I was planning on doing a Callin episode tonight anyway, to discuss yesterday’s column about the resignation of Jack Dorsey, but then I saw the news that Twitter has already made a major advance in its content moderation policies, announcing that it will henceforth be limiting the sharing of images:
“When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to having their private image or video shared, we will remove it.”
I spent a fair part of the morning polling people in both journalism and the tech business, trying to get a grasp on what this will mean practically, but this is exactly the problem with vaguely defined speech controls - nobody knows. As I wrote in yesterday’s piece, “Will Twitter Become an Ocean of Suck?” (readers overwhelmingly thought I used the wrong tense in the headline), the problem with making “harm” or “safety” a speech standard is that aggressive censors can make such standards mean almost anything.
In any case, I’ll be on Callin tonight at 5:00 p.m. to discuss. Just click here to join in:
Just over a year that I have been off Twitter. I am sane. Less anxious, more calm. More forgiving and happier. Get off Twitter. Slinging crap back at people who sling crap at you or who are pedaling lies, will not move the needle one millimeter. Get off now. Read a book. Take walks. Don't wait until tomorrow. Do. It. Now. The alternative sites, while uncensored, are also a time suck with little value. Pick a few folks like Matt, Glenn, Bari and check Instapundit at least once a day.
While I won’t be able to make it on the callin, I will say that I think what you’re doing with Substack is probably one of the most important actions for creating a new anti-MSM free speech alternative.
You, Greenwald, and others are building increasingly huge audiences. The MSM is afraid of Substack. Greenwald’s Substack-Rumble combination is nice too. That has the ability to make the MSM YouTube matrix take a new body blow, in my opinion. Let them have all their stupid cat videos.
People should just get their news from a constellation of Substack and Rumble pages. There can be one great constellation of Substack pages that essentially functions as a new anti-MSM.
Let’s hope Substack keeps getting more honest and original thinkers and many many many more readers on board so we can watch the MSM/ Social media Tower of Babel crumble, forever.
A week after the Rittenhouse acquittal — the result of which must have been largely based upon footage uploaded to, yes, Twitter — the new CEO, chair and board have decided to ‘limit’ (read ‘selectively restrict’) images. Can't have potential evidence slipping through to the public sphere, it makes spinning so much harder.
"“When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to having their private image or video shared, we will remove it.”
I spent a fair part of the morning polling people in both journalism and the tech business, trying to get a grasp on what this will mean practically..."
It means no more unflattering pictures of Democrats on Twitter.
Here is another topic to discuss: When Trump stopped flights from China, there were constant accusations of racism and xenophobia. Now that Biden has cut off flights from Africa, where are the accusations? Nothing but silence. Why aren’t conservatives throwing this in their face? Why are conservatives so passive?
The answer against social media censorship already exists. It rests in multiple people hosting their own social media software that can see each other and communicate interchangeably without a single point of failure.
Also - I'm reminded as my renewal fee hit - that I'm paying for content that I structurally can't access because I don't use an iPhone... it gets worse the more you think about it.
I know this is been brought up before, but as you know Callin is only available for iPhones. I have a MacBook and still can't participate because I have an Android phone. Is there no other platform available for these calls? That is supported by Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, etc. I'm beginning to experience FOMO! :)
I was permanently suspended from Twitter after 15 years of being on the platform because I indirectly referred to Ted Nugent as a “redneck freak.” Twitter censors indiscriminately.
I'm unlikely to listen, as consuming audio is not my fave way to get information. That said, this censorship thing is just an excuse to decide what content they can filter, it's not any guideline that would be useful for a content producer to create content that would not run afoul of their limitations.
I really have to recommend Richard Bartle and particularly his works "MMOs from the Inside Out" and same same "from the Outside In". While his study was gamers, his conclusions are accurate across the board for any large scale online social interaction. An example observation is that there really is only one multiplayer game and they all end up looking pretty much the same ultimately, policywise and rulewise.
What i'm saying here is that what is happening to social media - firm censorship - was predestined at the beginning and there would be no way to avoid it ultimately, short of shutting the platforms down. The idea of a "free speech platform" is a pipe dream, and my apologies to fellow administrators that I argued this point with 20 years ago; they were right and I was wrong.
I posted something yesterday on this topic, touching some of the points, but Bartle really deserves to be read on this.
"... the problem with making “harm” or “safety” a speech standard is that aggressive censors can make such standards mean almost anything."
Meanwhile, is there any danger on the other end of the spectrum - no restrictions, anywhere, for any reason? That's been my question all along, and so far I haven't received a substantive response.
