So the Left Closed Parler and Gab is down, Twitter is blocking, Yep free country.

[Guest]

What gets really tiresome is these looney left turds who have nothing better to do than to ride our arses. Get lost DML.

Oops not a like
Frozen fingers
Fireplace roaring, time to dream

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Mediums of information??? or disinformation. How many right wing sites claim the capital riots were false flag operations? How many on here believe that? Yet in Congress today the House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy stated: ""Some say the riots were caused by antifa. There is absolutely no evidence of that. And conservatives should be the first to say so."
How many believe the election was rigged and have said so on social media. Yet recounts were done in the contested states and it did not change the results. Trump had more than 60 suits claiming election fraud thrown out because the right wing could not present any actual evidence of the fraud. Republican Kevin McCarthy, who voted to overturn the results of the election, now says, "Joe Biden will be sworn in as president in one week because he won the election."
Just because something appears in social media (left or right leaning) does not make it true. Most people are too lazy to confirm or even question postings, provided the postings fits their bias. The censorship is not the fault of media companies but of individuals, up to and including the president, posting lies and conspiracy theories, instead of actual information.
Parler was in fact a right wing attempt (abefore censorship) to "go play somewhere else."

Either you didn't read my post, or else I'm an even worse communicator than my wife tells me I am.
I didn't say anything about the riots or fake news, or consipiracies or the election, or parler ( hadn't even heard of it before a few days ago).

I am saying that we have a very divided society, and that is at the root of many of the issues going on right now. Kicking one faction out of the conversation is only going to make that division worse.

You have lately claimed that you spend time on Agriville specifically to call out BS. And many ( most I hope) of us are open minded enough to begrudgingly accept your corrections when we are off course. And vice versa ( with the notable exception of Chuck who already knows everything, and a few on the other extreme...)

If I come on here and start spouting off about some conspiracy theory that I just made up, and Agriville kicks me off for spreading fake news. You lose the opportunity to debate me and prove me wrong, in the public arena for all other readers to also see, so the next time they encounter my theory in the gossip chain, they won't know any better, and will believe it. I will take my conspiracy theory elsewhere, and keep spreading it, unfettered. My vast fan club will probably follow me ( Right Bin Lurking?) Now completely paranoid that big brother is out to get us, we will have to meet in person in our Mom's basement with our tinfoil hats where no one can censor or listen in. With no grown ups to set us straight, our conspiracy theories and paranoia will only grow stronger, meanwhile you and Chuck will be the only ones left on Agriville congratulating each other on the consensus you have achieved on... everything. Your group will assume you are right about everything, our group will assume we are right about everything, since neither one ever encounters any dissenting opinions.

Aren't we all better off knowing what the other side is up to?

Looked at another way. The folks who walked into the Capitol were apparently smart enough to supposedly have been planning this all online in plain sight all along. That makes it much easier to prevent and or solve a crime than if you silence them all, and they all go underground communicating by smoke signals.

So if you keep them a part of the conversation, not only do you get the opportunity to try to straighten them out, but you also can see what they are plotting, and do something about it.

The much bigger issue ( and I've posted about this before), is who gets to decide what is fake news?
Do you have an answer as to who you would trust to always know what is true and what isn't? And is the truth fixed in time? A sun centric solar system was fake news at one time, should it still be? Could science and society even progress if contrary evidence is disallowed in public, after all, that is how science progresses.

[burnt]

Glen Greenwald presents a cogent piece on how the big tech operators - BTOs, if you like - can cooperate to shut down anyone they want to silence.

Anyone.

"How Silicon Valley, in a Show of Monopolistic Force, Destroyed Parler

In the last three months, tech giants have censored political speech and journalism to manipulate U.S. politics, while liberals, with virtual unanimity, have cheered."

Free speech is done.

What never ceases to amaze, though, is that the leftist shrillers who cheer this action on cannot see how it will invariably come back to bite them.

History repeats because of such ignorance.

They display a special kind of obtuse stupidity that is truly disturbing. A stupidity that blinds them to the corrosive evil espoused and promoted by the real threat to peace. The type of threat spewed by mis-characterizations of humanity like the twisted AOC. Or the hate-breathing Rashid. And so on...

