• WashedOver@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    4
    ·
    1 year ago

    So this is about suing the agency out of existence?

    With the shenanigans that have gone on with Twitter since being bought with the not paying of staff severance, vendors, or landlords, it’s getting like those that deal with Trump. I wonder if the Musk legal team will be paid?

    I’m all for reasonable free speech. It should fall within the guidelines of how yelling FIRE! in a movie theater has consequences if people are hurt by it. Misinformation falls into this category if it hurts the general public with a purposeful lack of moderation.

    It’s not been a total lack of moderation… There are reports of moderation occurring over things Musk doesn’t like and amplification of the things he wants (especially his tweets) in the algorithm that benefits him, so I’m not sure the defense of total free speech is a honest one here.

    At the end of the day the misinformation, and horrible inaccurate things shared on Fox News, Rumble and Truth social are much worse and they seem to get a free pass with the we are entertainment defense so none of this really seems to matter?

    If the lawsuit sees the light of day over the next several years it will be interesting how if it changes anything for the better or worse. Perhaps it won’t matter by then as we will be in the next phase of the New American Order and going after one’s internal enemies will be condoned as good patriotic practices…

    • helenslunch@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’m all for reasonable free speech. It should fall within the guidelines of how yelling FIRE! in a movie theater has consequences if people are hurt by it.

      Well that’s a very simple explanation of a very complex subject.

      If I call you a bi tch unjustly, that’s an incredibly rude insult that you might be hurt by. Will you remove my comment or is that free speech?

      If I conduct research that finds that the Earth is round, which is contrary to what virtually everyone believes, is that “misinformation” or is that free speech?

      If I present evidence that the Holocaust never happened (regardless of whether the evidence is legitimate) is that “free speech” or “misinformation”?

      The concept of “free speech” is entirely about allowing people to say hurtful things, and things that may or may not be true. No one needs free speech to tell you “you look nice today”.

      The problem is the advent and adoption of social media has led to the ability to spread misinformation like wildfire and without any fact checking. Previously information was spread by newspapers that relied on subscriptions, and people subscribed to newspapers that had the best reputation for investigating and finding the truth. There was usually a 24 hour news cycle, so everyone had at least some time to investigate the story. News just moved at a different pace and no one had to be the absolute first one to publish a story with zero details.

      Now news sites are driven by clicks, and they will publish whatever drives clicks. And what drives clicks more than outrage? So outrage is what we get, day in and day out.