I have mixed feelings about this. I help run the non profit Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE) and have seen many innocent students wrongly accused of sexual misconduct vilified on Twitter, and their photos and contact information published, whether or not the school found them not responsible. Twitter has responded inconsistently to requests to have this personal and reputation-damaginginformation deleted.
On the other hand, I am disgusted with Twitter's censorship of verified information that does not fit the preferred narrative.
I am thankful for and subscribe to various Substack writers including Matt and Glenn G.
One thing we can be thankful for vis a vis big tech and its 'censorship': it really put the lie to the whole right-wing 'just let the free market work and all will be well' nonsense, eh?
According to the free marketeer, this ability to 'censor' shouldn't exist because these are private companies. In the logic of the free market, if these big tech companies censor too much and people don't like it, people will naturally migrate to alternative platforms where they are freer to speak their minds, and those platforms' market share will grow until the monopoly power of the previous 'censorious' platforms dwindles away.
Now the usual right-wing suspects who were bleating about the free market a few years ago are ranting about the tyranny of tech monopolies that were chosen by said market. Not that they'll ever grasp how effectively they have refuted their own ideology.
I understand Matt, Glenn and many others @ Substack, Rumble, Callin' etc., etc., are trying to build alternatives ('platforms' as well as 'exciting new features'.) to the more established and traditional, er, 'dominant elite discourse and establishment narrative' and I applaud that. Good luck and God speed .. . lord only knows the total tonnage of utter bullshit that has been piled on so high and wide by traditional media since the great 2001 Space Odyssey and the never-ending global war on terror? e.g.
Nevertheless, it is still only through rational and authoritative argument that one can, at last, breach the walls of ignorance, malefaction and dominate mass-media organizational schizophrenia (moss).
Can you give the time zone on the time, pls? If I didn't know you live on the East Coast, I would have missed this. Any corporation espousing free speech will be limited by its revenue/advertising model. Any free speech platform that would be independent enough to avoid censorship would have to be either quasi-governmental or a non-profit. But, hell, Wikileaks got labelled as essentially an espionage organization. They were essentially private, but non-profit.
I like your articles (thank you!) but a callin show because Jack Dorsey stepped down? Who cares?
I also don’t care about (or watch) any legacy media. Nor do I care about - or use - fb, insta, or most other social media sites. An ocean of suck? It’s been that way for some time.
News? My life is good without it. Matt Taibbi, Tim Pool, Epoch Times & Breaking Points. And I’m not listening or reading much of them (sorry, Matt).
Things may get a little weirder North of the border in Canada, where the current government hates being criticized. I know that's off your usual beat, but this is what they have planned... https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bill-c10-user-generated-content-1.6007192 BTW - 5:00 PM in which time zone?
I was one of Matt's first supporters on Substack but need something for Android or Windows, and I've heard that Callin will expand to other platforms at some point, hope it's soon.
Yup exactly the problem. Thanks for keeping on top of this for us, Matt. So many other journalists choose or feel forced to stay silent. Of course I can sympathize with them but all the better that you’re covering this.
Matt while you are straining at some of the news botching stories about a Trump Russia nexus, the right is blaming all crime problems on Soros money influence. Why not focus a little on the Republican insistance that money is free speech, unless of course you don't like the effect of that speech?
I think the questions shouldn't be whether Twitter will suck more. It's already an awful platform perfect for propaganda, for spreading group-think, making cults and forming mobs, while clumsy for deep discussions and building meaningful human connections. It's making the world a worse place. I propose a different question altogether: "What can we do to accelerate its obsolescence as a dominant platform?".
I can’t download the app. It’s wants a version of ios beyond my device’s capacity. I tried to copy the address and paste it into a couple different browsers, but no success. Oh well. Rokfin app doesn’t work on here either. Fucking technology is a pain in the ass.
Just over a year that I have been off Twitter. I am sane. Less anxious, more calm. More forgiving and happier. Get off Twitter. Slinging crap back at people who sling crap at you or who are pedaling lies, will not move the needle one millimeter. Get off now. Read a book. Take walks. Don't wait until tomorrow. Do. It. Now. The alternative sites, while uncensored, are also a time suck with little value. Pick a few folks like Matt, Glenn, Bari and check Instapundit at least once a day.
Dear Matt,
While I won’t be able to make it on the callin, I will say that I think what you’re doing with Substack is probably one of the most important actions for creating a new anti-MSM free speech alternative.
You, Greenwald, and others are building increasingly huge audiences. The MSM is afraid of Substack. Greenwald’s Substack-Rumble combination is nice too. That has the ability to make the MSM YouTube matrix take a new body blow, in my opinion. Let them have all their stupid cat videos.
