1984 Style Tech Takeover? Twitter & FB Ban Trump. Apple & Google Remove Parler.

[2tallbill]

This is a very insidious and slippery slope.

I agree 100%

"Following the siege on the Capitol building last week, Democrats are once
again pushing for impeachment of President Donald Trump, this time
accusing him of inciting an insurrection.

Meanwhile, the liberal media (and some in power) are pushing the narrative
that free speech platforms like Parler were used to plan the siege. Of course,
if this is true, that means that President Trump’s speech last Wednesday
couldn’t have possibly incited anything. No leftist seems to have
acknowledged the contradiction in these talking points – but
what else is new?"

https://bongino.com/impeachment-2-0-begins-heres-whats-next

[andrewfi]

We're living in dangerous times. Not physically, although that might come, but mentally. Knowledge is being tramped down. Thought is being discouraged. Opinion is being constrained - even when those opinions are of value because they are based upon reality and fact.

[Markje]

Looks like Facebook has now banned a US-Senator named Ron Paul.

He has no clue as to why, as he didn't post anything out of the ordinary.

https://twitter.com/RonPaul/status/1348694943905308672

Oh wait, there was a reason (a really, really, really dangerous & stupid one!)

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1348704640486014982


Reading comments on that second status update, most american's (especially the democrats) have no fukin clue as to whats going on in the big picture.

I actually saw someone call facebook "Their sandbox, their rules".... Is that how you describe a multi-billion user global social network now? A sandbox? gee, big sandbox then, like world-size big.

[mhr7]

This is a very insidious and slippery slope.

I agree 100%

"Following the siege on the Capitol building last week, Democrats are once
again pushing for impeachment of President Donald Trump, this time
accusing him of inciting an insurrection.

Meanwhile, the liberal media (and some in power) are pushing the narrative
that free speech platforms like Parler were used to plan the siege. Of course,
if this is true, that means that President Trump’s speech last Wednesday
couldn’t have possibly incited anything. No leftist seems to have
acknowledged the contradiction in these talking points – but
what else is new?"

https://bongino.com/impeachment-2-0-begins-heres-whats-next

I don't know that much about Parler so I'm not going to comment on it. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with the removal of Trump from social media platforms. Trump started talking about how unfair the election would be before it ever even took place. Ever since the election, he's been going on and on about how rigged it was and spreading baseless conspiracy theories that have been riling up his base. His "stop the steal" rhetoric has been fanning the flames of Qanon and other conspiracy sites where Trump supporters gather to be indoctrinated in the latest bullshit rumors that do nothing but make them angrier and angrier and dumber and dumber as we've seen here on the forum.

Among Trump's base are some very deplorable people. White supremacists, Christian Nationalists, various militias, neo-nazis and other groups that are prone to becoming violent. Last Wednesday, after compounding the rage for 2 months on twitter, Trump and Giuliani both incited what took place, Trump much moreso. They both knew what they were doing and what the result would be. Removing Trump from social media removes him from platforms where he can rile up his base to cause more violence and mayhem. He has, in-effect, been neutered. He should be impeached or removed in some other manner as a consequence for the damage he has done. He's been yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater for too long.

[Markje]

I don't know that much about Parler so I'm not going to comment on it. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with the removal of Trump from social media platforms.

I didn't comment earlier, but I will now: It is a huge misstake to ban Trump from Social media.

- Facebook isn't the police, nor judge & Jury. As long as he doesn't post anything illegal (and he didnt) , they should not ban him. And even if he did post illegal stuff, they should report his posts to the authorities and not ban them.
Failure to do so, revoke 230 on them, since they are obviously editorializing and not just doing the 'necessary' moderation task.

- Trump commenting out in the open is much more preferrable to commenting on hidden platforms that only his users/supporters get to see. The capitol storm already came as a surprise to most people, imagine what happens when there is 0 warning instead.

- Trump maybe a baboon with bad manners, he also has a right to free speech, even more so since he's still president (until 20 Januari). I don't know American law that well, but banning the government in Netherlands instantly gets you jailtime as CEO of the company. I am surprised the government didn't speak up here, because FB can do the same to Biden or other presidents, make no misstake there. Its the same behaviour if someone you like is in the prez's chair.

Trump started talking about how unfair the election would be before it ever even took place. Ever since the election, he's been going on and on about how rigged it was and spreading baseless conspiracy theories that have been riling up his base. His "stop the steal" rhetoric has been fanning the flames of Qanon and other conspiracy sites where Trump supporters gather to be indoctrinated in the latest bullshit rumors that do nothing but make them angrier and angrier and dumber and dumber as we've seen here on the forum.

