this post was submitted on 13 Nov 2023
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Free speech can’t flourish online — Social media is an outrage machine, not a forum for sharing ideas and getting at the truth (www.ft.com)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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Free speech can’t flourish online — Social media is an outrage machine, not a forum for sharing ideas and getting at the truth::Social media is an outrage machine, not a forum for sharing ideas and getting at the truth

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (2 children)

People tend to reflect and post the outrage media they subscribe to, then look for echo chambers to reinforce those views. Reasonable opponents get exhausted and leave - and yes, IMO that’s what makes them reasonable, the ability to understand what they’re up against and quit a battle that cannot be won.

Also IMO the “gentleman’s agreement” we had, in the US at least, that free speech was somewhat honored most places including your job or online decades ago is dead. It’s quite clear that even the government isn’t too keen on the 1st amendment depending on who is in charge, much less corporations who will terminate people for speech conflicting with corporate agendas, and absolutely not petty or controlling forum moderators.

People that yell “muh freedum of speech!1!1!” the loudest are often the ones doing their best to force some hateful subjects or outright lies into other’s faces, then they get upset and claim they’re being attacked or bring up some other victim complex when they get “cancelled.”

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I feel you are pointing in the right direction, but you did miss some stuff that is commonly missed. (I am going to preface that all I am doing is presenting facts, corps can burn in hell for my personal opinion)

  • Freedom of Speech only has a bearing on law, government, and the agents thereof. Corporations in the US are not bound by the Constitution, only the government. Corporations and individuals operating a space where the public are able to act are bound by the laws, but as long as they don't directly violate any if those law, they can restrict speech as much as they like.
  • While echo chambers are a major issue, and one we should all be focused on making sure we don't get trapped in, they are not the largest issue concerning the issue at hand. Humans are more prone to engage with controversial topics, whether that is surging to the protection of something that affirms our biases, or lashing out against things that offend them. Social media platforms only care about so-called "engagement". Their statistical validity for investors and advertisers are strictly based on sanitized numbers regarding how many users live on their platforms, how often they post, and even more so how often they comment. Polarizing posts see the most commentary, so social media companies are financially incentivized to propagate as much polarizing information as possible, regardless of the content. The advertisers never see what the post info is or how how much hate and vitriol are in the comments, and they don't care (some are starting to realize). All they want to know is "if I pay you to put my add on peoples posts, how many people will see them?". It is disgusting, but true. Bad news sells. Tragedy sells. Hate sells. Polarization sells. It makes me long for the days when all we had to worry about being manipulated by marketers with was sex.
[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I’m thinking that maybe you missed my point, which is exactly what you said.

First point: Free speech only applies to government retaliation, but that’s on thin ice. Like I said. Not sure what needed clarification, maybe my more sarcastic take on it made it less clear.

Second point: The point is that people aren’t really falling into echo chambers and having the lack of awareness to remove themselves from it, the point is they don’t want to leave the safety of their rage-bait fed herd and face criticisms of their narrative and/or worldview. Sure, someone who views a controversial or fringe subject will probably be fed more by algorithms, and the fault not only lies in that algorithm that wants to profit off clicks but the person that actively excludes any factual evidence to the contrary. Nobody thinks they’re the bad guy, and they don’t want to be told so.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Nobody thinks they’re the bad guy, and they don’t want to be told so.

You also should not assume that everyone is the bad guy, either.

And I get you might to push back against what I just said, but take a look at the tone of your comments, they tend to come from a critical point of view that already sees Humanity in a negative light. (No insult is meant.)

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are we not, though? I’m pretty cynical, but even from a pragmatic standpoint we are incredibly destructive despite us telling ourselves how great we are with our technological advancements.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Are we not, though? I’m pretty cynical, but even from a pragmatic standpoint we are incredibly destructive despite us telling ourselves how great we are with our technological advancements.

We're both, actually. And I would push back on your assertion that you're holding a pragmatic standpoint.

The fact that you focus on the negatives and do not mention any of the positives bolsters my point...

You also should not assume that everyone is the bad guy, either.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

There is no requirement to mention “both sides”. I did not agree to such a condition, that’s your own criteria to make yourself correct. Have at it.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 year ago

There is no requirement to mention “both sides”.

There is in America. It's one of the founding parts of the framework of the social fabric of the country.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Reasonable opponents get exhausted and leave - and yes, IMO that’s what makes them reasonable, the ability to understand what they’re up against and quit a battle that cannot be won.

Sometimes though, it's not about winning or losing the battle, but just pushing back against the messages that's trying to shape a harmful narrative. To leave both sides of the argument available for third parties to read and consider.

And for that, every reasonable person should be doing some of that, instead of just bailing. Consider it a civic duty.