People should just get their news from a constellation of Substack and Rumble pages. There can be one great constellation of Substack pages that essentially functions as a new anti-MSM.
Let’s hope Substack keeps getting more honest and original thinkers and many many many more readers on board so we can watch the MSM/ Social media Tower of Babel crumble, forever.
Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald might be the last 2 actual journalists we have left.
Come on over to Facebook, the water is fine and there's no ambiguity whether it sucks or not. It totally sucks!
Still Apple only... Still shitty.
Not even a web based option. It's 2021.
A week after the Rittenhouse acquittal — the result of which must have been largely based upon footage uploaded to, yes, Twitter — the new CEO, chair and board have decided to ‘limit’ (read ‘selectively restrict’) images. Can't have potential evidence slipping through to the public sphere, it makes spinning so much harder.
"“When we are notified by individuals depicted, or by an authorized representative, that they did not consent to having their private image or video shared, we will remove it.”
I spent a fair part of the morning polling people in both journalism and the tech business, trying to get a grasp on what this will mean practically..."
It means no more unflattering pictures of Democrats on Twitter.
I just deleted Twitter from all of my devices. Who the hell really needs all their grief?
Here is another topic to discuss: When Trump stopped flights from China, there were constant accusations of racism and xenophobia. Now that Biden has cut off flights from Africa, where are the accusations? Nothing but silence. Why aren’t conservatives throwing this in their face? Why are conservatives so passive?
5 pm in what time zone?
The answer against social media censorship already exists. It rests in multiple people hosting their own social media software that can see each other and communicate interchangeably without a single point of failure.
It’s called federation, first came about in 2016 via https://joinmastodon.org. For example, https://mstdn.io is one of many open servers, others are like https://mstdn.social, or https://mastodon.online also
We need to just simply stop talking about this and start embracing the solutions to the problem that people already came up with and that work!
Is this east coast time?
Also - I'm reminded as my renewal fee hit - that I'm paying for content that I structurally can't access because I don't use an iPhone... it gets worse the more you think about it.
I know this is been brought up before, but as you know Callin is only available for iPhones. I have a MacBook and still can't participate because I have an Android phone. Is there no other platform available for these calls? That is supported by Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, etc. I'm beginning to experience FOMO! :)
What time zone?
This one’s for you, Matt:
https://consortiumnews.com/2021/12/01/patrick-lawrence-obituary-for-russiagate/
This won't work if you don't state the time zone.
I just love the turn of phrase, “an ocean of suck”. Taibbi at his best!
Eastern Time or?
I was permanently suspended from Twitter after 15 years of being on the platform because I indirectly referred to Ted Nugent as a “redneck freak.” Twitter censors indiscriminately.
I'm unlikely to listen, as consuming audio is not my fave way to get information. That said, this censorship thing is just an excuse to decide what content they can filter, it's not any guideline that would be useful for a content producer to create content that would not run afoul of their limitations.
I really have to recommend Richard Bartle and particularly his works "MMOs from the Inside Out" and same same "from the Outside In". While his study was gamers, his conclusions are accurate across the board for any large scale online social interaction. An example observation is that there really is only one multiplayer game and they all end up looking pretty much the same ultimately, policywise and rulewise.
What i'm saying here is that what is happening to social media - firm censorship - was predestined at the beginning and there would be no way to avoid it ultimately, short of shutting the platforms down. The idea of a "free speech platform" is a pipe dream, and my apologies to fellow administrators that I argued this point with 20 years ago; they were right and I was wrong.
I posted something yesterday on this topic, touching some of the points, but Bartle really deserves to be read on this.
https://taibbi.substack.com/p/will-twitter-become-an-ocean-of-suck/comment/3808214
"... the problem with making “harm” or “safety” a speech standard is that aggressive censors can make such standards mean almost anything."
Meanwhile, is there any danger on the other end of the spectrum - no restrictions, anywhere, for any reason? That's been my question all along, and so far I haven't received a substantive response.
Is this restrictive to Apple users? What about subscribers without an iPhone?
I have mixed feelings about this. I help run the non profit Families Advocating for Campus Equality (FACE) and have seen many innocent students wrongly accused of sexual misconduct vilified on Twitter, and their photos and contact information published, whether or not the school found them not responsible. Twitter has responded inconsistently to requests to have this personal and reputation-damaginginformation deleted.
On the other hand, I am disgusted with Twitter's censorship of verified information that does not fit the preferred narrative.
I am thankful for and subscribe to various Substack writers including Matt and Glenn G.
Cynthia
One thing we can be thankful for vis a vis big tech and its 'censorship': it really put the lie to the whole right-wing 'just let the free market work and all will be well' nonsense, eh?