And yet, none of that is illegal. Its an opinion and if people get agitated because of the state of American elections then your administration should have done a much, much better job ensuring fair elections. And from where I'm sitting in Europe, these elections have been anything but fair. You can ban the video's , you can hide the facts, but my memory is fine and I see the video's even now in my mind. I read many articles and there has been fraud in this election. The judges didn't want to hear about it, and simply threw out the cases without prejudice without commenting on the facts. Thats page 1 in the storming the capitol book. Trump's comments are page 2.

Among Trump's base are some very deplorable people. White supremacists, Christian Nationalists, various militias, neo-nazis and other groups that are prone to becoming violent. Last Wednesday, after compounding the rage for 2 months on twitter, Trump and Giuliani both incited what took place, Trump much more so. They both knew what they were doing and what the result would be. Removing Trump from social media removes him from platforms where he can rile up his base to cause more violence and mayhem. He has, in-effect, been neutered. He should be impeached or removed in some other manner as a consequence for the damage he has done. He's been yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater for too long.

And again, yet none of that is illegal. If you actually take the time to view all the video's and not believe the news. (They are on whitehouse.gov) , then you will come to the same conclusion. He didn't do what the media said he did. Removing him from Social media is a slippery slope.

 And I don't think he has been yelling fire in the theathre without a reason. There was a fire and a rather large one. That the Dems quickly quenched it after the election was won does not take away from it.

Mark.

[AvHdB]

I don't know that much about Parler so I'm not going to comment on it. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with the removal of Trump from social media platforms.

I didn't comment earlier, but I will now: It is a huge misstake to ban Trump from Social media.

- Facebook isn't the police, nor judge & Jury. As long as he doesn't post anything illegal (and he didnt) , they should not ban him. And even if he did post illegal stuff, they should report his posts to the authorities and not ban them.
Failure to do so, revoke 230 on them, since they are obviously editorializing and not just doing the 'necessary' moderation task.

Let me play Devil's Advocate.

First much like RUA; Twitter, FaceBook and the others are private enterprises. Some more profitable than others.

Thus the directors and owners may do as they feel what is best in there businesses interests. If a poster on the above forums continues a long standing history of BS, outright lies, tormenting others & continous trolling. The owners and directors have an absolute right to ban that poster or President.

[AvHdB]

Looks like Facebook has now banned a US-Senator named Ron Paul.

He has no clue as to why, as he didn't post anything out of the ordinary.

https://twitter.com/RonPaul/status/1348694943905308672

Oh wait, there was a reason (a really, really, really dangerous & stupid one!)

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1348704640486014982


Reading comments on that second status update, most american's (especially the democrats) have no fukin clue as to whats going on in the big picture.

I actually saw someone call facebook "Their sandbox, their rules".... Is that how you describe a multi-billion user global social network now? A sandbox? gee, big sandbox then, like world-size big.

Please understand I am not sympathetic to the actions of Twitter and FaceBook. To ban the account of a former Senator and father of a current Senator indicates how depraved the media (Democrats) are.

At times I do not agree with Ron Paul but he often has a valid point and some of his opinions have proven to be quite inciteful. Hopefully his son Rand Paul will again run for President and can be selected as the running mate to Vice President M. Pence.

[Contrarian]

I don't know that much about Parler so I'm not going to comment on it. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with the removal of Trump from social media platforms.

I didn't comment earlier, but I will now: It is a huge misstake to ban Trump from Social media.

- Facebook isn't the police, nor judge & Jury. As long as he doesn't post anything illegal (and he didnt) , they should not ban him. And even if he did post illegal stuff, they should report his posts to the authorities and not ban them.
Failure to do so, revoke 230 on them, since they are obviously editorializing and not just doing the 'necessary' moderation task.

Let me play Devil's Advocate.

First much like RUA; Twitter, FaceBook and the others are private enterprises. Some more profitable than others.

Thus the directors and owners may do as they feel what is best in there businesses interests. If a poster on the above forums continues a long standing history of BS, outright lies, tormenting others & continous trolling. The owners and directors have an absolute right to ban that poster or President.

Thia is utter bullshyte. Zuckerberg should be in prison for banning free speech, as Mark says.

This crappy argument that Farce Book is a private company doesn't cut it.

