One of the most constant things you hear when it comes to social media censorship (if the left admits it happens at all) is that corporations are free to choose what they want to have on their platform. This is said as a counter point when someone complains about censorship. This is pretty much the entirety of the argument as well. Pretty much "why are you complaining, they can do as they want".
Of course, this "it's their right" defense of complaints is common. It's a way to end a conversation without ever dealing with the complaint. It's a dismissal, AND, it's one that the don't even believe. Musk has shown this statement to be true.
After all, the worry from many on the left has been that he will NOT censor.
The thing is though, if those who simply retort with "Corporations are free to choose what they want to have on their platform." REALLY believed that statement, along with any of their "it's their right" defense, they wouldn't be complaining. After all, choosing NOT to censor is just as much a part of the "right" they use as a discussion stopper as censoring.
However, the fact is that those who use that line DON'T really believe it. It's just an easy out. They WANT the censorship, but they don't really want to have to DEFEND the censorship. It's about outsourcing the power of censorship so that they can pretend that their hands are clean.
Musk's offer to buy Twitter exposes this for what it is.
Of course, this "it's their right" defense of complaints is common. It's a way to end a conversation without ever dealing with the complaint. It's a dismissal, AND, it's one that the don't even believe. Musk has shown this statement to be true.
After all, the worry from many on the left has been that he will NOT censor.
The thing is though, if those who simply retort with "Corporations are free to choose what they want to have on their platform." REALLY believed that statement, along with any of their "it's their right" defense, they wouldn't be complaining. After all, choosing NOT to censor is just as much a part of the "right" they use as a discussion stopper as censoring.
However, the fact is that those who use that line DON'T really believe it. It's just an easy out. They WANT the censorship, but they don't really want to have to DEFEND the censorship. It's about outsourcing the power of censorship so that they can pretend that their hands are clean.
Musk's offer to buy Twitter exposes this for what it is.
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