^TagTwitter

Cancel Culture society concept or cultural cancellation and social media censorship as canceling or restricting opinions that are offensive or controversial to the public

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post

Author
News
Date
January 13, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Alex Berenson, Big Tech, Child sex abuse, COVID 19 censorship, Facebook, Robert Flaherty, Tucker Carlson, Twitter, Twitter and Russian influence claims, Twitter files 13, Twitter files 14, White House}

Twitter files 13 and 14… plus the critical bigger picture

_{Growing distrust of mainstream media should be supplemented by scrutiny among users of Big Tech social media. They're not an answer to the problem.} _{News

January 13, 2023

6

Censorship, Social Media}

First, as Elon Musk continues to dump the files out the window at Twitter — to the dismay of the media elite that generally knew and approved of censorship of views other than their own, especially where COVID-19 or U.S. federal politics was concerned: Twitter files 13: Handled by independent journalist Alex Berenson — once banned from Twitter for criticizing the government response to the pandemic: “Pfizer board member Scott Gottlieb secretly pressed Twitter to hide posts challenging his company’s massively profitable Covid jabs /To funnel his demands, Gottlieb used the same Twitter lobbyist the White House did – fresh evidence of overlap between the company selling mRNA shots and the government forcing them on the public.” 4/ In October Read More ›

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post

Author
News
Date
January 9, 2023

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Bari Weiss, Bias in media, Featured, Jack Dorsey, Karl D. Stephan, Twitter, Wilfred Reilly}

What? Twitter is “neutral”? A thoughtful engineer responds

_{Despite appearances, Twitter is not a conventional public square, but a private corporation} _{News

January 9, 2023

7

Censorship, Social Media}

This column by Texas State University engineering prof Karl Stephan is republished with thanks from Engineering Ethics (January 2, 2023) Back when I started this blog in 2006, the phrase “social media” was hardly used by anybody, according to Google Trends. It began to climb above 1% of its current frequency of use around 2008, possibly in connection with the elections of that year, and has been climbing ever since. Twitter, the social-media format that has become the default medium of choice for announcements by Presidents on down, was also founded in 2006. From an obscure techie-speak term, it has turned into a routine and near-universal medium of expression that its leadership has claimed is as neutral as they can make it. But Read More ›

Hairdresser's hands with scissors. New normal concept. Copy space. Stay safe. Health protection equipment during quarantine Coronavirus pandemic. Covid 19

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 28, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
COVID censorship, David Zweig, John West on totalitarian science, Mainstream media and Twitter files, Matt Taibbi, Substack, Twitter, Twitter and COVID censorship, Twitter files 10, Twitter files 9, Vivek Murthy}

How Twitter Cut Off a Reasoned Discussion of the COVID Response

_{Three more takeaways (7-9) as the story gets deeper — and of greater concern to those who believe that a free flow of information makes for a healthier society} _{Denyse O'Leary

December 28, 2022

6

Censorship, Social Media}

First, last January, John West reflected at Evolution News and Science Today about the rise of totalitarian science, as shown by the way COVID was managed: The COVID era also has seen a dramatic rise of censorship in the name of science. We are told continuously now that “misinformation” or “disinformation” must be stopped. No decent person favors the spread of “misinformation.” But who is to judge what constitutes “misinformation”? Those warning of “misinformation” seem to assume that existing elites are always right, and so they should be in charge of determining what is true or false. But anyone conversant with the history of science or government knows that this claim can’t hold up to scrutiny. Neither elite scientists nor Read More ›

A sheet of white paper is held by a protester in China.

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post

Author
Heather Zeiger
Date
December 23, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, China, Global Technology

Tagged
A4 Revolution, Amy Chang Chien, Apple Airdrop, Caiwei Chen, China, China protests 2022, Claire Fu, Featured, Instagram, Instagram and China protests, Paul Mozur, Twitter, Twitter and China protests, Urumqui apartment fire, White paper movement (China), Zero-Covid policy in China}

China: Protesters Evade Censors and Confront State Surveillance

_{Chinese citizens are known for their clever plays on words to evade social media censors.} _{Heather Zeiger

December 23, 2022

7

Censorship, China, Global Technology}

The graffiti on the bathroom wall at the university said there would be a gathering in honor of the people who had died in an apartment fire in Urumqi, Xinjiang. Bathrooms usually do not have surveillance cameras, so this announcement would probably go unnoticed by censors. It is better than risking punishment by posting on social media. In another city, Chinese citizens discretely shared information about the location of a vigil for the Urumqi victims on WeChat in the guise of dinner plans. A number of people died in the fire, whose toll was likely inflated because emergency vehicles were unable to access the building due to zero-Covid measures. Social media posts showed doors that were barred shut and barricades Read More ›

