The internet has a new editor. Be prepared for your blog to be crawled by an AI for paragraphs that warrant further inspection by a minimum wage employee, and unappealable bans.
I remember from a few years ago a well-regarded BASE jumper's passionate post on Facebook about wingsuits killing people, after the wingsuit-related death of another well-regarded BASE jumper he knew. IIRC he used the earnest rhetorical device of saying that he was glad his friend died so publicly, because it would stop young people getting into the sport from using wingsuits, because they were unreasonably dangerous. There was a lot of debate back and forth about wingsuits stimulated by the post (which was its purpose), but I was shocked for a different reason.
Facebook deleted it, for saying that he was glad someone died. So now, the entire internet governed by the owner of the Washington Post.
The idea that the west is intrinsically superior to China in terms of freedom and censorship is a joke. Our army of censors is as big as theirs, and we share technologies and methods.
I don't quite understand the leaps of logic here, from an action that Facebook did, to how freedom and censorship in China is equivalent to those in the west.
The best I can gather is that you're implying that _in practice_ the same level of censorship exists considering all actors involved? If that's the correct interpretation there is still a notable difference between what the government can coerce you to do, and what Facebook can coerce you. Isn't this why constitutional tenants (of freedom of speech) are important?
To be fair, although the US has a larger percentage of its population imprisoned than China, its government is much less intrusive and permits a great deal more political dissent, for now.
I remember from a few years ago a well-regarded BASE jumper's passionate post on Facebook about wingsuits killing people, after the wingsuit-related death of another well-regarded BASE jumper he knew. IIRC he used the earnest rhetorical device of saying that he was glad his friend died so publicly, because it would stop young people getting into the sport from using wingsuits, because they were unreasonably dangerous. There was a lot of debate back and forth about wingsuits stimulated by the post (which was its purpose), but I was shocked for a different reason.
Facebook deleted it, for saying that he was glad someone died. So now, the entire internet governed by the owner of the Washington Post.
The idea that the west is intrinsically superior to China in terms of freedom and censorship is a joke. Our army of censors is as big as theirs, and we share technologies and methods.