Archive for the ‘Censorship’ Category

Turkey slaps advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest – The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) Turkey on Tuesday slapped advertising bans on Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest over their non-compliance with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country.

The law which human rights and media freedom groups say amounts to censorship forces social media companies with more than one million users to maintain representatives in Turkey to deal with complaints about content on their platforms.

Companies that refuse to designate an official representative are subjected to fines, followed by advertising bans, and could face bandwidth reductions that would make their platforms too slow to use. The ban is on selling online space for ads, which is what many social media companies make their money from.

Facebook avoided the advertising ban after it announced Monday that it had begun the process of assigning a legal entity in Turkey, joining LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, Dailymotion and the Russian social media site VKontakte, which have agreed to set up legal entities in Turkey.

We hope that Twitter and Pinterest which have still not announced their representatives will rapidly take the necessary steps, said Omer Fatih Sayan, the deputy minister in charge of communications and infrastructure, after the advertising bans for Twitter, its live video-streaming app, Periscope, and on the image sharing network, Pinterest, were announced on Turkeys Official Gazette.

Sayan added: It is our last wish to impose bandwidth reductions for social networks that insist on not complying with their obligations.

Twitter said in an email to The Associated Press that it had no comment over Turkeys move. There was no immediate response from Pinterest.

Under the law that came into effect in October, the local representative of social media companies would be tasked with responding to individual requests to take down content violating privacy and personal rights within 48 hours or to provide grounds for rejection. The company would be held liable for damages if the content is not removed or blocked within 24 hours.

The law also requires social media data to be stored in Turkey, raising concerns in a country where the government has a track record of clamping down on free speech.

The government insists the legislation is needed to combat cybercrime and to protect the rights of Turkish social media users.

Rights groups have said the decision by international tech companies to bow to Turkish pressure and appoint representatives would lead to censorship and violations of the right to privacy and access to information in a country where independent media is severely curtailed. The Freedom of Expression Association says more than 450,000 domains and 42,000 tweets have been blocked in Turkey since October.

Facebook said Monday it remained committed to maintaining free expression and other human rights in Turkey.

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Associated Press writer Kelvin Chan in London contributed.

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Turkey slaps advertising ban on Twitter, Pinterest - The Associated Press

Censorship or conspiracy theory? Trump supporters say Facebook and Twitter censor them but conservatives still rule social media – Savannah Morning…

A former Democrat-turned-Trump supporter from Knightstown, Indiana, Gayla Baer-Taylor's blood pressure rose every time Facebook and Twitter fact-checked and restricted claims by President Donald Trump and other Republicans that the November election was rigged.

A couple weeks ago, Facebook put a notice referring users to official election results on one of her posts:"I'm going to need a MUCH bigger swear jar before President Trump completes his second term."

"When did we get so stupid that we need social media to tell us what to think?" she told USA TODAY.

A recent poll shows that majorities in both parties think political censorship is likely occurring on social media, but that belief is most prevalent on the political right. And,with the country in the throes of an unparalleled attempt by a sitting president to overturn the election and hold onto the White House, its growing.

Researchers say theyve found no evidence to support GOP grievances thatthe nations leading social media companies squelchconservative voices.

"I know of no academic research that concludes there is a systemic bias liberal or conservative in either the content moderation policies or in the prioritization of content by algorithms by major social media platforms," said Steven Johnson, an information technology professor at the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce.

"If anything," Johnson said, "there is evidence that content from highly conservative news sites is favored by Facebook algorithms."

An analysis of millions of social media posts by Politico and the nonpartisan think tank Institute for Strategic Dialogue found that right-wing social media influencers, media outlets and other GOP supporters drove the online conversation about the Black Lives Matter movement and voter fraud, two of the most heated election issues.

According to research Johnson conducted with his University of Virginia colleagues Brent Kitchens and Peter Gray, typical conservative users, in months when they visited Facebook more than usual, read news that was about 30% more conservative than the online news they would typically read."Moreover, we found that Facebook usage is five times more polarizing for conservatives than for liberals," he said.

Facebook, Johnsonsaid, "prioritizes content that is more engaging which is often more partisan content."

Facebook exec: Conservatives more popular than liberals

Facebook told Politico in September that right-wing personalities have a distinct advantage on the platform, not because thealgorithms favor conservatives, but because they connect with people on a visceral level.

"Right-wing populism is always more engaging," a Facebook executive told Politico, when asked why Dan Bongino and Ben Shapiro drive such high engagement. The executive said the content speaks to "an incredibly strong, primitive emotion" by touching on such topics as "nation, protection, the other, anger, fear."