Chat bot Robot Online Chatting Communication Business Internet Technology Concept

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
December 5, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence

Tagged
Andy Crouch, Artificial Intelligence, chatbots, Computers, David Decosimo, Elon Musk, Human exceptionalism, human exceptionalism (vs. computers), OpenAI, Twitter}

OpenAI Launches Impressive New Chatbot: ChatGPT

_{The sophisticated AI tool could revolutionize the internet, and come with big cost} _{Peter Biles

December 5, 2022

4

Artificial Intelligence}

Artificial intelligence is making great strides in 2022. A few months ago, the company OpenAI introduced DALL-E, a text-to-image generator, which they made open to the public. Some have raised concerns over the future role of artists and copyright issues considering AI art generators. Does AI pose a threat to human creators? Well, that question just got weightier and more multifaceted. OpenAI just released ChatGPT, what writer Jacob Carpenter calls, “the most advanced, user-friendly chatbot to enter the public domain.” ChatGPT can “write lines of code, pen a college-level essay, author responses in the voice of a pirate, and write a piano piece in Mozart’s style.” Carpenter goes on to point out that some are wondering if the chatbot threatens Read More ›

Unemployed hold cardboard box and laptop bag, dossier and drawing tube in box. Quiting a job, businessman fired or leave a job concpet.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
November 23, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Elon Musk, Employees, Facebook, Finance, Futurism, Mark Zuckerberg, metaverse, Twitter}

Twitter Gets Blasted While Meta Struggles

_{While Musk’s every move is being scrutinized, Zuckerberg’s struggles fall to the wayside} _{Peter Biles

November 23, 2022

4

Social Media}

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla and founder of PayPal, radically reorganized Twitter in October and November, and now, is the subject of much criticism from the media. He has laid off hundreds of employees and fired the advisory board. In addition, he reinstated the formerly suspended accounts of Jordan Peterson, parody news site The Babylon Bee, and most outrageously, former president Donald Trump. A few days ago, somehow it was assumed across the Twitter sphere that the entire platform was about to implode. I started seeing people post things like, “If this is my last tweet, I’m okay with that…” Not sure what was happening, I experienced a sudden flood of similar tweets prophesying the Twitter era’s impending Read More ›

Hand touch metaverse infinite loop unlimited technology futuristic digital connection background of virtual reality cyberpunk world or internet game innovation cyber network and hologram experience.

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post

Author
Peter Biles
Date
November 20, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Elon Musk, Layoffs, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, metaverse, social media, Technology, Twitter}

Big Layoffs Ahead for Zuckerberg’s Meta

_{Employee downsizing at the social media giant casts doubt on its relevancy and future} _{Peter Biles

November 20, 2022

4

Social Media}

With recent headlines highlighting Elon Musk’s Twitter, Meta’s ongoing troubles have escaped some of the limelight, but are significant, nonetheless. This past week, Mark Zuckerberg announced over 11,000 layoffs across his company, focusing on recruiting and business, according to a memo. The layoffs will affect some 13 percent of the tech giant’s 87,000 employees. Meta, due in large part to its optimistic investment in the metaverse, plummeted in value this past year, and workers are feeling the consequences. While the tech industry is seeing high personnel cuts this year, Zuckerberg did not have to hire as many people as he did, and clearly depended too much on the metaverse project for profit, which looks like it won’t be nearly Read More ›

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
November 7, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Blue Checkmark (Twitter), Brian Moynihan, Elon Musk, Elon Musk and changes at Twitter, Facebook layoffs (2022), Jacob Carpenter, JacobCarpenter on Twitter, Steve Tollman, Twitter, Twitter blue check marks, Twitter layoffs (2022)}

Musk’s Day at Twitter Dawned: And So What Really Happened?

_{For one thing, many layoffs — but layoffs are currently widespread in Big Tech} _{Denyse O'Leary

November 7, 2022

4

Social Media}

Important people seem to be taking Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover very seriously indeed. Were those of us who have disregarded Twitter in the past wrong? Blind sided? Here’s U.S. President Joe Biden: “Elon Musk goes out and buys an outfit that spews lies all across the world, There’s no editors anymore in America.” Maybe, but no one is forced to join Twitter or even listen… Many traditional tech watchers are sounding an alarm over Musk’s post-takeover layoffs. But before we get into that, let’s note that other Big Techs are also currently laying off personnel in considerable numbers: November 4 has been called the worst day for layoffs in 2022 (Black Thursday) at Fortune: News of job cuts came down Read More ›

Little Caucasians blond boy child 3-4 years old covered his face with his hands alone in the dark and is afraid. The concept of social problems and dysfunctional families, child abuse. Copy space.

