X Threatens Our Democracy. Canada Should Ban It
X Threatens Our Democracy. Canada Should Ban It
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I'm against banning things. It's better to teach users how not to use these platforms.
It's more effective, because it has a long term effect.
I like the Danish idea to label EU products in supermarkets. Information is a good first step.
"Education" doesn't really feel like a solution to things that people often lean into cognitive dissonance on.
Everybody has the opportunity to know how reprehensible the conditions the meat that ends up in supermarkets (and probably your local market too) is but very few people are willing to change their diets. Many people talk about caring about 'loving animals' but when it comes down to making changes, the head just usually goes into the sand.
Kurzgesagt did a good video recently on what the cost to improve animal welfare for things that end up on peoples plates would be but the truth is the only reason why we know what those numbers are is because some places have banned certain practices. The only way to realize those benefits is through legal changes, not 3% of people paying 3 times as much for fancy free range eggs.
That said, I'm also generally against banning things, I just don't know how you make that sort of thing less attractive- a Twitter Tax?
I am in favor of banning X because it's run by someone who has threatened our sovereignty and, to be honest, a lot of people are pretty fucking dumb.
What about TikTok, Facebook or Reddit? One is operated by an adversarial government, one harbors and aids scammers to steal millions, and Reddit is 4chan light.
Banning platforms is not the answer, it opens the door to banning as an easy solution to any issue.
I don't advocate for banning any of those platforms (though I think Meta should be broken up due to being a monopoly) because they're not literal mouthpieces for one dude. X is essentially now Elon's blog and he has illegally interfered with the US election and is trying the same with other countries.
I guess, as an alternative to banning X, I'd settle for it being forced to be sold to someone else or just Elon Musk leaving the picture entirely.
He is the problem. He has too much influence and power.
He is a problem but people who vote based on what they read on Twitter were already going to be a wasted vote. Education at an early age on how to think critically, ask questions and find answers is how you mitigate this kind of crap.
So these people who education has already failed... is it helpful and healthy to expose them to the raw bullshit of a staunchly eugenicist nazi? Should we buy them all copies of mein kampf because it couldn't do any more harm?
I agree that the right long term solution education...
maybe instead, pass a law. one with substantial penalties for failure to comply, that requires 'social media companies' of a 'certain size' to do (reasonable) 'things' in order to operate or make themselves available in canada. things that spaceman fireball would never do
He's the richest man in the world. You couldn't set a fine he wouldn't just pay as the cost of doing business.
Why not both?
America is the best example that you just can't teach some people. Doesn't matter if it is scientists and doctors doing the teaching. If anything in the eyes of idiots that makes them even less credible. Don't underestimate stupidity.
I honestly know what you mean. But I have my principles. It's not good to use censorship to fight disinformation. It's a social problem and it's better to fight the root cause, not the symptoms.
That nice in theory but hasn't worked in practice.
I'm against banning things. It's better to teach users how not to use these platforms.
Just because there's deeper root causes, doesn't mean the end result shouldn't be banned if its immoral or destructive. In particular, we figure out what parts of it are problematic enough to be worth banning, and ban those: I.E. the heavily biased algorithm which users have no control over.
Aside from that, theres also the option of providing alternatives. Said alternatives don't even have to be publicly run. It could come in the form of something like a one-time grant to Mastrodon and opening up a server exclusively for government departments to share announcements or PR with the public.
That idea is beautiful in theory, but useless in practice.
I get updates on X from my local news and police stations about traffic, weather, etc. We'd need to get this type of stuff into another single platform before many people would switch.
How will they switch if they're already consolidated where they are? People are employed to manage these accounts, it'll just be their responsibility to migrate to the new platform.
That's the problem, we need a platform that's popular enough to catch their attention/make it worth the effort to post twice - which is half the reason anyone is still using Twitter. Trust me, I'm no fan of it and I avoid the comment section like the plague :/
If you have to use Twitter I recommend using squawker if you have android. Unfollow everyone from Twitter just use squawker to subscribe to accounts which provides a subscription feed that is local without adding the account followers.
Not a good idea to use the official Twitter app anyways with all the data collecting it can do and adding to follower counts adds added pressure to keep a presence there. Just turn into a ghost when it comes to Twitter usage.
Except that it doesn't work. The most effective way to shut down a movement is to prevent it from existing in the first place, not to reeducate millions.
Every time some entity introduces censorship-like measures, the internet gets slightly worse. And I mean it from a technological perspective.
I don't like to lose good things, just because there are some morons out there.
If you can navigate masses towards X, you can also do it in the opposite direction.
So where do you draw the line then?
Can't ban websites selling drugs or with CSAM, just in case?
You shouldn't ban websites. You should get the criminals.
Well, that's completely ridiculous.
It's more ridiculous to believe that fighting crime is confiscating cars, block websites or similar things without catching the ones who cause the crimes.
I'm not the one here saying pedos should be left alone until we can find them 🤷
I'm the one saying "find the criminals". That's the priority.
Please note, I am not saying that you shouldn't delete illegal material or confiscate drugs or whatever.
I am saying you shouldn't block pages, because the material is still there and the pedo, too. You have done essentially nothing, except harming the internet infrastructure.
+1.
This just suggests to censor us. I'm all for an open and free internet. If you censor it, you look ight as well join the book burning club.
Education is key. Just look at what they doing in the United St... Oh wait, nevermind.