According to the free marketeer, this ability to 'censor' shouldn't exist because these are private companies. In the logic of the free market, if these big tech companies censor too much and people don't like it, people will naturally migrate to alternative platforms where they are freer to speak their minds, and those platforms' market share will grow until the monopoly power of the previous 'censorious' platforms dwindles away.
Now the usual right-wing suspects who were bleating about the free market a few years ago are ranting about the tyranny of tech monopolies that were chosen by said market. Not that they'll ever grasp how effectively they have refuted their own ideology.
Dang, missed it again. .. life got in the way.
But I'm here now .. . and fully prepared to plot a course toward the mythic great white whale sighted off the coast of Jamaica, at your command Ahab! https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/30/white-sperm-whale-rarest-animals-captured-on-film-jamaica
I understand Matt, Glenn and many others @ Substack, Rumble, Callin' etc., etc., are trying to build alternatives ('platforms' as well as 'exciting new features'.) to the more established and traditional, er, 'dominant elite discourse and establishment narrative' and I applaud that. Good luck and God speed .. . lord only knows the total tonnage of utter bullshit that has been piled on so high and wide by traditional media since the great 2001 Space Odyssey and the never-ending global war on terror? e.g.
Nevertheless, it is still only through rational and authoritative argument that one can, at last, breach the walls of ignorance, malefaction and dominate mass-media organizational schizophrenia (moss).
*once more into the breach dear friends.
Is it ironic that most comments on this page concern social media and harmful comments? Struck me funny.
Can you give the time zone on the time, pls? If I didn't know you live on the East Coast, I would have missed this. Any corporation espousing free speech will be limited by its revenue/advertising model. Any free speech platform that would be independent enough to avoid censorship would have to be either quasi-governmental or a non-profit. But, hell, Wikileaks got labelled as essentially an espionage organization. They were essentially private, but non-profit.
I like your articles (thank you!) but a callin show because Jack Dorsey stepped down? Who cares?
I also don’t care about (or watch) any legacy media. Nor do I care about - or use - fb, insta, or most other social media sites. An ocean of suck? It’s been that way for some time.
News? My life is good without it. Matt Taibbi, Tim Pool, Epoch Times & Breaking Points. And I’m not listening or reading much of them (sorry, Matt).
Things may get a little weirder North of the border in Canada, where the current government hates being criticized. I know that's off your usual beat, but this is what they have planned... https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/bill-c10-user-generated-content-1.6007192 BTW - 5:00 PM in which time zone?
Time zone, time zone, time zone. Always scrambling trying to figure that out.
Is anyone here experienced with what Matt's up to with this iPhone app? Is it any good?
I was one of Matt's first supporters on Substack but need something for Android or Windows, and I've heard that Callin will expand to other platforms at some point, hope it's soon.
Are there any platforms you can use that aren't iPhone only?
Yup exactly the problem. Thanks for keeping on top of this for us, Matt. So many other journalists choose or feel forced to stay silent. Of course I can sympathize with them but all the better that you’re covering this.
Matt while you are straining at some of the news botching stories about a Trump Russia nexus, the right is blaming all crime problems on Soros money influence. Why not focus a little on the Republican insistance that money is free speech, unless of course you don't like the effect of that speech?
Is there a recording or transcript available anywhere?
So followed this link to Twitter. Really interesting compilation. https://twitter.com/i/status/1465712918868025355
"Harm" and "safety" as standards are as precise as using "emergency" to justify "laws" that bypass the legislature and democratic process.
I think the questions shouldn't be whether Twitter will suck more. It's already an awful platform perfect for propaganda, for spreading group-think, making cults and forming mobs, while clumsy for deep discussions and building meaningful human connections. It's making the world a worse place. I propose a different question altogether: "What can we do to accelerate its obsolescence as a dominant platform?".
Yeah!!!! Woo Hoo!!! Another thing I couldn't participate in. Way to be inclusive.
Callin didn't work this week - removed it from my iphone.
EST?
Is there a software option that would allow both apple and android users to participate?
Is this only available for iPhones? Not Samsung?
PS Panquake.com can’t get here soon enough.
FOMO here, too, since I don't have an iPhone. I do see that the Nov. 17 Callin is available to listen to via browser, though.
I can’t download the app. It’s wants a version of ios beyond my device’s capacity. I tried to copy the address and paste it into a couple different browsers, but no success. Oh well. Rokfin app doesn’t work on here either. Fucking technology is a pain in the ass.
Apparently call in is only available on iphone, not on those of us old fashioned enough to use a laptop
Any progress on making this browser based or otherwise accessible to the non-Apple, hoi polloi?