In 1964, Stanley Kubrick released a dark comedy classic titled “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.” The title captured the absurdity of getting people to embrace the concept of weapons of mass destruction. The movie came to mind recently with the public campaign of Facebook calling for people to change her attitudes about the Internet and rethink issues like “content modification” – the new Orwellian term for censorship.
The commercials show people like “Joshan” who says that he was born in 1996 and grew up with the internet.” Joshan mocks how much computers have changed and then asks why our regulations on privacy and censorship cannot evolve as much as our technology. The ads are clearly directed at younger users who may be more willing to accept censorship than their parents who hopelessly cling to old-fashioned notions of free speech. Facebook knows that it cannot exercise more control over content unless it can get people to stop worrying and love the censor.
There was a time when this would have been viewed as chilling: a corporate giant running commercials to get people to support new regulations impacting basic values like free speech and privacy. After all, Joshan shows of his first computer was a “giant behemoth of a machine” but that was before he understood “the blending of the real world and the internet world.”
The Facebook campaign is chilling in its reference to “privacy” and “content modification” given the current controversies surrounding Big Tech. On one level, the commercial simply calls for rethinking regulatory controls after 25 years. However, the source of the campaign is a company which has been widely accused of rolling back on core values like free speech. Big Tech corporations are exercising increasing levels of control over what people write or read on the Internet. While these companies enjoy immunity from many lawsuits based on the notion of being neutral communication platforms (akin to telephone companies), they now censor ideas deemed misleading or dangerous on subjects ranging from climate denial to transgender criticism to election fraud.
Moreover, Facebook knows that there is ample support for increasing censorship and speech regulation in Congress and around the world. Free speech is under attack and losing ground — and Facebook knows it.
The rise of the corporate censor has challenged long-standing assumptions of the free speech community. Our Constitution and much of free speech writings are focused on the classic model of government censorship and state media. What we have seen in the last few years is that corporations have far greater ability to curtail speech and that you can have a type of state media without the state.
Free speech advocates are not the only ones to notice. Authoritarian figures have recognized these companies as competitors. Recently Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Big Tech as a threat to “Democratic institutions” – a farcical objection from one of the world’s most blood-soaked, anti-democratic figures.
Other leaders have simply sought an alliance with the companies for mutually beneficial censorship. Countries like India appear to have out-sourced censorship duties to Big Tech. Twitter admitted recently that it is actively working with the Indian government to censor criticism of its handling of the pandemic. There are widespread reports that the Indian government has misrepresented the number of deaths and the true rate of cases could be as much as 30 times higher than reported. Thousands are dying each day due to a shortage of beds, oxygen, and other essentials. Twitter is saying that it had the power to “withhold access to the content in India only” if the company determined the content to be “illegal in a particular jurisdiction.” Thus, criticism of the government in this context is illegal so Twitter has agreed to become an arm of the government in censoring information.
Sikh groups last year objected that Facebook censored Sikh posts during #SikhGenocide remembrance movements. They also objected to such censorship by Instagram and Twitter, was centered on stifling anything linked to the Khalistan and likely was done at the behest of the Indian state.
These corporations are now offering politicians what they have long desired in controlling speech and curtailing criticism. Leaders in this country have encouraged the same mutually beneficial alliance. Politicians know that the First Amendment only deals with government censorship, but who needs “Big Brother” when a slew of “Little Brothers” can do the work more efficiently and comprehensively?
When Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey came before the Senate to apologize for blocking the Hunter Biden story before the election, he was met by demands from Democratic leaders for more censorship. Senator Chris Coons (D., Md.) pressed Dorsey to expand the categories of censored material to prevent people from sharing any views that he considers “climate denialism.” Likewise, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.) chastised the companies for shying away from censorship and told them that he was “concerned that both of your companies are, in fact, backsliding or retrenching, that you are failing to take action against dangerous disinformation.” Accordingly, he demanded that they “commit to the same kind of robust content modification playbook in this coming election.”
That brings us back to Facebook’s glitzy media campaign. Polls show that younger Americans are more open to censorship after years of speech regulation in their high schools and colleges. They have grown up with media figures like CNN’s host Brian Stelter calling censorship simply a “harm reduction model.” They have read writers and editors embracing book banning and blacklisting. They have been conditioned to fear unrestrained free speech. making them natural allies in “evolving” with Big Tech companies.
What is fascinating about Joshan and his equally eager colleagues Chava and Adam is that they tie changes in technology to possible changes in core principles like reconsidering “content modification.” They were all born in 1996 — the sweet spot for censors between the Millennials and Generation Z members. Those generations, and particularly Gen Z, are the most likely to come stop fearing the censor and love “content modification.” Joshan and his technologically woke friends simply want us (and regulations) to “change” with our computers. After all, it may not be our content that needs to be “modified” but ourselves in our attitudes and assumptions. Just do not be surprised if that upgrade to You 2.0 requires the removal of the free speech bug that is inhibiting your “blending of the real world and the internet world.”
This column also appeared in Fox.com
Professor Turley.
If you are so against content modification by these commercial sites that do not charge for access why are you allowing access to your blog via Facebook & Twitter.
These sites are giant vacuum cleaners for personal information which they package and sell to advertisers. If a commercial site allows access for free the user is the product. By connecting your blog via Facebook and Twitter you are encouraging visitors to your site to use them.
There are two OVERWHELMING reasons for BOYCOTTING these giant sites, privacy is one and their willingness to CENSOR in favour of governments is another.
I remember when the movie “The Circle” cam out a few years ago I asked my sister if she saw it. She said no, she would not support it because she felt although it was “fiction”, it was a propaganda piece to help condition us to the ideas it proposes through entertainment. It is a chilling film, she might be right.
Paul asks:
“Jeff S. Is it possible that you can ever post ANYTHING without referring to Turley working at Fox? It is really weak that you want to negate everything that Turley says because of his minimal exposure there.”