Researchers agree that algorithms dont have a political affiliation or party. Instead, algorithmsfavor content that elicits strong reactions from users, keeping them hooked so Facebook and Twitter can sell more advertising revenue.

A former Facebook employee, Adam Conner, now vice president of tech policy at the liberal Center for American Progress Action, told Politico that "its absurd for Facebook to say this is just something thats playing out in a neutral way."

"Facebook is not a mirror," he said. "The news-feed algorithm is an accelerant."

Trump's war of words against Facebook and Twitter

The perception that social media is biased has been around for a long time but intensified in recent years asthe president made "social media abuses" a major plank of his administration and reelection campaign.

Nine in 10 Republicans and independents who lean toward the Republican Party say its at least somewhat likely that social media platforms censor political viewpoints they find objectionable, up slightly from 85% in 2018, according to an August report from the Pew Research Center.

With 89 million followers on Twitter and nearly 35 million on Facebook, Trump wields one of social medias largest megaphoneswhich will help him shape the national conversation long after he leaves office.

"Every year, countless Americans are banned, blacklisted, and silenced through arbitrary or malicious enforcement of ever-shifting rules," Trump said during a September appearance with Attorney General William Barr.

Francesca Tripodi, an assistant professor in the University of North Carolinas School of Information and Library Science, says the bias accusations grew out of similar allegations against the mainstream media.

"Part of it definitely stems from a larger distrust in institutions and access to information," said Tripodi, a senior faculty researcher with UNCs Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life. "Part of it is linked to the overall opaqueness of the platforms."

Underlying it all is growing discomfort with a small cabal of megacompanies controlling the nations online conversation.

Some right-wing personalities including radio host Mark Levin and Fox News host Sean Hannity have joinedsocial media alternatives like Parler where pro-Trump conspiracy theories and unfounded allegations of voter fraud trend unfettered.

"I think there is definitely merit behind this question: Do we really want such a small number of corporations controlling such a wide swath of how we access information?" Tripodisaid.

Fueling the current outrage are high-profile cases of platforms flagging content or banning accounts, Johnson said.

"Trump has consistently pushed the boundaries of what is allowed by these platforms things that would cause other accounts to be banned have been allowed due to a different policy for national leaders," Johnsonsaid. "Once the social media platforms started adding labels on misleading and false content from high-profile users like Trump, the complaints of bias have grown even louder."

Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, confronted Twitter's Jack Dorsey in a recent Senate hearing over Facebook and Twitter throttlingthe spread of a New York Post article which made uncorroborated claims about Hunter Bidens business dealings.

"Who the hell elected you and put you in charge of what the media are allowed to report and what the American people are allowed to hear?" Cruzsaid.

Trump supporters say Facebook iscensoring the president

Researchers say many groups across the political spectrum feel their opinions and perspectives are under siege fromsocial media, but its difficult to make the casethat the platforms are biased against any group since they disclose so little about how they decide what content is allowed and what is not.

Dorsey and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg say their platforms strike a balance between promoting free expression and removing hate, abuse and misinformation fromtheir platforms. Theyacknowledge making some enforcement errors but say their policies are applied fairly to everyone.

Baer-Taylor, whose Twitter bio jokes she's"President Elect Gayla," doesn't buy it.In her MAGA-infusedworld, social media has always been unfair to conservatives. "I see it and experience it a lot," she said.

According to Baer-Taylor, increased censorship of right-wing voices during the COVID-19 pandemic and the presidential election helped hijack the vote to tip the election to Joe Biden.

Also frustrated is Krishnan Seshasayee, 47, an IT architect and Trump supporter from Illinois who leans Republican but worked on Obamas campaign in 2008 and donated to Tulsi Gabbard's campaign this election cycle.

Seshasayee believes social media should be treated as a tool that gives people a voice, like a mic or a pen.

"Would a megaphone suppress the speech of the speaker? Would a pen suppress the thought flow of a writer?" he said. "It will best serve the people and themselves when they just remain as a platform to express opinions without judging the content of posts."

Conservatives say social media should stop moderating content

Facebook and Twitter have held meetings with high-profile conservatives to fend off persistent accusations of liberal bias, fueling speculationthat Dorsey and Zuckerberg were trying to appease Trump and keep out of his crosshairs.

Twitters Dorsey told lawmakers in Novemberthat the platforms should be more open with users about how content moderation decisions are made and should offer a straightforward way to appeal moderation decisions. Hed also like to see users be able to opt out of algorithms that determine what content they see on the platform.