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post

Author
News
Date
September 2, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Crime, Social Media

Tagged
Apple app store and Twitter, Casey Newton, Tumblr and child porn, Twitter, Twitter (and Elon Musk), Twitter and censorship, Twitter and child porn, Twitter's censorship priorities}

Twitter’s Censorship — Child Porn (Shrug… ), MDs’ Doubts: NO!

_{Twitter censored doctors and researchers who raised doubts about COVID strategies but seemed helpless about child porn} _{News

September 2, 2022

4

Censorship, Crime, Social Media}

Earlier this week, we looked at The Verge’s groundbreaking coverage of Twitter’s inability to prioritize and address child porn (and non-consensual nudity) at the site. One of the authors, Casey Newton, followed up Wednesday at Platformer,, filling readers in on new facts that he and Zoe Schiffer learned from a former Twitter employee after their story was published. One was that “Twitter’s move would draw Apple’s attention to the significant amount of porn on the service, and potentially place new restrictions on its iOS app or even remove it from the App Store.” That’s no idle threat, Newton reminds us. In 2018, Tumblr was dropped from the Apple app store when “child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was found on the Read More ›

Automotive Engineer Use Virtual Reality Headset for Virtual Electric Car 3D Model Design Analysis and Improvement. 3D Graphics Visualization Shows Fully Developed Vehicle Prototype Analysed Optimized

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post

Author
News
Date
August 4, 2022

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy, Virtual Reality

Tagged
Adam Goad, Austin Egbert, Big Tech, Big Tech influence, Bitcoin (currency), Blockchain, censorship, Centralization, cloud, cryptocurrencies, decentralization, Edge computing, Ethereum, Facebook, Featured, Jack Dorsey on Web3, metaverse, Metaverse (living in metaverse), Robert J. Marks, Twitter, Virtual Reality, Web3}

Why Don’t Some Tech Moguls Like Web3, the New Internet?

_{Web3 is a decentralized, less controlled version of the internet, as George Gilder predicted in Life After Google} _{News

August 4, 2022

10

Artificial Intelligence, Censorship, Data Privacy, Surveillance, Technocracy, Virtual Reality}

In this week’s podcast, “Web3: The next generation of the internet” (August 4, 2022), Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks interviews graduate student Adam Goad and Dr. Austin Egbert, both in computer engineering at Baylor University, on the coming decentralization of the internet. With developments like the ones they discuss looming, Big Tech may be seeing a waistline trim. This is the Part I of the first of the three discussions. https://mindmatters.ai/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Mind-Matters-198-Adam-Goad-Austin-Egbert.mp3 A partial transcript and Additional Resources follow. Dr. Marks began by discussing all the services he gets from Google, confessing that he has not needed to go to a library in over two decades. But… Robert J. Marks: Now, is Google just being nice in giving me Read More ›

birds eye view photography of cloudy sky

^{Type
podcast

Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
August 4, 2022

Tagged
Adam Goad, Austin Egbert, Big Tech, Big Tech influence, Bitcoin (currency), Blockchain, censorship, Centralization, cloud, cryptocurrencies, decentralization, Edge computing, Ethereum, Facebook, metaverse, Twitter, Web3}

Web3: The Next Generation of the Internet

_{Robert J. Marks

August 4, 2022

1}

Futurist George Gilder forecasts that decentralization of the web is going to be the future of the internet. Data will become more personalized and stored on your local computer instead of in the cloud and companies like Google will have to figure out some way to adjust. Adam Goad and Dr. Austin Egbert discuss blockchain, Web3, decentralization, and the metaverse Read More ›

Business crisis manager stopping falling dominos from collapsing

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post

Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
May 17, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media

Tagged
Brendan O'Neill, Elon Musk, Elon Musk (Twitter buy opposition), European Union (on Musk Twitter buy), Media (support for censorship), Project Veritas (Twitter buy leak), Siru Murugesan, Twitter}

Who Opposes Musk’s Proposed Twitter Takeover Deal?