Good question my man. I’d be happy to answer it because it allows me to remind any newcomers to this blog that Turley is bought and paid for by Fox News. It is important that be kept in mind to explain why he will criticize only Fox’s media competitor, namely CNN and MSNBC. He never criticizes Fox or his Fox colleagues. NEVER.
People need to know that he is prejudiced against the mainstream media- not biased- but prejudiced. A biased analyst may lean slightly to one side or the other. Only a hack is 100% on one side. I’m not referring to his commentary about Left and Right politicians. In that, he is fair-minded. I am referring to his commentary on the media networks. I was not able to find any criticism of Fox. Recently, he did acknowledged the existence of the defamation lawsuits against Fox after many weeks of forced silence. He did not comment on the merits though. He simply quoted from the complaints and answer.
If my accusations against Turley are mistaken, prove me wrong. I could be wrong. I may have overlooked some criticism of a Fox personality. Until then, I am going to remind people for whom our beloved professor works in the media. It’s called full transparency!
I’ll prove right now that your specific complaint Re. Turley applies not to Turley but directly to you. It is literally impossible that Turley can be a “bought and paid for Fox shill” and allow you to slander both Turley and Fox right here about 200x and whenever it suits you. If he’s a Fox shill, list another shill whom invites persons to slander the industry for whom they shill. You won’t because you can’t because it’s impossible to shill for X and invite persons to slander your shill employer. Any true shill whom did such, their shill employer would instantly fire them. And yet you sit here condemning both Turley and Fox and freely and whenever it suits you scummy lying self.
You yourself are a paid DNC shill, a liar and a hypocrite. You are a low life blood-sucking scum who’s only goal is to elevate and free from condemnation all things DNC including its Tech paymasters and bedmates. Prove me wrong.
And I personally hate Fox News but not for the reasons you do. I hate it because it’s a war monger industry. But it’s well proven that the DNC is just as much interested in useless endless wars now as much as the GOP ever was, which is why you won’t condemn Fox for that.
I also hate that Fox News conflates true followers of Christ with “Christendom” (specifically the “evangelical” brand refined by the SBC Southern Baptist Convention, AKA Zionist-quasi-Christianity). Christendom is the lie that assigns Christianity to political national borders. Evangelicals assign “Christian” nation status within US borders as if God gives a holy hell about such things when He most certainly does not.
Dear Constance,
I expressed an opinion. There was nothing personal about it. The expression “bought and paid for” sprang to mind since it’s a neologism of one of Turley’s colleagues, Sean Hannity. I thought it was a nice touch.
I say this unequivocally- you will never see Turley publicly acknowledge watching nor defending the false narratives emanating from the prime time Fox hosts on a nightly basis. For example, he will not MENTION Trump’s/Fox’s Big Lie much less comment about it. Not one single word! My point, Constance, is that were he not on the Fox payroll, he WOULD speak out and condemn the “Stop the Steal” lie.
The Big Lie is that Biden won a free and fair election. He did not. Biden will never be a legitimate president.
Plus, Biden lied to the American people about what he would and would not do as president. He is not governing as a moderate. He continues lying every time he opens his mouth. But he is not obsessively fact-checked by the media because of the sycophantic dutiful adoration of Dear Leader by the propaganda press.
Wake up and pay attention.
Biden won the election. It was as free and fair as any other presidential election. Trump lost but is a whiny, dishonest, narcissistic sore loser who cannot accept that he lost.
If you think Biden is not fact-checked sufficiently, then start a fact-check of your own, and invite others to contribute.
We Told You So
https://www.amazon.com/We-Told-You-So-Presidency-ebook/dp/B093X3NKCX/
The election was stolen. No one believes Joe Biden got 81 million legitmate votes. No one.
No one believes trump got 74 million votes.
EB
It is entirely believable. Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows they cheated like hell for Biden to “win”….
” Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows they cheated like hell”.
No you don’t mean everyone you mean everyone whose opinion you respect and probably most of the people with whom you talk and certainly most of the commentators on the Turley Blog.
Carlyle Moulton wrote: “No you don’t mean everyone you mean everyone whose opinion you respect and probably most of the people with whom you talk and certainly most of the commentators on the Turley Blog.”
No, I mean everyone. Especially those whose opinions I disagree with.
Joe Biden lied to the voters all during the campaign and he is still lying every time his lips move.
81 million votes were not legitmately cast for Joe Biden.
Everyone knows it. Even Joe Biden.
What about the Republicans who: 1. staffed polling places, validating voter ID; 2. supervised the securing of completed ballots; 3. supervised the counting and verification of the ballots; 4. The Secretaries of State who CERTIFIED Biden’s win? What about all of them? Are they in collusion with Democrats? Are they all liars, too?
Don’t you see how dangerous it is to our democracy when you have a lying narcissist who refuses to accept the fact that: 1. he lost the popular vote in 2016; 2. he never captured even a 50% approval rating; 3. most polls predicted he would lose; 4. he badly mishandled a pandemic and constantly lied about it, resulting in unnecessary deaths and infections; 5. and trashed the successful, thriving economy he inherited from Barak Obama. There was no way Trump could win re-election with these facts, and they are indisputable.
What’s even scarier is all of the Trump disciples who believe Trump’s Big Lie, based on literally nothing, and despite knowing how much he constantly lies. They believe the Big Lie, despite the fact that there is no evidence to back it up, that the Big Lie is nothing more than the product of his massive ego that cannot handle rejection, and despite the fact that there have been recounts, re-recounts, signature-match validations, and Trump’s pathetic effort to bully election officials into awarding him votes that were cast for Biden. Then, there’s the “Stop the Steal” campaigns, attempts to bully Pence into refusing to accept Biden’s victory, and finally, an insurrection to try to force Congress to let him stay in office. Republican members of Congress even went along with trying to “object” to the certified vote results, all to try to keep an unfit loser in office which would defeat the will of the American people. Is this what’s going to happen every time someone loses an election in America?
