
Trump signs executive order targeting Twitter after fact-checking row - abootstrapper
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52843986
======
r721
Current discussions:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23342161](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23342161)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23343313](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23343313)

Other related discussions:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23322112](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23322112)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23333496](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23333496)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23334830](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23334830)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23332177](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23332177)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23336902](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23336902)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23340844](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23340844)

------
throwaway5752
A prominent person lied, the venue he lied in had a small correction link
appended (without modifying the original statement), his access to the
platform wasn't restricted, and I am don't know where there problem is
supposed to be. It's a painfully obvious attempt to manufacture outrage and
victimhood in a demoralized constituency.

~~~
mxcrossb
And to distract from the 100,000 dead bodies.

~~~
dingaling
What about the estimated 62,000 dead bodies from the current flu season, why
doesn't he need to "distract" from them?

Answer: because they haven't been editorialised by the likes of the NYT to
promote an agenda. Which brings us neatly back on topic.

~~~
pwinnski
Two years ago was one of the worst on record, and still didn't quite hit
62,000 dead, "only" 61,099[0]. Last year was more "normal" with 34,157
deaths[1]. From everything I've read, current CDC estimates for this flu
season are between those two numbers, and the 100k and counting COVID-19
deaths are in addition to those.

The flu sucks, but making up numbers doesn't help anybody. Taking the highest-
possible value from the range "24,000 – 62,000"[2] at the end of the flu
season is not a good comparison to the at-least 100,000 COVID-19 deaths
nowhere near the end of "COVID-19 season."

[0]
[https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2017-2018.htm)

[1]
[https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/2018-2019.html)

[2] [https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-
season-e...](https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/burden/preliminary-in-season-
estimates.htm)

------
mhh__
I'm sure this is totally benign and definitely isn't intended to cause any
chilling effects on criticism of the President.

The Trump administration is corrupt, sycophantic, and philistine.

------
jaspax
This was inevitable given the way that Twitter and other large platforms have
behaved. They want to hide behind the idea of platform neutrality so that they
can't be held responsible for everything posted on their site, since it's
impossible for them to check every post. At the same time, they want to be
able to step in when something offensive to the tastes becomes too prominent.

This EO puts an end to that. Either you exercise editorial control or you
don't; no more "editorial responsibility only when we feel like it".

~~~
whitebread
Isn’t the problem that the tweets are factually incorrect? I don’t think it
has anything to do with offensiveness in this case.

~~~
sneak
I’m not sure about that. I don’t like the toxic nonsense the president posts,
but I can also not like the toxic nonsense e.g. esr posts on his website,
while simultaneously thinking his web host would be wrong for editing his
pages full of toxic nonsense against his will.

I think this EO will be a net benefit for free expression online. I was
expecting it to be a terrible tyrannical anti-free-press power grab, but,
having read it, it does not appear to be that.

