
Donald Trump Jr suspended from tweeting after Covid post - ColinWright
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53567681
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bmarquez
From the article: "While there is indeed much disagreement in the medical
community about the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine in treating coronavirus,
there have been studies reported by mainstream outlets like CNN, suggesting
that it may in fact by an effective treatment."

Is hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness questionable? Yes.

Should Twitter be the one to make that judgement call and block a video from
medical professionals? No.

Can Twitter do this? Sadly, until Section 230 is reformed, Yes.

~~~
otterley
> Should Twitter be the one to make that judgement call and block a video from
> medical professionals? No.

Why not? Their house, their rules.

~~~
aeternum
It can be their rules, but then they should not be able to advertise things
like this:

"Free expression is a human right. Everyone has a voice, and the right to use
it. On Twitter, you should feel safe expressing your unique point of view with
every Tweet – and it’s our job to make that happen."

"Twitter stands for freedom of expression for everyone."

"We do not take sides. We show sides. Every side."

"We treat everyone equally: the same Twitter Rules apply to all."

"we allow strong opinions and controversial views."

~~~
otterley
I kind of agree with you, but also disagree somewhat. I think these statements
are aspirational in that they reflect Twitter's general principles. But when
the rubber hits the road, there are practical limits and exceptions that you
make to preserve what you perceive as the greater good and to make sure that
the potential harms that come with unrestrained freedom don't outweigh the
benefits. I don't think Twitter wants their principles to constitute a suicide
pact.

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doonesbury
Let's run a poll. What kind of stuck on stupid does DJT most resemble because
getting kicked off social media is a real achievement:

\- Kevin Cline's Otto in "Fish Called Wanda"

\- "The Zapper" from Futurama

\- The Duke from Doonesbury (bonus: who's his Honey?)

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ALittleLight
I've been surprised that Trump has been so toothless in the contest against
Twitter. I thought for sure things like this, or when they apply the different
labels or restrictions to his tweets, would've set him off and made him do
something against Twitter.

~~~
awillen
The problem is he needs Twitter as much as Twitter needs him. Lots of people
have talked about getting his base over to some other app that will allow him
to say whatever, but it just hasn't worked.

~~~
wisemanwillhear
Curious, has the President really tried that hard? I can't imagine that he
would fail if he made a clean break from Twitter when switching. Love him or
hate him, he in a position to command endless press through whichever platform
he chooses.

~~~
ralfd
Interesting business case. I think yes, he single handed Ky could jump start a
new social network. Millions of people would follow him just to argue about
his posts.

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bzb3
The WHO has been wrong many times.

~~~
klyrs
The role of the WHO is to provide timely advice based on the best evidence on
hand. Sometimes preliminary research is overturned by subsequent studies.
Sometimes best practices are flawed and need to be updated. WHO is not
omniscient; they're pragmatic scientists.

Scientists have been wrong frequently throughout history, but do you know
who's wrong even more often? The people who ignore science.

~~~
apetresc
Certainly, in the balance of probabilities the WHO's guidance is more likely
to be correct than incorrect. It's certainly more likely to be correct than a
layperson's.

But it's not SO overwhelmingly likely to be correct that all of the big 3
social networks (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) need to have a policy of
aggressively removing anyone who contradicts them.

Even though I agree the WHO is probably right about most things, it's far
below the level of certainty you'd need to justify these overreactions. It
doesn't even have the intended effect of preventing irresponsible behavior by
gullible people; the COVID19 hoaxers are getting way more ammunition out of
the media's censorious behaviour than they would out of Trump Jr's bad medical
advice.