These people have also been conditioned to distrust mainstream media, to blame Democrats for everything that goes wrong, to reject science, to buck the authority of heath officials to make rules to prevent the spread of COVID, and they even believe lies about the vaccine being dangerous, which will prevent the US from reaching herd immunity and allow the virus to replicate even more, resulting in the risk of additional variants. The US will thus fall behind other modern countries when it comes to COVID. It already has.
Trump is toxic, poisonous to America.
These people have also been conditioned to distrust mainstream media, ((because they are not journalists doing journalism, they are Dem activists doing Fake News)) to blame Democrats for everything that goes wrong, ((same as Dems do, they blame R’s for everything and then some)) to reject science, ((science says kids should be back in the classroom, why are Dems rejecting science?)) to buck the authority of health officials ((Fauci now has his own action figure doll, have you seen it? Fauci is now appearing on late night comedy shows. Did you see him on Kimmel? Embarrassing)). to make rules to prevent the spread of COVID, ((arbitrary rules should be discretionary)) and they even believe lies about the vaccine being dangerous, ((Trump promoted the vaccine and an ambitious, never-before-seen development schedule while the media laughed at his timeline and Kamala and Joe both sowed distrust in the public and mistrust of a vaccine developed by Trump. They both irresponsibly did more to cause the public to be skeptical of the vaccine than anything Trump has ever done)) which will prevent the US from reaching herd immunity and allow the virus to replicate even more, ((see the media, Kamala and Joe’s irresponsible rhetoric about that one)) resulting in the risk of additional variants. The US will thus fall behind other modern countries when it comes to COVID. It already has. ((that’s 100% Joe Biden’s problem right now))
“The US will thus fall behind other modern countries when it comes to COVID. It already has”
That’s 100% on Joe Biden, not Trump.
President Trump got us the vaccine, not Joe Biden. Trump pushed an ambitious timeline to develop and get a vaccine approved, not Fauci and not Joe Biden. Trump laid the tracks, made the deals, and created a PLAN for the vaccine to be administered, not Joe Biden.
Trump was getting a million “shots in arms” before his administration ended. Joe Biden continues to lie about it.
All Joe Biden had to do was follow the PLANS Trump had left for him to follow. Trump did ALL the heavy lifting. All Joe Biden had to do was not screw it up.
Where’s the proof? Show us or shut up. More importantly, explain to us how your fat hero could win 2020 when most Americans: 1. didn’t vote for him in 2016; 2. consistently disapproved of him for 4 straight years–a record in presidential approval polling; 3. every poll showed he would lose, including Fox polls; 4. he decimated the successful economy he inherited from Barak Obama; 5. he botched the pandemic, resulting in unnecessary deaths and COVID infections. Explain how, despite all of these FACTS, he not only won, but by a landslide.
We put up with your lies for four years. Eat dirt.
There was never any “proof” that the 2016 election was stolen from Hillary, who went around saying that it was, and they continue to this day to lie about 2016 and call Trump an ‘illegitimate president.’
So as you put it: show us the proof (there is none) or shut up.
Thanks for confirming that your devotion to that deeply-disturbed, fat, failure of a human is not fact or result-based, but based on some fanatical devotion. (I suggest reading John Heileman’s “Everything Trump Touches Dies”. The proof of Trump’s illegitimacy may be found in the Mueller Report. His campaign accepted help from Russia and directed hackers on where false information planted on social media would hurt Hillary Clinton the worst, based on sensitive insider polling. It’s called cheating.
+10
But I think Rick Wilson wrote EVERYTHING TRUMP TOUCHES DIES though. Mueller report, what Rudy gives up, what Michael Cohen has given up, All of it…
EB
You’re right. It was Rick Wilson. I’m recovering today from my second COVID shot, which hit me like a ton of bricks with fatigue,joint and muscle pain and GI upset.. Didn’t sleep last night. My bad.
Hillary’s campaign paid for Russian disinformation and used it to undermine Trump.
If Mueller found collusion we would be hearing a whole lot more about it.
It was.a lie.
No one believes Joe Biden got 81 million legitimate votes. No one.
Thanks for the kind words. The vaccine was Moderna. My first shot only caused arm soreness. After the second shot, I felt fine at first. I went shopping for plants, did some potting and transplanting, fixed dinner, and then started feeling tired. It got worse by the minute with joint and muscle pain and GI symptoms, so that I could only do half of my p.m. exercises. After that, I hardly could make it upstairs for my bath. I felt awful for hours, didn’t sleep, but then, just as suddenly as the symptoms came, they started going away. Today, my arm is just sore. I don’t have joint or muscle pain.
I take hope in these symptoms because it means that the vaccine in working. It also means that if I got full-blown COVID, I would have been much sicker and may have died. I’d rather not put up with vaccine side-effects, but this is definitely a litmus test, proving that my immune system will protect me. In other words, the side-effects are uncomfortable for a few hours, but being immune is worth it in the long-run. This is why I hope those who believe all of the counter-messaging about vaccines will trust the science and get vaccinated. I got a small taste of COVID, and it was miserable. I can only imagine how bad the full disease would be, and I am worried about variants.
I hope it works for you. I am still wary of it.
Dear Young: you shouldn’t be. I used to work for the county health department as a public health nurse, and part of the job was to administer vaccines. I asked my mother once what life was like when people got diphtheria, and she said there was an epidemic in the small town where she grew up. She remembered the next-door neighbor woman choking to death on a membrane that the organism causes that lines your breathing passages. During in in-service, we also were shown a film made in Africa in the thirties or forties of babies dying of pertussis (whooping cough), struggling to breathe, gagging, choking, with their airways going into spasms, letting out a loud “hoop” noise when struggling to inhale with their throat closing off. Then there were the kids who had gotten polio and who were on crutches or wore braces. Now, as older adults some of them have post-polio syndrome with muscle weakness and other problems. As a student nurse, I saw people who came down with tetanus because they didn’t get or keep up their immunizations. These are just 4 examples of diseases we no longer have to worry about because vaccines have stopped them.