But conservative author Denise McAllister says greater transparency wont help.

The platforms are not capable of consistently or fairly moderating content, so the only way to restore public trust is to get out of the content moderation business except in the case of violent threats or other illegal activities, even during election cycles when partisan propaganda and misinformation spreads wildly, she argues.

"This is a platform, right? You don't need to act like mama Twitter or mama Facebook. Just let people say what they are going to say, whether its true, false, whatever. You have to just trust the people as individuals and not to try to impose power because you are going to do it inconsistently," said McAllister, author of "What Men Want to Say to Women (But Cant)" and "Spygate: The Attempted Sabotage of Donald J. Trump."

"Knock off your good intentions and stop trying to do something you are not going to be able to accomplish and just deal with the fact that liberty is messy, free speech is going to offend everybody," she said. "One way or another, everyone needs to put their big girl panties on and their big boy panties on and just deal with it and stop trying to protect everyones feelings."

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Censorship or conspiracy theory? Trump supporters say Facebook and Twitter censor them but conservatives still rule social media - Savannah Morning...

Censorship In The Biden Era – OpEd – Eurasia Review

The corporate media have joined the incoming administration in deciding what we can and cannot see and hear.

Ever since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016 the country has been warned about the dangers of fascism. It isnt difficult to see why that is the case, as he banned people from mostly Muslim nations from entering the country, separated families seeking asylum, weakened an already frayed safety net, and undid the protections provided by a variety of government regulations.

The racist right wing was certainly ascendant during his administration, but the danger of fascism wont leave Washington with Donald Trump. The obnoxious racist may be the public face of tyranny, but there is another danger coming from sectors of the Democratic Party. Their goal is to censor any points of view that undermine their neoliberal and imperialist narratives.

Bill Russo, deputy communications director for the Joe Biden campaign, publicly demanded that Facebook censor more often than it already does. He and others do so under the guise of preventing Trump from spreading misinformation, using the likes of Steve Bannon as a cover for something more sinister. They may accuse Facebook of shredding the fabric of democracy, but they are more interested in making sure that the small group of people who are actually leftists will have no platform with which to oppose Biden policies.

The corporate media have already made themselves clear by censoring the president himself. On November 5, 2020 Trump claimed to be a victim of election fraud at a White House news conference. Instead of allowing him to make his statement and then analyzing what he said, the television networks pronounced him a liar andcut awayfrom his remarks.

Trumps charges are unfounded, but the public should have heard him for themselves and made their own determination about the veracity of his words. But the corporate media are done with him and have joined the incoming administration in deciding what we can and cannot see and hear. They are declaring themselves the arbiters of what information should be made accessible to the rest of the world.

These open attacks against Facebook do require the left to be discerning. Big technology social media platforms are certainly not our friends. They readily silence individuals and pages that question the establishment narrative. Black people risk being kicked off entirely if they utter any words white people may find offensive. But Facebook already buckled under Democratic Party pressure that was ginned up during the Russiagate hoax. They even accepted blame for a non-existent offense. The tale of Russian government memes throwing the election to Trump was false and a useful way to silence dissent and attack another country all at once. It isnt hard to believe that they will again bend to an establishment that is now back in power.

While keeping Facebooks history in mind, we must also see through the machinations of a new group of thought police who have made clear that they expect social media to bow to their dictates. That is exactly what Twitter did in censoring a recent news story that was unflattering toHunter Biden. After protecting the Democratic candidates son, Twitters CEO showed contrition after the fact and claimed the decision was a mistake.

It isnt just corporate media who are a danger here. There are individuals on the Biden transition team who have publicly stated their support for official propaganda.Richard Stengelis the team leader for the United States Global Agency, which includes Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and the Middle Eastern Broadcasting Networks. In 2018 Stengel had this to say about official propaganda,My old job at the State Department was what people used to joke as the chief propagandist. Im not against propaganda. Every country does it, and they have to do it to their own population. And I dont necessarily think its that awful. It should be noted that Stengel worked for the State Department during the Barack Obama administration and not that of fascist Trump.

It is clear that Biden will be the more effective evil in this regard. There will be no buffoons like Trump or Bannon spewing obvious hatred and nonsense who can be easily dismissed. Instead we will have well spoken operatives like Stengel, who think that propaganda isnt so bad.

The people need their own platforms, like Black Agenda Report, that will dissect the lies and obfuscations of an administration greeted with a sigh of relief by millions of people weary of Trump and his policies. Already fossil fuel companies and Congress members who benefit from their largesse are on the transition team as are chemical industry representatives slated to go to the EPA. All will end up in the White House along with self-confessed propagandists. We must be ready to engage them all.