These are the ones who have set a determined course to destroy everything that we value.

https://greenwald.substack.com/p/how-silicon-valley-in-a-show-of-monopolistic https://greenwald.substack.com/p/how-silicon-valley-in-a-show-of-monopolistic

[littledoggie]

Meanwhile in Canada:

Cabinet will introduce 2021 regulations to curb Twitter and Facebook posts deemed hurtful or offensive, says Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s department. Hate speech is already forbidden under 1970 amendments to the Criminal Code. (Blacklocks Jan 14,2021)

[SASKFARMER]

Yea in Canada anything from the right will be stopped at all costs. The left propaganda can continue.

Ah, what a shit show.

[agstar77]

Yea in Canada anything from the right will be stopped at all costs. The left propaganda can continue.

Ah, what a shit show.

I see teacher put another thread in the penalty box.

[dmlfarmer]

....The much bigger issue ( and I've posted about this before), is who gets to decide what is fake news?
Do you have an answer as to who you would trust to always know what is true and what isn't? And is the truth fixed in time? A sun centric solar system was fake news at one time, should it still be? Could science and society even progress if contrary evidence is disallowed in public, after all, that is how science progresses.

AF5: Collection of evidence that the earth revolved around the sun through observation and mathematics is what led to acceptance of a sun centric system by the populous. Evidence knowledge is what determines what is fake news and what is truth.

Where was the evidence for the basis of Pizzagate? There was no actual evidence, it was simply innuendo, suspicions, and propaganda that led to claims of a Democratic child sex ring operating out of Comet Pizza. And repeated sharing of this garbage ultimately led to an armed gunman shooting up Comet Pizza. The Pizzagate story was widely circulated yet no one stopped the gunman just as no one prevented the capital riots or BLM riots so I dispute your theory that exposure prevents bad things happening. Instead I will argue increased violence is what unfettered sharing of fake news results in.

I am not for banning free speech. I am for taking away the public megaphone that is used to spread lies, rumors and propaganda. That is all that shutting down Parler is doing. You say that the speech will just go "to moms basement" and you are right. However, the number of people that hear those words in "moms basement" will be miniscule compared to the audience they have through social media. If there was moderation of social media to insure posts are honest, there would be no need to shut a site down. But Parler made a point that it was completely unmoderated and that was its downfall. The point everyone is ignoring is that there must by responsibility by both individuals and social media to ensure what is said and posted is true based on knowledge and evidence. Without that assurance, free speech quickly becomes propaganda for those in power to empower and control the useful idiots in society.

The question I ask you AF5 is would WW2 have happened if the Nazi party did not use propaganda? They even had a Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. They sold a story that the average German wanted to believe instead of truth. They convinced the German people that the cause of their plight was the Jews. And the people believed that the trains carrying the Jews were going to work camps because that was the story that was always presented. Yet even today there are those who deny the holocaust happened. Should people be able to deny the Holocaust happened without providing any actual evidence for that statement? Should Republicans be allowed to claim the election was fraudulent and Trump won without providing any actual evidence of fraud?

The propaganda posters of Nazi Germany are no different than the memes on social media today by both the right and left. Social media has become a useful tool of powerful people to recruit people through the use of misinformation, just as the Nazi's used newspapers and radio. The rallies today to fire up supporters to a cause is no different the the rallies Hitler had.

No question that society is divided today. But I believe repetition of lies and propaganda does more to inflame those divisions than holding those behind fake news and misinformation accountable.

[SASKFARMER]

Thats real nice but Trudeau is the idiot incharge in canada and he is pushing his agenda down our throats. He is only interested in propping up seats that he can get elected in. Basically taking smart city people and turning them into sheep that follow his every rule.

MSM is doing the same by propping up this fool.

Hitler never had more than a minority gov and he controlled the people.

I don't trust trudeau one bit or any liberal.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

AF5: Collection of evidence that the earth revolved around the sun through observation and mathematics is what led to acceptance of a sun centric system by the populous. Evidence knowledge is what determines what is fake news and what is truth.