Zuckerberg has given Millions of dollars to Democrats and on top of that the way he runs FB is tantamount to contributing another Billion dollars to his preferred candidates without following election finance rules.

He should be charged and tried for a felony, just as the Indian-American Dinesh D'Souza was.

We should not have one set of rules and laws for ordinary people and an entirely different set of laws for "elite" criminals.

And yet because of dumb RINO's and other weaklings who are always willing to look the other way or even argue on behalf of criminal activity dressed up: we do.

[BillyB]

Guys, social media didn't ban one person named Trump. They banned millions of people and their right to free speech is just as valid as Trump's. Big tech silenced voices they didn't agree with. Big tech will become the arbiter of free speech and it's coming to you guys on the other side of the pond if it is not stopped. If they haven't done so, they will eventually influence your elections too as your corrupt politicians will find them useful.

By banning Conservatives, their stock lost value and they've lost billions but by banning Conservative they feel it's a good investment because Biden and Democrats will reward them. There's too many corrupt politicians in American politics that have been bought and Trump and our military have a duty to protect America from enemies foreign and domestic and I believe he's man enough to execute his oath to America.

[Lord of the Dance]

I’m not one to participate in political discourse but I’m calling it like I see it on this one: the censorship that we are now experiencing will have serious consequences down the road. Last week a family member of mine who is a retired LEO participated in the pro-Trump rally outside the capital building along with a bunch of his LEO buddies. They weren’t breaking any laws and were actually trying to keep everyone calmed down and organized. But a couple of days ago when he posted some of his photos of the rally on FB they were quickly removed, apparently for violating FB’s policy on inciting violence. They weren’t inciting anything, just showing support for the president.

Those in power want to silence those who disagree with them and while I’m not arguing that such actions are illegal, I’m confident in saying that it’s a very bad idea that will have serious consequences for every one of us in the coming years.

[Markje]

Guys, social media didn't ban one person named Trump. They banned millions of people and their right to free speech is just as valid as Trump's. Big tech silenced voices they didn't agree with. Big tech will become the arbiter of free speech and it's coming to you guys on the other side of the pond if it is not stopped. If they haven't done so, they will eventually influence your elections too as your corrupt politicians will find them useful.

Big tech (facebook, twitter) is already banning free speech in the netherlands too.

We have a childrens party named "Sinterklaas" that is a lot like "santa claus" (in fact, Sinterklaas may have sparked santa claus). But instead of elves, Sinterklaas uses black people as his personal staff. These black people (black pete) are highly intelligent jolly people whom give candy/gifts to children on the 5th of december.... Guess what . RAAAAYYYCISM!!! Black people are exploited and abused. We must ban them

(you can guess what comes next).

[Markje]

Let me play Devil's Advocate.

First much like RUA; Twitter, FaceBook and the others are private enterprises. Some more profitable than others.

Thus the directors and owners may do as they feel what is best in there businesses interests. If a poster on the above forums continues a long standing history of BS, outright lies, tormenting others & continous trolling. The owners and directors have an absolute right to ban that poster or President.

Let me answer that one with a very apt column in a Dutch newspaper today Click:  (De Telegraaf)

Translated by google. Most egregious errors taken out by me.

American oligarchs are transforming their social media into opinion monopolies


By Leon de Winter
Updated 1 hour ago
Yesterday, 8:22 PM in COLUMNS

The Senate and the House of Representatives, which together form Congress, have their grand rooms in the Capitol and its outlying buildings. Most Americans don't think much of Congress, which is not much more popular at polls than any group of bandits. The building complex itself does not suffer from this unpopularity. It symbolizes the American system of government of and by the people.

In addition to last week's tragic events (for which President Trump undeniably shares responsibility), the Capitol, despite its sacred position, has seen several incidents of rude and violent behavior. In 1983 a heavy bombing was carried out on the apartments of Republican senators. In 2017, the office of a Republican senator was occupied. At the time of the 2018 hearings on Judge Kavanaugh, spaces were occupied by hundreds of anti-Kavanaugh protesters. In February of 2020, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi literally tore up a copy of his State of the Union speech in the great hall of the Capitol building behind President Trump's back - thus Pelosi demeaned this stately ritual in the Capitol.

Hardly any protests

Most of the media in the free world describes the events of January 6 as an uprising or coup. And because Donald Trump already had the reputation of a second Adolf Hitler anyway, the allegations are eagerly consumed. As a result, when the social media of the fascist Trump is lifted by the tech companies, hardly any protests are heard.

What is the position of those companies under US law?