While everything about COVID isn’t known, what is known is that in addition to the respiratory symptoms, COVID can cause inflammation of the lining of your blood vessels, including in your brain, which can cause a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary embolism, which can be fatal. We don’t know the full long-term consequences of getting COVID because it hasn’t been around long enough. What we do know is scary enough.
I guess it boils down to trusting science and our public health system. This country will never really get back to where we once were if we don’t get COVID under control. If it couldn’t mutate, that would be different, but it can and does mutate. Eventually, it may mutate into a form that the current vaccines don’t cover. We need to get to herd immunity ASAP, especially if we want schools to fully reopen in the fall. The longer it stays around, the more chances there are for mutations.
Another thing is that while older vaccines used either a killed or attenuated (weakened) actual cell, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines only use lab-replicated DNA from the spikes on the outside of the COVID cell that attach to your lung cells. The vaccine teaches your body to attack this protein. Mine is working fine, and I feel reassured that my body knows what to do if COVID comes my way. After 2 weeks, I’ll feel safer, and I just wish everyone would care enough about others to get vaccinated.
What you experienced from the vaccine sounds way worse than what I experienced from getting the virus. My symptoms were easily managed with good food and targeted supplements. I recognize that this is not everyone’s experience. I had other family members who got quite sick but at least did not have to go to the hospital (they are much older than I am, which plays a role).
There are variants that are escaping coverage.
I am glad you are feeling better, though!
Then why did so many Republican poll workers, ballot counters and election officials, including Secretaries of State, CERTIFY that Biden won?
Required reading for you:
https://www.amazon.com/Neither-Free-nor-Fair-Presidential-ebook/dp/B08PNN54BB
Thought this related point was interesting…
https://mobile.twitter.com/ericrweinstein/status/1334022316225806336?lang=en
“Look we have to face up. The supposedly completely intolerant conservatives are often WAY more tolerant & inclusive than the “Diversity & Inclusion(tm)” crowd who ironically don’t seem to realize their obsession with uniformity & exclusion. I can’t explain it if you can’t see it.”
Exactly.
Jeff S. I don’t believe he is bought and paid for by Fox. But if that is true he certainly is no worse than those with much bigger roles on far left cnn and msmbc. He OCCASIONALLY is a guest with maybe 2 minutes of air time. Fredo, Lemon , Wallace Maddow, etc. are hosts who spew lefty propaganda all day long. I have never heard them critique the networks they work for. And given the clown show of Fredo and his brother with the Q tip as Andrew was MANDATING thousands to their death, I find it laughable that Turley is called out for bias.
My real point was that in your case again, I can’t recall any subject matter that is discussed on HIS blog that you don’t bring up his part time gig on Fox. He is far to credentialed to have that Fox gig define him.
You make a lot of good points. But just for fun, just once, could you make a counter argument to ” water is not wet” without referring to Fox.
You would have way more credibility.
Paul,
It’s true that Turley appears occasionally and briefly on Fox, but he also writes on Fox.com. I wish he would spend much more time on air commenting about matters but the producers apparently think that more than 5 minutes makes for bad TV. Within such a meager time slot, Turkey’s presence is not to debate a topic, but rather to rubber stamp whatever narrative the particular host propagating.
I know you disagree with my opinion that Fox falls into the same category- if not to the same degree- as OAN and Infowars. And just like Turley would never sully himself to work for Alex Jones, he should not work for Murdoch.
I would not criticize Turley’s pointing his finger at the silence of MSNBC and CNN over such and such issue if only he would do the same about Fox. It’s true that the hosts of MSNBC do not criticize their own; however, NBC is not being sued for lying about election fraud in 2 billion dollar defamation lawsuits about which Turley, the great Free Speech advocate, had nothing to say! I can’t abide hypocrisy; I have to call it out wherever I see it. If you wish to point to some hypocrisy by hosts on MSNBC or CNN, do so. I have no qualms criticizing anyone- Left or Right.
I too abhor hypocrisy more than any type of behavior. But again targeting Turley while not pointing out the daily hypocrisy and outright lying of cnn and msnbc is unfair to say the least. I am not going to debate which network is more hypocritical or promotes more falsehoods. But given the fact that the left has virtually all of the print media, all of the networks, all of cable with maybe 3 exceptions, virtually all of academia, all of Big Tech, and Hollywood it becomes a tremendous uphill battle to present the conservative side. By sheer numbers the Left is way more culpable in the areas of hypocrisy and lying.
Sorry Jeff one more thing. The fact that Fox is being sued is meaningless. Personally I can’t wait for discovery. If they have the balls to actually go to trial. Let’s see how that turns out. You know that due process thing the the Left loved to pretend does not exist.
Actually Fox News should be very worried if it gets to discovery because fox would have to produce all of its communications and meeting discussions on any given segment regarding Symantec and Dominion. Fox would be exposed to embarrassing revelations. Fox would rather settle than go to trial.
There’s no way Fox is going to settle
I don’t know why you think the Left does not believe in Due Process. I suppose your referring to Trump’s claim that he was denied due process on account of Turley’s assertion that there was a Snap Impeachment by the House. Let’s not argue that point here and now. Let’s just say we respectfully disagree and leave it at that.
No actually my claim about due process had to do with the Chauvin trial. And before everyone goes nuts I know he was guilty. But, it was many on the Left that actually stated that thay could not even imagine why we were wasting time on a trial given the video. Chelsea Handler comes to mind. That is not the way it works. And by the way expect a successful appeal and possible mistrial.
Which will prompt the usual response of the LEFT. Arson , looting, destruction of property. All those things that the Right did after the O.J. verdict. Oh wait…..
And in the meantime expect the same ” why are we wasting our time with a trial ” outcry from the Left in the Rittenhouse case.
That is some of the things that I see as examples of the Left not liking due process.