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Censorship In The Biden Era - OpEd - Eurasia Review

Jeanine Pirro Thinks Big Tech is Censoring Her Text Messages – Mediaite

Fox News hosts MariaBartiromo and Jeanine Pirro both leveled somewhat comical claims over the weekend that they were being censored by big tech companies.

Pirro began the weekend by claiming her private text messages were censored.

I just received 2 texts from friends. At end each read Preceding msg modified, Media objects were removed WHATShouldnt my friends and I decide what we share? #censorship #outrage #BigTech, Pirro tweeted, early on Saturday morning.

Pirro did not specify which company Apple or a cellular provider? carried out the alleged censorship. There is a simpler explanation for what happened to Pirro than the vast conspiracy she is alleging. It is likely that the messages she received exceeded 160 characters, or perhaps included a large image that required a lot of data to be downloaded both instances are said to produce the fairly benign message.

On Fox and Friends Sunday morning, Bartiromo launched a big tech conspiracy theory of her own. Ahead of her interview with President Donald Trump, the Fox anchor claimed that Instagram was censoring her by preventing one of her friends from sharing a promotional post about the interview.

You know what big tech has been doing, Bartiromo said.

Ive got to tell you, last night I posted on Instagram that I was having President Trump on in this exclusive interview this morning. One of my girlfriends tried to forward that, and she was not able to. Instagram would not let her forward the promotion that I was having President Trump on this morning, on Instagram.

It is unclear what prevented Bartiromos friend from forwarding the post.

The phenomenon of claiming censorship isnt a new one for Fox News hosts. Back in October, Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett floated the theory that his Wi-Fi connection cut out because he wrote a negative op-ed about Joe Biden.

Watch above, via Fox News.

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BBC forced to defend decision to censor The Pogues’ Fairytale Of New York following flood of complaints – Irish Post

THE BBC has launched a staunch defence of its decision to censor The Pogues Christmas favouriteFairytaleof New York following a flood of complaints.

The broadcaster pre-empted the annual controversy surrounding the lyrics to the ShaneMacGowanhit last week by announcing it would play an edited version of the festive hit on its flagship station Radio 1.

It took the decision as part of a concerted effort to avoid offending younger listeners who may have taken umbrage with the use of severalderogatoryterms related to gender and sexuality.

The lyrics would stay in place on Radio 2 while 6 Music presenters would be given the choice between playing the original or a censored version of the song.

However, according to Metro, the BBC has been hit with a deluge of complaints over the decision.

Despite the backlash the UK broadcaster is refusing to back down on the decision.

A spokesperson told the news provider We knowFairytaleof New York is considered a Christmas classic and we will continue to play it this year on BBC Radio, with our stations choosing the version of the song most relevant for their audience.

We are aware that young audiences are particularly sensitive to derogatory terms for gender and sexuality, andafter considering this carefully, Radio 1 has decided to play a version featuring Kirsty MacColl singing alternative lyrics, provided by the record label.

The controversy centres on one particular linesungbythe late great Kirsty MacColl: You scumbag, you maggot, you cheap lousy f****t.

Earlier this weekMacGowan, who co-wrote the song with his former Pogues band mate Jem Finer branded the decision to censor the song ridiculous.

The Irishman previously defended the song in an interview with Ryan Tubridy forThe LateLateShowlast year."There is no political correctness to it," he said."I've been told it's insulting to gays; I don't understand how that works."

The Pogues star also addressed the controversy ina statementto Virgin Media TV'sThe Tonight Showback in 2018.

"The word was used by the character because it fitted with the way she would speak and with her character, he said.

"She is not supposed to be a nice person or even a wholesome person. She is a woman of a certain generation at a certain time in history and she is down on her luck and desperate".

MacGowanadded: "Her dialogue is as accurate as I could make it but she is not intended to offend! She is just supposed to be an authentic character.

"Not all characters in songs and stories are angels or even decent and respectable, sometimes characters in songs and stories have to be evil or nasty in order to tell the story effectively."

MacGowanwent on to say that he does not want to clash with anyone over the song and would understand if it had to be censored on the air.

"If people don't understand that I was trying to accurately portray the character as authentically as possible then I am absolutely fine with them bleeping the word, but I don't want to get into an argument," he concluded.

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BBC forced to defend decision to censor The Pogues' Fairytale Of New York following flood of complaints - Irish Post