It has become apparent that various social media platforms are owned and operated by companies who have their own political standing and opinions. This has become most evident in the likes of Youtube, Facebook and Twitter. Whom use various algorithms to censor and remove or shadow-censor content. One might think that these companies focus on violations of community expectations like hate-speech, racist content or acts of violence. However, these companies are not consistent in their control as they extend these powers of online censorship to suppress users whom hold conflicting political opinions.
For example, Milo Yiannopoulos, a gay senior editor at a conservative news site, whom also received the Annie Taylor Award for Courage at David Horowitz’s 2016 Restoration Weekend was given a lifetime ban on twitter for a comment against a member of the all-female cast for the latest Ghostbusters film. Yet, twitter accounts that celebrate the murder of US cops remain untouched and Twitter also hosts more than 9,200 ISIS affiliated accounts. At what point, do we develop a drug-like dependence on these companies that allows them to dictate to people what they should see … and think?
Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it ― George Orwell, 1984
I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it – Evelyn Beatrice Hall
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2016/07/08/black-lives-matter-supporters-celebrate-police-deaths-twitter/
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/media/digital/2015/03/16/Anonymous-reveals-list-of-ISIS-linked-Twitter-accounts.html
http://www.mediafactwatch.com/2016-06-02-same-social-media-network-that-doesnt-shut-down-isis-accounts-introduces-orwellian-trust-safety-council.html
