- Censorship online
SO there has been an on-going debate about social media platforms these days and how much they are responsible for their users’ activity ON that platform. Are they responsible for censoring…. Anything? What if someone gets hurt as a result? What if certain accounts are proven to cause a lot of harm/ violence? Or even just bullying or making people more hateful?
These are the questions we are really actually wrestling with as a society. On the one hand, censorship does not lead to a free flow of ideas or productive discussion. We know censorship is a slippery slope. Americans have freedom of speech written into the constitution for goodness sake! But just because you have a right to SAY it, does that mean you have a right to post it online? Some companies are saying, not on our site!
REDDIT:
So the popular website Reddit is a place where you can see what people are talking about online. It basically shows quote unquote “digital trends.”
So they have a part of their site where people can discuss. It’s called “subreddit” – that’s s-u-b-r-e-d-d-I-t. So in that forum, there has been a ton of controversy for YEARS around a page on that forum called “The_Donald.” This page deliberately promoted very blatant and serious QUOTE “racism, anti-semitism, conspiracy theories, and violent memes starring a cartoon frog.” END QUOTE according to The Atlantic. In light of recent actions by the President, Reddit decided to redo their content policy. They now almost at the beginning of their policy state QUOTE “While not every community may be for you, no community should be used as a weapon.” END QUOTE. They added news rules to prevent hate, harassment, and promotion of violence. The “The_Donald” forum had about 790,000 members at the time it was deleted.
So wait – something about a frog?? What’s with the frog?
So yeah – there was this cartoon frog. And this frog was very racist. His name is Pepe (p-e-p-e) the frog and if you google him, trust me, it’s a super scary place to go and you could DEEP DIVE further into him that you would have ever thought possible.
Pepe says things like “feels good” while wearing a Nazi uniform. There is one cartoon where he has black face on and is tearing up – the caption reads “you will always be an N-word.” Pepe can also be seen cloaked in KKK white hoods. There are other ones where the frog is dressed as a hassidic jew (with curls on the side of his head and a Yamaka) laughing and the world trade centers burning, as if he were responsible or happy about it.
In addition to sharing these horrendous memes, the The_Donald forum was consistently discussing a fear of a quote unquote “white genocide” and cheering for genocides ongoing in other areas of the world against Muslims. They additionally would discuss violence against members of the media like journalists and newscasters.
President Trump has since called the ban against this forum quote unquote “selective censorship” and other Republican lawmakers are accusing Twitter and even Facebook of having an anti-conservative bias. Is attacking and endangering marginalized groups something the Republican Party wants to associate themselves with? Isn’t this type of behavior what we fought AGAINST in World War 2? At what point does a “political” opinion become dangerous?
FACEBOOK:
Well, Facebook Is trying to answer that question for themselves as well. And kind of struggling with it. Their CO Mark Zuckerberg has said previously, QUOTE “I don’t think that Facebook or internet platforms in general should be arbitrators of the truth.” END QUOTE but he also has said QUOTE “this doesn’t mean that politicians or anyone can just say what they want, our policies are grounded in trying to give people a much a voice as possible while saying, if you are going to harm people in specific ways, if you are going to do harm to someone or do something that is going to cause violence or if you’re saying something is a proven cure to a disease but it’s not, that could lead people to not seek another treatment or do something that could be harmful, we will take that down no matter who says that.” END QUOTE
So as you guys know, Instagram and Facebook are the same company. And advertising is where they make a BULK of their money. So a group called Stop Hate for Profit launched a campaign against Facebook to hit em where it hurts: their wallets. According to NPR, Stop Hate for Profit got over 400 companies from Coca-cola to Adidas to Ford, Dunkin Donuts, Volkswagen, Target, Hersheys, Clorox, Microsoft, and Lego *PHEW* to stop promoting their products on Facebook, in order to make the point, “we are not OK with how you’ve been behaving as a company.”
So what exactly do they want Facebook to do about it?
The coalition has a list of 10 specific demands for Facebook. But not all of the corporations have the exact same list. Other companies, who are not formally a part of the boycott, have announced they will be pulling back spending on Facebook ads and putting those dollars into Twitter and Snapchat ads instead.
Zuckerberg held to a meeting with the groups yesterday…. But no further information has been released as of yet. But as you guys know, I will be sure to keep you posted on any major changes made to the platform.
- Hong Kong is not backing down
SPEAKING OF CENSORSHIP! Let’s head over to China.
As you may remember, China has a delicate relationship with Hong Kong. Starting in 1997, Hong Kong was granted something called “home rule” or basically where this city had autonomy from the rest of the country. The phrase “one country, two systems” is used a lot. In Hong Kong, there is supposed to be freedom of speech and freedom of assembly. This was supposed to last for 50 years, and then the situation would be re-assessed. Wellll…. The situation for re-assessed early.
Hong Kong has had HUGE protests lately, largely spurred by young people, because they knew China was trying to legally take away some of their rights in court. Just like here in the U.S., the government used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons against the peaceful protestors.
Well the laws passed, without anyone getting to fully read them. Very typical for China. But the people KNEW there were new laws put in place with that legislation that would help the government lock up protestors. However, the people said “fuck it.” And protested ANYWAY. My rebel heart was POUNDING and I was cheering in the bathroom yesterday morning for these brave people! According to the Guardian, 370 people have been arrested, some outlets are reporting closer to 400. The U.S., Japan, Australia, and Great Britain have all spoken out against the Chinese government and Borris Johnson, the Prime Minister of England offered all of Hong Kong’s citizens 5-year work visas with a chance at the end to apply for citizenship. Wow.
Here’s to hoping they are able to make some real changes during this time.
- Mississippi state flag
And speaking of overthrowing an old regime….
Mississippi has officially gotten rid of it’s state flag which was the last state flag in the Union to feature the confederate flag. The state’s legislature voted on it and the governor signed it into law, finally making this symbol a part of their past, not their present.
The Governor said of the moment QUOTE “this is not a political moment to me, but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together, to be reconciled, and to move on. We are resilient people defined by our hospitality. We are people of great faith. Now, more than ever, we must lean on that faith, put our divisions behind us, and unite for greater good.” END QUOTE.
On ward to hopefully, a really cool new flag for this state… One that symbolizes unity.
And that’s the news du jour!
I want to leave you with the quote:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”