While i know it’s self-serving, I don’t consider myself on the Left or the Right. For instance, I was for Impeaching and convicting Clinton for perjury. On the other hand, I am an atheist so I’m definitely not a Conservative. BTW, I made a couple of posts at the top of the comments section if you are interested.
Note- it will be interesting to read Turley’s take on the judge calling Turley’s pal Bill Barr “disingenuous”- a polite legal euphemism for lying. I predict that Turley will defend Barr and find a reason to dismiss the judge’s condemnation. I have not read the opinion, so I don’t know how strong an argument she made, but Turley has his work cut out for him.
‘What is needed is the right to print what one believes to be true, without having to fear bullying or blackmail from any side.’ George Orwell
Likewise, the right to say what one believes to be true
Whig98,
Fine, but I have the power to ignore you and refuse to hand you a microphone. You are free to say anything you want in a public park.
The only place you have the “power to refuse someone a microphone” is in the fever-swamp between your ears. And while Uncle Gov is legally held to not infringing on the 1A, US citizens are morally bound to uphold the 1A in kind. Those with an actual moral code get this, the others sound just like you.
If you have a microphone, you can refuse to hand it to whoever you want. There is no law requiring anyone to provide a microphone to others.
You act like there’s only one microphone in existence or something. Your camp is trying to deny the other camp the use of any microphone, which is a totally different subject. Oh, and you didn’t want to touch the “moral obligation to uphold the 1A” part of my post, did you? Can’t say I blame you. Can’t blame you at all…..
A personal version of ‘content modification’: A juror in the Chauvin case represented to counsel that he knew little about the matter and could be unbiased and fair.
He seems to have modified his personal history content. He he was “seen in a Facebook post published in August 2020 wearing a hat that says “Black Lives Matter” and a T-shirt that says “BLM” with the words, “Get Your Knee Off Our Necks,” a reference to the death of Floyd.”
https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-floyd-juror-wore-blm-shirt-referencing-floyd-in-july-challenging-what-he-told-defense-during-jury-selection
It’s within the realm of possibility that jurors could have been afraid that this juror would out them if they dared to vote “Not Guilty”.
Meanwhile an alternate juror has admitted that she would have found Cauvin guilty because she was afraid of more violence. A similar conviction in Florida was overturned for the same reason and the new trial was set in Orlando where the officer was acquitted.
This is only what could be expected without a change of venue and sequestration of the jurors. The trial should never have been held in what looked like a fire base in hostile territory.
The final judgment should be overturned on appeal if the judges follow the law rather than embrace their fears.
If you can’t name the person maybe that proves you’re full of it.
Re. your fears about trial shenanigans: maybe monkeys will fly out my butt.
Juror Brandon Mitchell is named and shown in the article I linked.
How are the monkeys doing?
You want to talk about freedom of speech and the fat loser the Hate Network who pays you advocates for? Now the loser is telling his disciples that the “Stop the Steal” contractors who are pawing through ballots in Arizona, marking them and exposing them to ultraviolet light for reasons they refuse to explain are going to find “thousands and thousands” of ballots cast for him, like were found in New Hampshire (a lie) and then, they’re moving on to other states. The “contractor” has no experience in ballot-counting or elections, and was hired by the GOP to try to create “evidence” to assuage the very fragile ego of the election loser who can’t understand how he managed to lose to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when most Americans: 1. did not vote for him in 2016; 2. never approved of him in 4 years’ time; and 3. he was predicted to lose by virtually every single poll; 4. He killed the robust economy inherited from Barak Obama; 5. constantly lied about everything; and 6. botched the pandemic, resulting in hundreds of thousands of unnecessary COVID infections and thousands of unnecessary deaths. He told his disciples that he still thinks he can oust Joe Biden and take over the White House. That is not possible, even if he weren’t lying about the nonexistent votes, so why does he keep saying this? Because it gets donations and support from gullibles, which that loser desperately needs for his fragile psyche. This pathetic effort to avoid the truth would be hilarious comedy if it weren’t for the fact that so many gullibles believe his lies, and if it weren’t for the fact that most of the Republican Party goes along with it because they have no platform, they haven’t been able to make any of their lies about Joe Biden stick and are constantly losing support. They even punish members of their own party who aren’t insane, like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney. Since things are looking bleak for the Republicans, they have to resort to cheating, like the fake “vote counting” by the “Stop the Steal” advocates, and passing laws like Florida, to try to force Twitter to let Trump have his “free newspaper” again.
What kind of damage does this sort of speech, all lies and all the product of serious mental illness and pathetic butt-kissing syncophants, do to this country, Turley, and why do you want to be a part of it, anyhow?
Natych– Trump won. Biden stole.
I grew up in a communist country and they also claimed that stating the obvious like the economy was in shambles was besmirching the great accomplishments of the socialist country and dangerous to the social order. Congrats you sound exactly like one of those “party activists. Long live Stalinism and the new “content modification”. But the revolution has the bad habit of eating it’s own. Hope you will remember this when they put you in the Gulag for your wrongthink or make you go down on your knees before an Antifa comrade who wil put a bullet in your neck.
“But the revolution has the bad habit of eating it’s own.”
True that. So many examples. Hitler’s Night of the Long Knives. Stalin’s Show trials. Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Just to name three. Going back in history, there’s the hanging of Savonarola after his bonfire of the vanities and Maximillian Robespierre after his orchestration of the Reign of Terror.
But in America, the arrogant left always thinks they can do authoritarianism and communism better. The speed at which the good ship SS America is taking on water is rapidly increasing.
“4. He killed the robust economy inherited from Barak Obama”
LIE.
Truth.
Is Stacy Abrams the ‘rightful Governor of Georgia’ who had the election stolen from her? Yes or no.
“They even punish members of their own party who aren’t insane, like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney. ”
The fact that you find them acceptable is the only evidence needed to understand why they are reviled. They both spend more time attacking their own party than anything Democrats are doing. Good riddance to both of them.
