Storming of US Capitol

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Richard
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Re: Storming of US Capitol

Postby Richard » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:44 pm

A concern for the art of persuasion, as rhetoric was anciently defined, was a principal feature of Greek intellectual life.
The great Greek philosopher Aristotle, taught that the art of rhetoric is built on three pillars - logos (the logic or reasoning supporting the speaker), ethos (the credibility of the speaker) and pathos (emotional appeal of the speaker).
Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men – Plato, teacher of Aristotle,

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number9
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Re: Storming of US Capitol

Postby number9 » Tue Jan 12, 2021 9:53 pm

I think that some "social media" have found ways of hindering our "Freedom of Speech"
If they don't like what they believe is a minority opinion they use ways to block and stop
posts that don't agree with their narrative and thus stopping what could be a useful debate

No matter how much you dislike the man " twitter" now stops Trump from tweeting on
twitter for life.Now I could understand a 6 month ban whilst things settle down, but for life
Really Who will be next ?

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number9
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Re: Storming of US Capitol

Postby number9 » Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:50 pm

Who will be next ??
It seems that Ron Paul former presidential candidate also has a ban
He has been blocked from Facebook page for over repeated violations of the social media giant's "community standards."
"Never have we received notice of violating community standards in the past and nowhere is the offending post identified" is the response from Ron Paul on twitter.
Seems the post that got Paul blocked was about Tech Censorship

"Last week's massive social media purges—starting with President Trump's permanent ban from Twitter and other outlets—was shocking and chilling, particularly to those of us who value free expression and the free exchange of ideas," Paul wrote in the column.

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Richard
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Re: Storming of US Capitol

Postby Richard » Tue Jan 12, 2021 11:56 pm

The argument against banning or suspending social media accounts for Trump or his followers is allegedly twofold:

Germany's A. Merkel:
'any restriction should be according to the law and within the framework defined by legislators – not according to a decision by the management of social media platforms'.
Implying that it is not democratic.

Trump's son, Donald Jr. “The ayatollah and numerous other dictatorial regimes can have Twitter accounts with no issue despite threatening genocide to entire countries and killing homosexuals etc'.

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seahermit
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Re: Storming of US Capitol

Postby seahermit » Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:11 am

"If they don't like what they believe is a minority opinion, they use ways to block and stop
posts that don't agree with their narrative and thus stopping what could be a useful debate".

It has been the complete opposite of course. The social networks have for long been utterly irresponsible in providing platforms for every kind of crackpot, extremist, racist and violence-promoting voice, all because it brings in the cash. It is long overdue that some moderation should be put in place - although whether this should be done by excessively powerful and unaccountable social network concerns is a good matter for debate and a separate question.

It is hardly restriction of Freedom of Speech i.e. by some governmental or authoritarian body. The social networks are independent organisations and, along with book publishers, film studios or TV stations have full legal rights to say "You are free to express whatever political views you wish but you are not doing it with US!".

This situation has come about because of irresponsibility on the part of social media and also the absence of a decisive, properly-thought out policy from governments towards abusive/manipulative/dishonest content on the internet. It is a difficult line to walk between Freedom of Speech and repression, but much more debate should have taken place and I think that some international policing of the internet should have been enacted long ago.


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