Where was the evidence for the basis of Pizzagate? There was no actual evidence, it was simply innuendo, suspicions, and propaganda that led to claims of a Democratic child sex ring operating out of Comet Pizza. And repeated sharing of this garbage ultimately led to an armed gunman shooting up Comet Pizza. The Pizzagate story was widely circulated yet no one stopped the gunman just as no one prevented the capital riots or BLM riots so I dispute your theory that exposure prevents bad things happening. Instead I will argue increased violence is what unfettered sharing of fake news results in.

Preventing and reducing are two different things. The law of diminishing returns applied here too. There are always going to be some crazies who are immune to logic and common sense. While the vast majority might be somewhat gullible and naive, but when presented with logical arguments, will moderate their opinions, and not resort to shooting pizza joints( never heard of pizzagate before), or burning police cars. Not sure that reaching the extremists on both sides is even possible. But I'd rather deal with the aftermath of a small handful of crazies that slip through the cracks, than half the population, which is where this is leading.

Your arguement regarding the sun centric universe is exactly backwards. The accepted wisdom was that it was earth centric. Everything that contradicted that was the considered the fake news of the day. te censors of the day were the Catholic church, and they decided what was and wasn't fake news. No one was not permitted to present the evidence without dire consequences. Copernicus didn't even publish within his lifetime. Galileo had his book banned, lost his position, ended up having to confess through threat of torture and was sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life, easily could have cost him his life. It took centuries for all Catholic countries to finally accept the truth.
Are you certain that the censors at facebook are any more capable of judging truth from fiction than those in Galileo's times? Do you think the truth is fixed in time?

As for the suggestion that no one stopped the white house walk in, when it was so well advertised; all I can say is that fact really gives the conspiracy theorists a lot of great material. And makes your job of disproving them much harder. This wasn't a clandestine secret coup, it was the most advertised and publicly planned event I can think of. If no one took heed until after the fact, it really forces one to ask a lot of questions.

[AlbertaFarmer5]

The question I ask you AF5 is would WW2 have happened if the Nazi party did not use propaganda? They even had a Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda. They sold a story that the average German wanted to believe instead of truth. They convinced the German people that the cause of their plight was the Jews. And the people believed that the trains carrying the Jews were going to work camps because that was the story that was always presented. Yet even today there are those who deny the holocaust happened. Should people be able to deny the Holocaust happened without providing any actual evidence for that statement? Should Republicans be allowed to claim the election was fraudulent and Trump won without providing any actual evidence of fraud?

The propaganda posters of Nazi Germany are no different than the memes on social media today by both the right and left. Social media has become a useful tool of powerful people to recruit people through the use of misinformation, just as the Nazi's used newspapers and radio. The rallies today to fire up supporters to a cause is no different the the rallies Hitler had.

No question that society is divided today. But I believe repetition of lies and propaganda does more to inflame those divisions than holding those behind fake news and misinformation accountable.

I'm not in the speculation business, but I would surmise that WWII was inevitable. Stalin was determined to start it, Hitler just beat him to it before he was prepared.

A better question to ask, is could a modern day Hitler convince his population to turn on a single religious group, ignore the obvious signs and probably fool so many of them in the era of social media? Or would the democratization of media, as opposed to the absolute monopoly on propaganda that the Nazi's enjoyed, make such a thing impossible?

[WiltonRanch]

I'm not in the speculation business, but I would surmise that WWII was inevitable. Stalin was determined to start it, Hitler just beat him to it before he was prepared.

A better question to ask, is could a modern day Hitler convince his population to turn on a single religious group, ignore the obvious signs and probably fool so many of them in the era of social media? Or would the democratization of media, as opposed to the absolute monopoly on propaganda that the Nazi's enjoyed, make such a thing impossible?

I wonder too with such accessible social media today that people presented with instant access to information act or react too quickly? How do we keep people logical and not too hasty?

[malleefarmer]

I have various friends on twitter both on left and right side of arguments have had accounts suspended in last week.

Some seemingly innocuous innocent tweets somet8mes humour bang gone.