Typical conservative cancel culture
Mitt Romney is a Mormon. One of many cultic secret formal and real religious Mormon sacraments is this: in the afterlife Mormon men populate a planet with a harem of spirit women having serving the Mormon spirit male for eternity. The Mormon religion has a secret huge data base with the names of non-Mormon women who have been claimed to serve Mormon men in the afterlife on their planet. Mormons go around searching for lists of deceased human females not yet “betrothed” to Mormon men in the afterlife.
In the sacrament a real life Mormon woman acts as a “proxi.” for the dead woman not yet claimed on the list. This real life Mormon woman acts the part of the deceased woman, verbalizes the deceased’s name, and claims her spiritual “betrothal” to the living Mormon man for his afterlife planet.
If Mitt Romney is NOT a crazy person, what the hell is he and every God-forsaken Mormon male who practices this God-forsaken Mormon religion? If you ask a mature Mormon male about this sacrament and they deny it, ask them to sign a denial under penalty of perjury to the best of their knowledge. Ask them further if Mormonism has secret practices whereby Mormons take an oath to physically die if they disclose the secrets and to deny the existence of the secrets.
The men who hung Joseph Smith from a rope till he died broke him out of jail to give him his dirt nap because they knew it was the only thing that would stop him from stealing married women from their families to become his sex toys. (A family losing a spouse in the 19th C. could cause innocent premature deaths.) So claims Jon Krakauer in his fantastic true story “Under The Banner Of Heaven.” If the story was false Mormons would sue him to hell and high water but it’s true so they don’t.
“pathetic butt-kissing syncophants”
You are describing the ‘state media’ under Democrat President Joe Biden. There is no critical reporting, in fact the record shows Biden has received only 19 percent “negative” reportage since his election. Only 19 percent negative press!
The Wa Po suspended its “Fact Checking” 24/7 operation. As if Joe Biden does not lie?
Translation for this? State Media. Total butt-kissing adoration of Dear Leader by a sycophantic media.
You have no idea what is ‘true’ and what is an outright ‘lie’ coming from Biden’s lips and the Biden administration.
All we get is pure propaganda from the sycophantic media.
Joe Biden has NO mandate. None.
The country is split right down the middle. Senate is split 50/50. Slim few seats in the House.
All of this equals NO mandate to re-make America.
Elections have consequences- you remember the old saying- promises made, promises kept!
Except for the fact that MOST Americans voted for him and he has higher approval ratings than Trump ever got.
Fox News is the Love Network which is why it is the Most Trusted Cable News Channel and Most Watched.
The Hate Network is over there at CNN and its evil twin MSLSD. Facts matter.
You listen to hate-monger Mark Levin.
I don’t. But apparently YOU do.
Even if everything you say is true, which it is not, you are actually making an advocacy for free speech and not censorship. You certainly have a right to your opinion. But as with the recount in Arizona, there are facts that are in dispute. You have given your point of view. If we use the Blumenthal, Coons model there would be no dispute. All ” facts” would be withheld by a monolithic
” fact checker” that is sure to be biased. What if by some miracle that
” fact checker” was right leaning? You would not be able to present your side.
Why are all those on the left so afraid of opposing viewpoints? Just have a counter argument and have at it. The truth will come out.
Efforts to silence the other side show weakness .
You seem to have survived ” fake news “.
+100
EB
Content Modification is a term from the the far far far left fascists no matter which of the three major types National/Nazi, International/Communist or Regressive Liberal I brought their name up to date they are all fascist socialists and 100% enemies of Citizens of our Constitutional Republic. including those who are true democrats which does not include an form Socialism even if they do use it as a cover story to hide behind. One of the ways to define them is they use the little hyphen between Marx and Lenin or Adolf and Mussolini or Ocasio and Pelosi as their center.
The real center is Our Constitution of our Constitutional Republic. I have no trouble upholding our Oath of Office unlike these scum. It was worth the effort to bring in an outsider to expose them and now they are exposing themselves. Doesn’t have anything to do with anything except learning how to recognize perverts. Easy to tell they have no morals, values nor ethics nor the ability to understand the terms.
Best thing is an independent self governing Citizens and being a thinking reasoning human. Without that ….. your just another mouth piece for the programmers of the of a failed attempt at creating a new dictatorship.
So Stacy Abrams can tell us that the election for the Governor in Georgia was rigged and her voice is not censored by big tech in getting out her message. She lost by 50,000 votes in one state. Donald Trump says the election was rigged and he was censored by big tech and not allowed to get his message out. 42,000 votes spread over the swing states was the difference. Which election had more plausibility of being rigged. Stacy Abrams is a high priestess of the left. Big tech made a decision about what you are allowed to hear. I understand. Some of you need a big brother to tell you what to say and do because you are so very afraid that your little ears might be offended by blasphemy directed at your Big Tech God. The Big Tech God is just looking out after you widdle boys and girls. So bow the —— down.
How on earth did you manage to learn what Trump’s message was if he was “not allowed to get his message out”?
Anon, you know that Trump got his message out through Twitter. You act as if communication on Twitter and Facebook have no impact. His message got out because the Chancellor of Germany and the President of France made public statements condemning the actions of Facebook and Twitter in their censoring of The President of The U.S. The place where people get their news today is through social media. You know this to be true but even when you know it you discount getting a message out through social media as not important. Obfuscation to the state of dishonor.
“Trump got his message out through Twitter”
So you were lying when you said that Trump was “not allowed to get his message out.” Got it.
Thinkitthrough, “big tech” is not bound by the prohibitions in the constitution because it is NOT a government entity. But is is also protected by it just like everyone else. Nobody has a constitutional right to be heard. Just as nobody is obligated to listen to what you have to say. Forcing these companies to carry a politician’s message would be a violation of these companies freedom of speech.
