Big Tech shuts down sites faster than Lena Dunham clears out a buffet. “All you can eat” is but a challenge. The deplatforming started with InfoWars (see Facebook Removes Infowars’ Page for ‘Violating Community Standards’ and Democrat Senator: Banning InfoWars was Just the Beginning). Alex Jones being othered doesn’t send too many people to the corner with tears. But taking out Jones gave Big Tech an opening. Then PragerU and Stefan Molyneux took hits. Even apolitical H3H3Productions ran into problems for the sin of discussing InfoWars being deplatformed.
Big Tech has since come out and said these were all “oopsies.”
Reuters asked frequent social media user, Donald Trump, for his thoughts on the purge.
Before you don your MAGA hats, the idea of government getting involved in social media should make your nervous. And yes, private companies make their own decisions on yadda, yadda, yadda. Okay? Okay.
But Trump brought up a valid point. One the pro-censorship crowd doesn’t seem to get:
“I won’t mention names but when they take certain people off of Twitter or Facebook and they’re making that decision, that is really a dangerous thing because that could be you tomorrow.”
When partisan companies are allowed to randomly decide what is acceptable speech, it’s only a matter of time before those same social media giants decide your speech is unacceptable.
So sure, Alex Jones might be two chilies short of a full taco platter. Yeah, he said some batshit crazy stuff. But how soon is it before “Parents shouldn’t give their children puberty blockers” is considered hate speech? Some people would say that’s hate speech now. Ask Owen Benjamin.
So be careful with “Oh, but only weirdo freaks get deplatformed.” The Overton window is shifting. You may be in it.
