Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/07/22/twitter-is-officially-banning.html
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Still no word on censoring Nazis though.
That’s going to be a big leap for Jack, but it might be out of his hands if – as it seems – the board and senior executives disagree with his privilege-blind glibertarian approach to freeze peach. This decision opens the door to banning the various elements of the alt-right, including Nazis, that promote stochastic terrorism (along with thoroughly discredited ideas) as much as QAnon does.
ETA: adding the obligatories for those “concerned” about the silencing of QAnon on Twitter.
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With all these accounts being banned: 7000 here on twitter, 10000 there on facebook, 5000 here on insta, another 25000 on twitter…
…its almost like the primary utility of these social networks is for governments or groups with tons of resources are using them to sway global public opinion
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While not familiar with the works of QAnon I am not sure if this ban indicates suppression of free speech. If they are inciting violence then by all means, ban outright.
I also have a question: can a company like Twitter just unilaterally decide what can be published on their platform? I mean it’s their “property”. I can allow some people to put up posters on my property, but not allow others. What are the rules about this sort of thing.
QAnon is a bugfuck crazy cluster of conspiracy theories that’s rapidly transforming into a far-right cult. It definitely needs to be stamped down wherever it pops up, because it rots away people’s brains and makes them do unhinged and violent things.
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Yes. Period endstop.
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What prompted this? Why now?
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You mean it wasn’t a far-right cult from the start?
If anything, it is expanding out of the far right, to other groups like TERFs (see what TERFs say about transgender children and their parents, and compare).
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Interesting. I guess their marketing team decides what’s best for the company, not some internal moral police. In this case I agree, these guys seem really insane, but if Twitter decides that something like medicare for all is not good for their bottom line (advertising), they can just suppress that too. It can go both ways.
Sure. It would be morally wrong, but Twitter absolutely has the legal right to do so.
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That sounds very much like publishing and making editorial decisions, Twitter.
Coming up next- having to take responsibility for the tweets you do decide to publish and promote.
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It can, but that’s their right in the U.S., just as other platforms like Gab and Parler have the right to continue to host QAnon. There are definitely concerns over Twitter’s semi-monopoly status, but that’s a matter for anti-trust and/or public utilities legislation to address.
I’m assuming it’s a marketing and PR decision, prompted by articles like this:
The timing likely has something to do with the pandemic, about which QAnon is a primary spreader of dangerous disinformation.
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It doesn’t.
They can.
ETA:
Oh boy, are we in for some Section 230?
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Since it’s all user-generated content, Twitter is still accorded some protections under Section 230 in this regard. But yes, they do have to accept the other consequences of offering their platform to violent fascists, religious fanatics and conspiracy theorists.
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I fully expect them to figure away around this, in fact I heard that there’s a cabal meeting right now in the basement of a pizzeria hashing out the details…
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If this is true, be careful how you let on. This seems to be a common opening to many social media posts that have the exact intention of muddying the waters.
“I don’t know much about QAnon, but…”
“I don’t follow QAnon, but…”
Etc, etc., etc…
Tl,dr… “I don’t follow QAnon, but here’s a whole bunch of QAnon conspiracy b.s. that I think you should check out.”
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If this is true, be careful how you let on. This seems to be a common opening to many social media posts that don’t read the original posts fully.
I am aware of QAnon from periodic mentions in news articles I read. I don’t follow their activities nor am I interested in becoming a follower. Better?
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Here’s a really good article about the phenomenon, and why it’s worth understanding (not “understanding” in the sense that any rational person could square the circle of all their nonsense, but in the sense of recognizing what they’re doing when you see it).
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The best illustration of their idiocy: one of their core claims is that a paedophile sex ring was being run out of the basement of a Washington, DC pizza restaurant – the Clintons and other evil libruls supposedly ordered their children using pizza-menu code words. One of the true believers even carried out an armed attack on the place. Turns out, this restaurant doesn’t have a basement.
I mean, you can read more about their nutty beliefs if you want, but it doesn’t get loonier than a non-existent place being the focus of their theory.
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Spot on. The entire Nazi structure in Germany was built ON an intricate web of insane conspiracy theories and paranoia about the Jews/Commies/Gypsies/diseased invaders/degenerates taking over.
I’m happy because the overlap between current Nazis and QAnon is probably large enough that lots of Nazis are going to get banned this week.
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