Stacy Abrams isn’t constantly pushing lies meant to undermine the vote. Trump was, he was warned multiple times. He had ample opportunities to either stop lying or correct his rhetoric. He was already violating twitter’s terms and conditions wantonly. Twitter eventually had enough and by their right, shut him down. Trump, like everyone else AGREED. to their terms and conditions. Nobody forced trump to sign up to twitter. This basic fundamental concept seems to escape Turley or he’s just being massively ignorant of it because his very own blog has these same issues. Speech is constantly regulated here. He does his own “content modification” all the time.
Svelaz, Stacy Abrams still hasn’t conceded and has called for a recount of the vote in Georgia on many occasions. You would have done yourself more honor if you would have said that both Stacey Abrams and Trump were wrong in their questioning of their respective elections. Of course honor has nothing to do with it.
“companies freedom of speech.”
Companies are not people. They are a business entity. People have free speech. You agree with Clarence Thomas.
All hail the corporatists, apparently! 🙁
Prairie Rose, the constitution applies to everyone in this country including companies. According to the Supreme Court. Companies are people too.
“According to the Supreme Court. Companies are people too.”
Which is why I noted that you agree, unfortunately, with Clarence Thomas who wrote the majority opinion on this bad decision.
Companies are NOT people.
Prairie Rose, so you opposed the citizens United case? That corporation’s use of money is not free speech? Because that’s what enabled the most conservative justice on the court to opine for the majority.
I do not think corporations should be equated with people, with rights of individuals.
Can’t the left and defenders of corporate censorship come up with a new argument? Censorship by proxy is how the new Obama administration is operating. Always room for new legal theories in this wonderful world called the common law and constitutional interpretation.
Private companies aren’t a proxy for the government.
If anything, they’re a proxy for their shareholders.
Don’t laugh, she or her sister might be the next Supreme Court Justice if Breyer retires. She and her sister are probably two of the most bigoted and racist people in the US now. Prime candidates for the Rats to put on the court.
Think,
I’m positive that Turley does not believe Trump’s Big Lie. He expects that no host on Fox News will ask him to state where he stands on the controversy when he appears on their program because the Fox executives undoubtedly have instructed their hosts not to put Turley on the spot. Turley desperately hopes that he can remain silent on the issue in order to avoid alienating the Trumpists on this blog.
There is no legal analysis in Turley’s blog post.
Why doesn’t Turley tell us where he draws the line between speech that should not be regulated by corporations and speech that can be?
Why doesn’t Turley analyze the contract law implications of violating the terms of use of these platforms?
Why doesn’t Turley consider the freedom of speech that corporations have to refuse to broadcast lies and hate speech which offend their moral sensibilities?
And, I have to add that the Big Lie is breaking the Republican Party apart thanks to Liz Cheney’s refusal to lie for Trump. I remind everyone that our fearless professor has NEVER informed us where he stands on the Big Lie which Trump demands that Republicans accept or be cancelled.
It took Turley many weeks to eventually comment on the billion dollar defamation lawsuits against his company Fox. I don’t think he can avoid taking a side on the Big Lie for much longer….
Jeff Silberman, why don’t you demand equal censorship of the left and the right by Big Tech. The common response by your ilk is a reference to Big Tech as private companies so they can censor our communications. The telephone companies are private entities but the are not allowed to censor your telephone communications. You are such a fair and moral guy so why don’t you call for no censorship of both the left and the right by Big Tech. You must fear the wrath of your Big Tech God. Bow down in prayer Jeff. Bow down in prayer.
Jeff S. Is it possible that you can ever post ANYTHING without referring to Turley working at Fox? It is really weak that you want to negate everything that Turley says because of his minimal exposure there. He has testified countless times before Congress. He had tenure at a major college. He is well respected by his peers. His stature goes far beyond Fox.
I find your continuous outrage especially ridiculous when we have the likes of cnn, msnbc, WaPo and NYT on the ” other side”.
Get a new act.
This one is extremely boring
The 5th Amendment right to private property is not qualified by the Constitution and is, therefore, absolute.
Americans shall “…claim and exercise dominion…” over their private property.
If competition is somehow impossible, which it is not, mainstream media and social media platforms may be “taken” for public use and operated as state-regulated utilities under the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The American answer to undesirable performance by mainstream media and social media platforms, however, is free market competition.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
It’s time to stop talkin’ and start chalkin’!”
– Chick Hearn
___________
Go start a new, conservative TV network or Brainbook, Literatter or Pictagram.
_____________________________________________________________
5th Amendment
No person shall be… be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Modification, steering, cancelling …
There is nothing wrong with your television. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are now controlling the transmission. We control the horizontal and the vertical. We can deluge you with a thousand channels or expand one single image to crystal clarity and beyond. We can shape your vision to anything our imagination can conceive. For the next hour we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the deepest inner mind to the outer limits.
– The Outer Limits
Loved that show when I was a kid.
Apropos to the subject, another good read
https://www.wsj.com/articles/save-the-constitution-from-big-tech-11610387105
This sounds more like Fahrenheit 451…
I’ve thought that for a long time.
You exhibit far greater censorship on your blog than does FB — so it seems we have our answer there, Turley. Private entities are allowed to regulate speech and content in their domain. The fact the right has been training their constituency into gullibility and naivete for so long doesn’t affect their not being able to decipher the difference between public domain and private, or the difference between editorial and journalism that strives toward neutrality, right? 70% of republicans (your base) believe that Joe Biden didn’t actually win the election, credit to their susceptibility and the verbal flatulence of a fat orange con man…
So I’m not buying your grousing about not having a super low bar to market rhetoric to your base. Make Fox pay you more for blog entries if you don’t like having to operate outside the bounds of such a lowest common denominator. Have some respect for the dignity of the trump ass eaters and give them a chance to break free of their intellectual chains I say!
On another note, it seems the theme of coming to love the dark side is an apt metaphor for your embrace of empire Murdoch. Bet the pay is pretty slammin’.
EB
I don’t know about that. He hasn’t taken you off yet.
Multiple times, Old Man.