Facebook and Google are independent companies operating under special legislation, namely Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996. The gist of Section 230 reads: “No provider or user of an interactive computer service will be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. "

What does this sentence imply? This allowed social media to function as open arenas. They were not responsible for the opinions of their users, so they were not publishers making choices, but merely channels, like the postal services, which distribute the letters regardless of what letter writers share.

Although companies controlling social media are required by Section 230 to distance themselves from the evaluation of the content disclosed on their sites, they have been doing so for some time under the guise of countering fake news or violence. This has now reached an enormous size.

Control is faceless

Their actions are sparking a cancellation-wave of conservative social media accounts. Resistance is impossible. You can't call anyone. Control is faceless, anonymous, elusive.

Fleeing restrictions in recent months, conservative and right-wing social media users opened an account on the Parler platform, Twitter's conservative counterpart. After Apple and Google removed access to the Parler app last week, Amazon shut down the servers that Parler was using last Sunday - Amazon is not only an online department store but also offers server services. In other words: conservatives are first expelled from social media and then their fallback shelter is technically destroyed. Is this in sync with the new Democratic rulers?

Let's face it, this is called censorship. Without being accountable to anyone, the American oligarchs are transforming their social media into opinion monopolies.

Progressive America rules the media, Hollywood, the universities, the top tier of big business, and now social media as well. Donald Trump was elected by the voiceless people of "Middle America," who make up half of the population, but this part of America has now lost its votes online due to tech companies' intervention.

Techoligarchs

When the President of the United States can be silenced, when he can no longer communicate with his supporters using the techniques of the twenty-first century, then the Techoligarchs can treat everyone like that, and they are doing so right now. It is incomprehensible that progressive journalists and politicians do not condemn this.

Freedom of speech, with everything that goes with it such as conflict, swearing, clamor, hysteria, chaos, nonsense and cheerful or serious madness, is - as long as all this takes place without violence - crucial for a vital society. The Techoligarchs are now attacking that. They devoutly dream of so-called 'communities' with diversity in terms of race and gender - but they allow little diversity in terms of political, moral or scientifically of your views if they do not coincide with the "identity" ideologies that are now en vogue among the oligarchs and American progressive elites.

This is not limited to the internet: other companies such as banks and airlines seem to be following their example. At universities it has been so far: there are hardly any conservative professors to be found. The Wall Street Journal warned on Sunday: "The progressive purging begins." What threatens to emerge is a control state based on the Chinese model.

The historian Jacques Presser noted as early as 1947: "Fascism, if it ever returns, will undoubtedly show itself in the garb of anti-fascism."

We are experiencing just that!

[Steveboy]

Yeah But Trump has not done anything illegal.. has he been convicted ?

Guilty until proven innocent in the US...

If I was Trump I would dedicate my time from today to making a new and better Social network very easy if you have money and resources he could cause a serious problem to   book very easy!

[andrewfi]

Mark, not much I can argue about there.

While the US might be the leader in terms of censorship the rest of the 'Free World' is not far behind, not least because it is USAian companies that are the gatekeepers to mass social media and communication.

What an odd paradox it will be when we use Chinese and Russian social media for free speech. Of course, when that happens these outlets will be blocked from the Internet in the USA and other countries by a Great Wall.

[Markje]

The biggest problem with hearing only 1 side is that it will become an echo chamber of likewise content. Dissenting voices whom can have very valid and good arguments will no longer be welcome on the social media

[andrewfi]

The biggest problem with hearing only 1 side is that it will become an echo chamber of likewise content. Dissenting voices whom can have very valid and good arguments will no longer be welcome on the social media

As with control of language, if one cannot say it then one cannot think it. if one cannot think it then one cannot say it.

No matter what one's political views might be, this overt censorship should be fought against. USAians should be protesting against his banning from the media - but they won't. On one side, many people think it is a good idea to remove thoughts and words they dont want to hear and on the other, they are afraid of losing their livelihoods. These days, if one is unfortunate enough to speak out against what is happening then one can lose one's job, or worse. That process started back with 9/11 and has been normalised since then.

[Faux Pas]

I don't know that much about Parler so I'm not going to comment on it. Personally, I have no problem whatsoever with the removal of Trump from social media platforms. Trump started talking about how unfair the election would be before it ever even took place. Ever since the election, he's been going on and on about how rigged it was and spreading baseless conspiracy theories that have been riling up his base. His "stop the steal" rhetoric has been fanning the flames of Qanon and other conspiracy sites where Trump supporters gather to be indoctrinated in the latest bullshit rumors that do nothing but make them angrier and angrier and dumber and dumber as we've seen here on the forum.

