Social media censorship is fostering extremism

In the last few years we've seen a massive purge of "alternative personalities" from social media as a result of increasingly strict "community rules". This has forced a portion of the internet to migrate over to social media platforms which support free speech. In principle this seems like a good thing, people get to speak freely, but I'm starting to notice a growing problem which could result in even more censorship.

The problem is these free speech platforms are becoming an echo chamber for the most fringe aspects of the conspiracy theory community. I've touched on this issue before when I criticized BitChute. Don't get me wrong there is some good content on these free speech platforms which are not easy to find anywhere else. But those gems are mostly lost in an ocean of mind numbing nonsense, much of which feels orchestrated.

90% of the comments under a BitChute video seem to be racist or sexist or some other stereotype. Back when free speech existed on the internet, we had many people making conspiracy videos or political videos, but the content being produced was much higher quality and the community wasn't completely toxic. That's why I stick around ATS, it's one of the few free speech platforms with sensibility and decorum.

Many people feel like they have been cast out from society for having the wrong political beliefs, and they feel like that because it's exactly what happened to them. Their only way of expressing themselves is through free speech platforms which are often small fringe communities. If these communities are totally unmoderated then they become highly toxic, which pushes out more reasonable voices and fosters extremism.

The reason I bring all this up is because they will eventually use free speech platforms as evidence for why they should be shut down and why the internet needs to be totally controlled by some overlords who determine what websites are allowed to exist. A few years ago I would have laughed at such a prospect but considering the obscene amount of censorship which has occurred recently I know they're already planning it.

The more they shut down the more upset the people will get. At this point they’re playing with fire. They better keep banning these sites and fast because they will have a real reason to be scared once they get organized.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder
Plan this
The reason for 2a is to protect 1a.

Simple

There's Truth Social. LOL!

originally posted by: MiddleInsite
There's Truth Social. LOL!

Yep where real people exist unlike the bots and sheep on Facebook and Twitter.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

newton's third law in action. (pun intended)
by silencing one side, the idiot left has created a vocal opposition that speaks the opposite every time. Trouble is, even when the truth is told (I know, such a rarity) the opposite will be shouted from the rooftops. If the left could man up and counter lies with facts instead of temper tantrums, we might be able to find the middle ground, but hyperpolarization caused what we see today.

a reply to: ChaoticOrder

I take a look at David Icke on bitchute and I've noticed many childish idiotic comments below... mostly about JEWS and how David Icke is a JEW lover etc..

It's just moronic stuff!

Free speech in the US has been killed and the scapegoat is "racism and gender equality", funny right?

Yep this is the state of affair in our nation this days.

I can not wait for the traitor democrats to be kicked out of power and get legislation to stop the madness of the big tech.

And media tabloids.

I'm an American citizen, I still have Free speach.
I can say whatever I want in the public domain. I don't expect that privilege in private domains 👍.
There is a difference 😎

a reply to: vance

Private domains get less private when they have numerous financial ties to the government. This line is further muddied when "private domains" hold enough power to censor stories and people out of existence, shaping the government through voting.

I'm not saying that private domains are necessarily subject to the bill of rights, but "it's a free company" is a naive take.