EB
Not if they are working for governments to do their dirty work for them. Wake up.
Hey Becky, thanks, I need help waking up. Can you patch me in directly to Q?
EB
EB refers to Q when he can’t win an argument.
It is, literally, the first time I’ve refered to Q on this blog. As for what Becky said that could be constituted as an ‘argument’, I have no idea what she’s talking about. It may make sense to her in her own head, but out here in the big, bad world she seems more than a bit deluded.
EB
Aninny:
“Private entities are allowed to regulate speech and content in their domain. The fact the right has been training their constituency into gullibility and naivete for so long doesn’t affect their not being able to decipher the difference between public domain and private, or the difference between editorial and journalism that strives toward neutrality, right? 70% of republicans (your base) believe that Joe Biden didn’t actually win the election, credit to their susceptibility and the verbal flatulence of a fat orange con man…”
*********************************
Facebook is a private entity like Duke Power is a private entity and yet regulation is appropriate lest Duke shut you off for comments they don’t like. Learn a little before you spout beside-the-point nonsense. BTW Turley lets you comment so censorship is disproven with your every dissenting syllable.
“censorship is disproven”
You know that Darren banned Art Deco, right?
You know that Darren deleted some of Squeeky’s racist comments recently, right?
As usual, Mespo, thanks for your pearls of wisdom. I’d adhere to them if they didn’t suck so much.
EB
And I’ve lost count how many times I’ve had comments taken down on this blog. Cool thing for you is that’s probably why I keep coming back.
EB
Mespo, “ Facebook is a private entity like Duke Power is a private entity and yet regulation is appropriate lest Duke shut you off for comments they don’t like. Learn a little before you spout beside-the-point nonsense.”
Speaking of…learning before spouting, Mespo, you’re correct that duke energy and Facebook are private entities. You PAY duke energy for their service which is providing power to your home. They can’t just cut off your power because you said something they didn’t like. That’s not part of their policy obviously. Even if it was they still couldn’t cut off your power because you PAID them and entered into a contract when you PAID for the service.
How much did you PAY to be able to post on Facebook? You didn’t? Oh that’s right it’s free, BUT for the privilege of being able to use their FREE service you have to sign up which included agreeing to their contract (terms and conditions) in order to be able to post in THEIR platform. You agreed to abide the rules and that includes giving the company the right to ban you, censor you or suspend your account if you violate the terms and conditions you voluntarily agreed to.
The constitution doesn’t guarantee your speech must be heard, especially when you voluntarily gave up the right as soon as you clicked on the “I agree” button.
You or anyone who signs up to these platforms GAVE these companies the right to censor you. Getting mad over it when you or anyone else voluntarily agreed to it is as stupid as it gets.
Anonymous – why do you bother writing so many words when what you really want to post is” I hate Fox” ., , every single day, multiple times a day.
The readers here get it- you rally, rally don’t like Fox , and yet no one is calling for you to be be censored.
Hey there, Anonymous…, I’d venture to say a whole chunk of commenters on this blog don’t ‘get’ much.
EB
Why not discuss Florida’s law requiring Twitter to reinstate the fat election cheater’s account, so he can continue his “Stop the Steal” campaign? What about freedom to contract, Turley? Isn’t respecting parties’ right to contract a cherished legal tradition–that when you sign up for something like Twitter or Facebook, you either accept the “terms and conditions” or you don’t get an account? The bottom line is that these are private companies offering a service, and when you sign up for the service, you agree to certain things. They are not public forums, and users of Facebook, for example, control what words and images are posted and can limit who gets to see certain content. Those are the rules, Turley. There is no “censorship” when the government is not involved. You teach law, so you know this, but since you are on the payroll of the Hate Network, your blog is used to feed red meat to the disciples. Their fat hero can’t use Twitter as his “free newspaper” (his phrase, not mine) to disseminate lies, so it must be wrong.
Your comments might be taken more…seriously if you stopped calling people with whom you disagree names.
Agree. TDS lives on.
Why not discuss Florida’s law requiring Twitter to reinstate the fat election cheater’s account, so he can continue his “Stop the Steal” campaign?
Why does Florida care about Stacy Abrahams?
Why not discuss Florida’s law requiring Twitter to reinstate the fat election cheater’s account, so he can continue his “Stop the Steal” campaign?
Why does Florida care about Stacy Abrahams?
Those social networks no NOT censor fairly and evenly. Every slant and angle helps the DNC and harms the GOP. THEIR GOD FORSAKEN CONTRACTS DON’T STATE THAT AND YET IT IS REALITY.
If what you state about these private parties was absolutely true, then phone companies and PG&E could turn of the power for anyone who states or believes anything the company dislikes.
That would make DNC loving scum Progressives happy as long as it always harmed only GOP Conservatives, which is exactly what we have now.
A vampire squid meets the Matrix.
Our corporate masters are bidding hard for Beijing’s favor. We need to break up these monopolies.
The Joshan commercial lasts all of 27 seconds and does not even hint at HOW internet regulation should change.
I am sure FB knows their audience, so the scariest thing is that they know this content-free material will work to manipulate the target audience.
Free speech advocates like ACLU are and always were fake. They were only for free speech until they were in charge. Now they drop the act.
The ACLU is not in charge, which is why they continue to file lawsuits on behalf of free speech rights and other rights. Strange that you ignore all of their ongoing First Amendment lawsuits –
https://www.aclu.org/search/first%20amendment?f%5B0%5D=type%3Acase
The Lefties support censorship because it currently benefits them.
Two points: (1) “Currently ” is an amoral standard; and (2) the worm always turns.
The Left is moving away from American standards.
Leftists may be legal residents of the United States, but they are not Americans in any substantive sense.
Censor away. One day we will use the tools being built for our own purposes. A little pain now, but a lot of gain later.
Anarchism will be crushed, eventually. It is inevitable that law and order will triumph.
No Antifa meeting today, Anonymous?
Oh look, a No True Scotsman fallacy.