporations have been examining your social media for years now and basing decisions on that.
But, take me for instance. I'm retired and have no plans to apply for a job anywhere. I have no political ambitions. I don't particularly care if you like what I say or not. I try not to offend having been raised in the concept of polite company, something that is being lost in todays world. Still, I will speak my truth, say what I believe, and in general not always go along with the popular opinion. I'm not saying others are wrong, just that I am right. No I don't tweet but what if I did? I'm certain there are many people out there that would disagree with me and get their feelings hurt.
Content moderation is another term being thrown about. We should moderate what is being said. It isn't an infringement on free speech, it is simply allowing a moderate amount of that stuff. All things in moderation you know. You can get too much of a good thing. Too much freedom is dangerous! That's what I hear being said. It should be moderated. The only issue there being, who gets to decide on that? We have all heard the argument about you can't yell fire in a crowded theater. Truth is you can, but it will have consequences, and you will be held accountable for that action. On twitter will you be held accountable? No, and the reason is a simple one, the reaction to that tweet is solely controlled by your reaction to that tweet. If you take off running, that's on you. If your feelings are hurt, that's just too bad. Accountability lies with the moral and ethics of the one posting the tweet.
It sure is different when you have to face the person. Take the latest example that everyone seems to be all upset about. Chris Rock makes a bad joke about Will Smiths' wife. He got his face slapped! That's accountability. But we are not supposed to react that way are we? No, Rock is the victim and the hero. A shining example. He can say whatever he wants without consequence! That's free speech! It's just a joke. Well, unless it is on social media then we need content moderation.
That's the conditions. In person, no accountability. Distant and aloof, block that jerk! File a lawsuit! Demand accountability!
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