this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 3 days ago

Well, it is censorship.

People just wake up to a realization that some censorship should exist, and it makes many uncomfortable.

Other than that, don't be tolerant of the intolerant, and you'll be fine.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Advertising is hateful content. Ban the entire marketing industry now please.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 days ago

The majority of advertising we see in the US should be banned for sure. It is just thinly veiled psychological fuckery designed to manipulate us. Not cool.

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[–] [email protected] 15 points 3 days ago

I mean it is, but it's also not a bad thing in moderation (heh)

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Some might argue that calling what happens in Gaza a genocide might be hate speach against Israel, and it should be censored. So who decides what is "hate" and what is not?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Some might argue that calling what happens in Gaza a genocide might be hate speach against Israel

Pax­ton Wins Major Case Defend­ing Texas’s Anti-Boy­cott-of-Israel Law

“Texas’s anti-boycott law is both constitutional and, unfortunately, increasingly necessary as the radical left becomes increasingly hostile and antagonistic toward Israel,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Though some wish to get rid of the law and see Israel fail, the State of Texas will remain firm in our commitment to stand with Israel by refusing to do business with companies that boycott the only democratic nation in the Middle East. In this case, I’m pleased to see the court recognize that the plaintiff lacked any standing to bring this challenge. Thus, our important law remains in effect, and I will continue to defend it relentlessly.”

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (7 children)

In your example, there is clear, observable evidence of genocide occurring. They are killing civilians and demolishing critical civilian infrastructure. So, saying Israel is committing genocide has a certain amount of truth/accuracy in it, and the intent isn't to smear Israel, it's to point out what they are actively doing, while the world is receiving constant updates. In other words, there is objective evidence behind the claims.

Hate speech is the opposite. It has no objective evidence behind it, and the intent is to make specific people/groups look a certain way. We can typically infer the intent of hate speech by the words they choose to use, and the way they frame their "argument". We employ critical thinking to do this. This process can also be peer reviewed for further accuracy.

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 3 days ago (1 children)

I mean it is censorship. But not all censorship is bad.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago

There will be no protection under the social contract for those who wish to violate it.

[–] [email protected] 130 points 4 days ago (16 children)

A tolerant society can not tolerate intolerance.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 days ago (14 children)

Censorship or not, tolerance is a social contract, and those who want to undo this system must be stopped by any means possible. Content moderation is actually the compromise.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Who decides what is hateful and worthy of removal? How is it not censorship? This is such a dumb article lol

You don’t have to be a free speech advocate. It’s fine if you want censorship, just quit changing definitions to make yourself sound less authoritarian.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

There's a fundamental Americanized understanding of censorship as de facto BAD. So in order to justify doing what is very obviously a form of censorship, we don't establish a justifiable and transparent process for censoring content. We just redefine the thing we're doing as "Not Censorship".

At the same time, with so much of social media in the hands of a tiny minority of mega-advertisers, the debate is pointless. We don't get to decide what is or is not censured. The advertisers do. Smears against ethnic groups or religious movements or people of a particular gender or persuasion are only prohibited when they interfere with the distribution of marketing materials.

Now that advertisers have sufficiently A/B tested their marketing material, there's no reason to explicitly prohibit bigoted content because you can simply cloister particular communities into atomized walled gardens of advertising media.

I can sell Bud Light Fuck The Trans cans to the evangelical chuds, I can sell Bud Light Israel Did Nothing Wrong to Zionists, and I can sell Bud Light Communism Will Win to the Tankies. Everyone can have their own boutique Bud Light experience and sales of piss beer can keep going up forever.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 4 days ago (32 children)

Nobody has a problem censoring hateful and harmful content, so long as they're the ones that get to decide what that means.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 days ago

Suddenly they care. One dead CEao and a bunch of whiny scared Billionaires is enough to stop 10 years of hateful content. Interesting lesson right there. Censorship is only good if it protects the rich.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Who decides when the content is "hateful"? The perpetrators of genocide characterize themselves as marginalized and their victims as a force seeking to eradicate them. That is the problem with censorship. Those are the people who end up with the control of speech. You end up with an Orwellian inversion of concepts like hateful speech for the exact reason that they can be weaponized for profit and power.

You show me which fascist government is going to censor the fascists living under it. It's a paradox. They will not. They will censor the resistance.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 days ago (1 children)

It IS censorship and they should stop saying it isn't, but they should clearly say "we will censor X because Y" and be transparent about it. Censorship where the majority of population agrees with it is still censorship, but approved and accepted for the greater good.

Now, the question is what does "hateful" mean? And where does "hateful" start and begin? Is saying "I hate my neighbour" and "I hate Nazis" the same? Is "I hate gay people" and "I hate Manchester United" the same? Why not focus on violence instead of hate. We should have the freedom to hate (hear me out...) but in the end it is a feeling and a preference and no censorship will change that. What should be prevented at all costs however, is violent content. People can love or hate whoever, but they shouldn't be allowed to call upon any type of violence towards them.

Someone hating someone doesn't change a thing, but someone calling for attacks against someone - this is a whole new dimension and deserves total censorship.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Censorship isn't policing people's feelings, you're allowed to hate. Why should you be allowed to express hate, and make those people feel unwelcome?

Your questions are also not as morally grey as you think. Manchester United isn't hated for a core part of their being, they're not victims of violence, they're not a class of person who has been enslaved or erased or mistreated throughout their existence.

Individual freedom needs to take a back seat to collective freedom, and the freedom to self expression, identity, and well being for all. Freedom to oppress isn't freedom. Nobody is free unless we're all free.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

It's simple. If your rights infringe on my rights, and there is no way for me to avoid the "you", whatever it may be at the moment, it should be regulated.

Go ahead and hate gays, but on a multicultural/multi-national platform that over a 3rd of the population use, you shouldn't be allowed to project that because it makes gay people feel unsafe. It infringes on their humanity.

Just because a group is immune to the intricacies of this, re: straight and white, shouldn't be a license for them to say and do whatever they want.

Try a group of gay people against straights, see how long that group lasts. Why the double meaning

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

If in a work of fiction I have a villain call my hero the n-word to demonstrate that the villain is an unapologetic racist, and I am told that I can't have that because the word is bad in and of itself and that racist behavior cannot be tolerated even in fiction..

That is censorship, even if your goals are noble they are also ignorant, as showing disgusting things in fiction is often done in order to condemn similar behavior in real life.

If you call a black person the n-word in real life, and he stomps your ass.

This isn't censorship, this is comedy.

If one goes onto an online community and calls its members radical insults in an unfriendly clearly non-joking hostile manner. Then the guilty party should be removed from that community,

[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Well it depends on the definition of censor.

If you define censor as, "to suppress or delete as objectionable" (Webster) then it fits just fine.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 days ago (2 children)

Yes, but just deleting without comment, as if it never existed, isn't the solution either.

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 days ago (11 children)

Lemmy was created because Desaulines(sp?) got "censored" on reddit. Now he famously over-censors his darling instance lemmy.ml.

My point is just that nobody really thinks it should be a free for all. Everyone is human and doesn't want to hear anything that they consider egregious, or in the case of lemmy.ml "against rule 2".

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 days ago (9 children)

.ml is garbage lead by legit garbage people. But, open source means we can take lemmy code made by garbage people and repurpose it for good. Unfortunately it seems like Lemmy image is forever stained by those people and the network will never be adopted by normal people fully.

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