Among Trump's base are some very deplorable people. White supremacists, Christian Nationalists, various militias, neo-nazis and other groups that are prone to becoming violent. Last Wednesday, after compounding the rage for 2 months on twitter, Trump and Giuliani both incited what took place, Trump much moreso. They both knew what they were doing and what the result would be. Removing Trump from social media removes him from platforms where he can rile up his base to cause more violence and mayhem. He has, in-effect, been neutered. He should be impeached or removed in some other manner as a consequence for the damage he has done. He's been yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater for too long.

This would be the typical post of a snowflake kool-aid drinker. Rules for thee but not for me.

[2tallbill]

Washington Post columnist says that white Trump supporters need to be 'deprogrammed'
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-supporters-deprogrammed

[2tallbill]

My Senator Ted Cruz of Texas has been threatened to be put on the
No Fly List by elected Democrat Homeland Security Committee Chair
Rep. Bennie Thompson because of his political views


House Homeland Security Chair Wants Ted Cruz
and Josh Hawley on the No-Fly List
https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/a-terrorist-is-a-terrorist-house-homeland-security-chair-wants-ted-cruz-and-josh-hawley-on-the-no-fly-list/


"Terrorists" Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley should be on
no-fly list, House homeland security chair says
https://www.salon.com/2021/01/12/terrorists-ted-cruz-and-josh-hawley-should-be-on-no-fly-list-house-homeland-security-chair-says/

[2tallbill]

Ex-Obama CIA directer Brennan demands Trump
supporters to publicly beg for mercy, ‘denounce
despot’ to ‘eradicate malignancy’
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/01/10/brennan-demands-trump-supporters-publicly-beg-for-mercy-denounce-despot-to-eradicate-malignancy-1014541/


Antifa, BLM in riot gear storm streets of NYC, journalist
attacked: ‘Our motherf**king streets!’
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/01/11/antifa-blm-in-riot-gear-storm-streets-of-nyc-journalist-attacked-our-motherfking-streets-1014836/

[2tallbill]

Rep. Linda Sánchez says she's poised to introduce legislation that would
ban virtually everything — "even a bench" — from bearing President
Trump's name.
https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/533647-lawmaker-to-unveil-bill-ensuring-nothing-no-airport-no-highway

Democrat Reps. Sánchez, Castro Push Legislation to Prevent
‘Even a Bench’ from Being Named After Trump
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/01/11/reps-sanchez-castro-push-legislation-prevent-named-trump/


DISSENT IS NOT ALLOWED: Twitter Will No Longer Allow Any Questioning
of Fraudulent Election
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2021/01/dissent-not-allowed-twitter-will-no-longer-allow-questioning-fraudulent-election/

[2tallbill]

'Inside every progressive is a totalitarian screaming to get out."
David Horowitz

You gotta get rid of Fox News too.

Tucker Carlson: From Twitter to CNN, the left is coming for your speech
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-on-twitter-and-cnn

Tucker Carlson reveals that CNN is trying to force Fox News OFF the air
by pressuring cable carriers to drop it
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9128559/Tucker-Carlson-taunts-CNN-tells-Fox-News-long-long-time.html

Hypocrite much? Days before Biden takes office, the left decided
the economy doesn't need to stay closed.


Cuomo Says New York Must Reopen Economy
https://news.yahoo.com/cuomo-says-york-must-reopen-223303731.html

Something missing? Biden’s priorities to re-open ‘Black, Latino, Asian,
Native American, women-owned businesses’
Joe Biden plans to help small businesses hard-hit by COVID with
federal funds, but apparently only if those establishments fit within
the parameters of identity politics, a philosophy which itself is a
priority for Democrats.
https://www.bizpacreview.com/2021/01/11/something-missing-bidens-priorities-to-re-open-black-latino-asian-native-american-women-owned-businesses-1014905/

[2tallbill]

Michael Beller, the attorney for PBS calling for the children of Trump
supporters to be "put into re-eduation camps"

[sailor291]

Can somebody tell me exactly what President Trump supposedly said that was so egregious?  I don’t mean what you may think he meant, what exactly did he say?

[andrewfi]

I can't say I heard everything he said, but the clips used by the Democrats were certainly NOT inflammatory.

The poor USAians are being lied to and misled.

Dark times lie ahead.