_{Four groups to watch are Twitter employees, left-wing action coalitions, legacy media, and the European Union} _{Denyse O'Leary

May 17, 2022

7

Censorship, Media, Social Media}

First, the state of play: Elon Musk’s foray into buying Twitter remains on hold amid disputes about how much of Twitter is dominated by bot accounts. Musk believes that 20% of the accounts are spam. Spam bots on Twitter are automated accounts that can take actions like real humans, such as sending out tweets, following other users, as well as liking and retweeting other users’ posts. Such accounts can be programmed to try and drive traffic to a product or service as part of a commercial endeavor or spread content as part of a social or political influence operation. Tom Ozimek, “Musk Says Twitter Deal on Hold Over Spam Bots” at Epoch Times (May 13, 2022) That’s something Musk says Read More ›

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
April 5, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
decentralization, Elon Musk, Free speech, Jack Dorsey, Larry Sanger, Twitter, Web3}

Dorsey Talks Decentralization and Musk Buys Twitter Share

_{Will this be the upset many free speech advocates hope it could be?} _{Caitlin Cory

April 5, 2022

6

Censorship, Social Media}

Last week, I wrote about the buzz around internet decentralization, especially as there appears to be talk at Twitter of moving in such a direction. The buzz continues, this time with vocal support from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, coinciding with a bold financial move from Elon Musk. On April 2, Dorsey reminisced on Twitter about the early, decentralized days of the Internet, and said that centralization “really damaged the internet. I realize I’m partially to blame, and regret it.” The problems of social media platforms have been made clear in the past few years, specifically when it comes to data privacy and how to handle (or even define) harmful content while also respecting free speech. But there isn’t as much Read More ›

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
March 30, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Bluesky, decentralization, Encyclosphere, Free speech, Jack Dorsey, Larry Sanger, Minifeed, Open vs. closed platform, Parag Agrawal, Twitter, Web 3.0, Wikipedia}

Could Decentralization Fix Twitter’s Censorship Problems?

_{Decentralization is not an automatic guarantee of internet freedom, but it may be a good first step} _{Caitlin Cory

March 30, 2022

6

Censorship, Social Media}

Twitter is considering decentralization according to a recent report from The New York Times. But what does decentralization mean, and how would it impact our experience with social media? Is this a solution to all the problems around censorship standards that Big Tech companies have faced in recent years? According to The New York Times, Twitter is following the early vision of a former employee named Blaine Cook by “funding an independent effort to build a so-called open protocol for social media. It is also weaving cryptocurrency into its app, and opening up to developers who want to build custom features for Twitter.” Kate Conger reports: Some skeptics believe Twitter is jumping on the web3 bandwagon, joining a trendy movement in tech to shift many Read More ›

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post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
March 11, 2022

Categorized
Censorship, Global Technology, Social Media

Tagged
Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus, Facebook, Hate speech, Instagram, Meta, Russia, Twitter, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, WhatsApp}

Meta Suspends Hate Speech Policy in Countries Near Russia

_{Hate speech and death threats against Russian and Belarusian political leaders and their militaries are temporarily allowed in twelve Eastern European countries} _{Caitlin Cory

March 11, 2022

4

Censorship, Global Technology, Social Media}

In a dramatic change of policy, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) will temporarily allow users of Facebook and Instagram in twelve countries to post hate speech and death threats directed toward Russian and Belarusian military personnel and political leaders within the context of the conflict in Ukraine. The change was first reported by Reuters on Thursday morning. A Meta spokesperson told Reuters, “As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.” Calls for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko are Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
March 4, 2022

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Facebook, Facebook Files, Joe Biden, mental health, social media, social media harms (children), State of the Union, Twitter}

In State of the Union, Biden Vows to Curb Social Media Harms

_{Biden addressed the mental health harms of social media use on children and teens} _{Caitlin Cory

March 4, 2022

5

Social Media}

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden referred to the harms of social media in his State of the Union address, announcing policy proposals to curb those harms. In response, however, some have been critical of the president’s remarks, accusing him of ignoring social media’s deeper dangers. Over an hour into his speech, President Biden turned to mental health and the emotional toll the pandemic has had, especially on children. Then he turned to the emotional health toll exacted by social media, long before the first COVID-19 lockdowns. “Children were also struggling before the pandemic – bullying, violence, trauma, and the harms of social media,” he said. “It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop Read More ›

^{Type
post

Author
Caitlin Cory
Date
November 30, 2021

Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media

Tagged
Free speech, Jack Dorsey, Jack Dorsey (steps down), Parag Agrawal, social media, Twitter}

Jack Dorsey Resigns from Twitter: “now is the right time”

_{Some are concerned that his replacement is bad news for free speech} _{Caitlin Cory

November 30, 2021

5

Business and Finance, Social Media}

On Monday, Jack Dorsey announced his resignation as Twitter CEO, explaining that he has “worked hard to ensure this company can break away from its founding and founders” and that “now is the right time.” “I want you all to know that this was my decision and I own it,” wrote Dorsey in an email to his colleagues that he then posted to Twitter. “It was a tough one for me, of course. I love this service and company… and all of you so much. I’m really sad… yet really happy. There aren’t many companies that get to this level. And there aren’t many founders that choose their company over their own ego. I know we’ll prove this was the right move.” Read More ›