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Rory shared the ice bucket* challenge (which aims to raise awareness about motor neuron disease or ALS) with Tiger Woods. The world’s former most dominant golfer nominated Phil Knight of Nike and Rafa Nadal. Mere C-listers compared to Rory’s choice of George W. Bush “AKA 43″, Wayne Rooney and Meghan Markle (as seen on TV’s Suits).
What we really love though, is the way Rory delivered his line as if he was telling us which letters Sesame Street was brought to us by today.
No good will come from this. Now the EU can control not only what you say, but what you read. They love free speech and democracy though! Down with Big Brother.
@: What’s the problem with blocking bots and misinformation?
US democracy came close to being overthrown in 2020/21, and social media disinformation played a big part in that. Aren’t freedom and democracy worth protecting?
@Brendan O’Brien: allowing others to decide on your behalf what constitutes disinformation does not protect freedom, it surrenders freedom. And US democracy did not come close to being overthrown in 2020/21, that is hyperbolic nonsense, or in your preferred parlance – disinformation. Who knows, maybe some day our great and glorious betters will see fit to censor you from spouting such nonsense, all in the name of protecting your freedom of course.
@Ignatius J Reilly: Trump attempted a coup, and might have succeeded if the situation had been slightly different. That would have been the end of US democracy. These are facts. Perhaps he will succeed next time, if there is a next time.
The criteria for what is and is not mis/disinformation are pretty straightforward and can be determined quite easily by a democratic state/society: truth and facts versus Trumpian/Putinian anti-facts, false narratives and conspiracy theories.
@Brendan O’Brien: no, Trump did not attempt a coup. A lie no matter how oft repeated is still a lie. So essentially you just want other people restricted from saying things, but anything you make up can just be followed by “these are facts”, and since paradigms never change it will never be you who falls foul of such authoritarian laws.
Only weak people crave authority in the way you do, be they emotionally weak, intellectually weak, or both. We saw with the devastating damage caused by the reactions to covid what pandering to the weak and cowardly achieves.
@Ignatius J Reilly: Trump attempted to overturn the result of a legally constituted election and incited his followers to match on the Capitol: what was that if not a coup?
@Brendan O’Brien: anyone who attempts a coup against the federal government in the US is charged with sedition. Trump has not been, and will not be, charged with sedition. So what we actually have is some events that occurred, you being hyperbolic about those events, and interpreting those events through your hyperbolic lens to reach obviously false conclusions: This is a dictionary definition of disinformation. And you will engage in it while simultaneously championing restrictions on disinformation, completely lacking the wit to even understand the contradiction or potential consequences. On the bright side, there’s a good chance it’s not the ‘emotionally weak’ category you fall in though.
@Ignatius J Reilly: Your argument is that if someone hasn’t been charged with a crime, the crime never happened. That’s not very convincing.
‘So what we actually have is some events that occurred’ – yes, an attempt to overturn a lawful election, which would bring an end to democracy and the rule of law.
@Brendan O’Brien: no, my argument is that you are being hyperbolic, and I am using the findings of the US federal justice system who investigated the events in question to support my argument. Your argument appears to be that whatever your interpretation of events is is automatically correct, because you like authoritarianism, and you have precisely nothing to support your argument.
@Ignatius J Reilly: My statement that Trump illegally attempted to overturn the election is overwhelmingly supported by facts, as will become even more apparent next year.
My distaste for authoritarianism is the very reason why I feel that action should be taken against the deployment of its tools, on social media and elsewhere,.
@Brendan O’Brien: it’s not supported by any facts because it’s something you made up. That’s why you cannot support your silly hyperbolic argument with anything other than reiterations of how you’re correct, because reasons.
“My distaste for authoritarianism is exactly why I support these authoritarian measures.” Very convincing, unfortunately for you words actually mean things, and the words you use demonstrate quite clearly what an authoritarian fruitcake you are.
@Brendan O’Brien: so the side you’re on is always right and the other side is always wrong, but you only hear what’s going on from the news outlets on the side you’re on. You’re brainwashed I’m afraid. I listen to both sides on a similar story and make an informed opinion, just like the gas pipelines story, Russia did it, then Ukraine did it with a small sailing boat. When all along it was the USA because they had everything to gain, even Joe biden and Victoria nuland said it months before it happened.
Not really. If people stop using multinational operated services, they can’t do anything. For example, use bitchute, rumble, yandex. They don’t care about censorship or the EU.
@Brendan O’Brien: the issue here Brendan is who is deciding what misinformation is. The last few years have only highlighted that blind faith causes harm and most don’t trust the people in charge. I certainly don’t trust people I never met.
What an evil organization the EU is. It has completely subsumed its members individual sovereignty, whilst at the same time being beholden in a vassal manner to the US. Add this unnecessary monitoring of its citizens, it only shows what a fragile state the EU is in. If it was strong and made up of open and democratic values, there’d be no need for covert vigilance like this. It’s sad that what started out as a commercial community designed to enhance peace has evolved into a secretive war driven operation. I’d give the EU another 5 – 7 years, 10 years tops, before this failed organization collapses in on itself. The big cracks may begin elsewhere but the final straw will be when the Germans say enough is enough, it’s time to wind this thing down and return to the Deutsche Market etc.
When people say ‘what’s the problem with blocking misinformation’, maybe stop and think for just a second that anything can be called misinformation if someone wants to call it that, no matter whether it is true or false or a grey area (as is often the case). This is actually very dangerous and only because it is convenient now for some folk to have the opinion of others ‘banned’. Just wait until that convenience is gone, the tide changes and how ‘good’ free speech will be banned. A very slippery slope!
@Steve: But it has to be attempted (and, of course, it has to be done right). Otherwise, in a free-for-all with the technology we have now, the very concept of truth and facts will become a thing of the past (which is exactly what Trump and others like him are working towards).
@Brendan O’Brien:
.
Did he manage to get Trump in there to try and justify his warped logic? – yes he did, these Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers really need therapy and/or counselling to try and cure them of this peculiar obsessive mental illness that has afflicted them.
@Trent: I’m afraid not, I’m just not communist. All non communists are not bots. I know you not used to chatting with a non communist so I will over look your comment.
I can’t stand the likes of Elon Musk. A thin-skinned vein-glorious fool; I think he’s probably one of the most dangerous men on Earth at present. However; I can’t see how social media can be anything other than all-or-nothing. Censorship just has too much potential for corruption. I’d be all for getting rid of it completely; but that’s obviously not going to happen. We just have to let it be what it is. People have always been susceptible to disinformation. The amount it going around from person to person via the telephone lines in the 80s would put Twitter to shame. But people are slowly learning to be more critical in their thinking. It will take time and there will always be suckers out there.
This Misinformation Commission will be a hoot when it starts operations. I’m preparing a list of the factual untruths about asylum seekers put about in media statements by the Irish Refugee Council and other far-left NGOs, and published as fact by The Journal. My list will keep this quango busy for months.
I suggest everyone should prepare their own list of “Untruths published as fact” by the Journal and the other lefty media for submission to the Commission when it starts operations.
It’s probably a nessary step, I like how companies will now have to explain to the user why they have been shadow banned. Not so keen on the EU what information needs to be removed or restricted. That seems like it could be quite oppressive.
I see the right wing manboys are getting well triggered by the fact that the lying treacherous sex offender orange thing looks like justice is finally catching up to him
@Robert Halvey: I look forward to him sharing a cell with Biden’s little darling. And perhaps they will need to put a third bunk in the cell when they complete the inquiry into the business links between Biden senior and junior called for by the Washington Post on Wednesday.
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