You might recall that we did the unthinkable last week: We posted three stories on the Washington Post’s Max Boot in one day because his meltdown over the prospect of Elon Musk buying Twitter just kept going and going. At first, he said the idea “frightened” him. In response to his claim that we need more content moderation, not less, he turned to Donald Trump, denouncing “all the hyperventilating from Trumpist trolls claiming that content moderation equals fascism. He then tripled down, saying, “If content moderation is communism or fascism, that would mean that the U.S. was under fascist rule when I was growing up in the 1980s.”
Now he has another column out, and in this one, he again says he’s tired of hearing from “Trump fans” that he’s “pro-dictatorship.”
I’m tired of hearing from Trump fans that I’m pro-dictatorship because I don’t want disinformation and conspiracy theories to be given free rein on social media. They’re the ones who tried to overthrow the election and destroy our democracy. My view…https://t.co/NyDMBSu5TX
— Max Boot 🇺🇦 (@MaxBoot) April 18, 2022
People who tried to throw the election with misinformation? Do you mean like how the New York Post tried to influence the election by spreading Russian disinformation about having Hunter Biden’s laptop with all of his emails on it? Thank God the content moderators of Twitter shut that down, locking the Post out of its account and preventing people from sharing the story.
A very good point:
Did you notice how @MaxBoot switched “censorship” for “dictatorship”? https://t.co/cytxkyBBH1
— dasblinkenlight 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 (@dasblinkenlght) April 18, 2022
We did notice that, as well as how free speech advocates are Trump fans.
So who decides what's "disinformation" and "conspiracy theories"? Because right now, it is only the censors on the left that have the power to do so. https://t.co/BxpdCKWpRY
— Trigger Warning (@lyingliberals) April 18, 2022
Nobody is qualified to police what others may say. Nobody. If they want to be stupid and advocate for conspiracy theories or Flat Earth nonsense, let them. The best way to overcome untruth is to expose it to daylight.
Censorship never results in a positive outcome…
— Imre Beke (@ImreOnTheIssues) April 18, 2022
It’s not censorship, it’s content moderation.
I’m not a trump fan. But I am also rational. Disinformation is only a thing when a totalitarian government doesn’t like dissent. Who determines disinfo? Is there such a thing as political disinfo or are they just difference of opinion? Is disinfo just stuff we don’t like?
— Evan Savage (@EvanSav85701279) April 18, 2022
The issue is not about conspiracy theories that most of us would laugh at. The issue is the true stories that were suppressed for political reasons like the lab leak theory and the Hunter Biden laptop. This is why Independents and Moderates are not on your side.
— Highlight Bias (@HighlightBias) April 18, 2022
Who decides what is disinformation? A state school graduate with purple hair who gets paid $15.00 an hour?
— Motion to go F-CK Yourselves (@Civil_WR_Lawyer) April 18, 2022
Read the piece and still have no idea of your architecture of content moderation. Why not just make a list of what you think is okay and what you would ban?
— courtland (@courtlandistan) April 18, 2022
I'm not a trump person but who would you suggest being the arbiters of truth? Who will fact check the fact checkers? That's why open discourse from all perspectives is necessary. Even if they are perspectives you don't agree with or are even crazy.
— Kimberly Davis (@Kimmer3737) April 18, 2022
Have you tried not promoting things a dictator would promote, like censorship, to see if that helps? 🤷♂️
— Jack Daley (@jackdaleydc) April 18, 2022
Everyone else is tired of being called "Trump fans" or "election overthrowers" just because they disagree with you suddenly claiming that "more content moderation" is necessary "for democracy to survive."https://t.co/Udz5AiYet2
— Chris (@ChrisSeay104) April 18, 2022
Boot is thankful to have his content moderated by an editor who agrees with everything he says and checks for typos:
I’m also very tired of being told that content moderation=censorship.
If that were true I should be screaming bloody murder because all of my @PostOpinions columns are “censored.” But in fact I love the great editing I get and think everyone would benefit from some editing. https://t.co/zIzNNEDU6F
— Max Boot 🇺🇦 (@MaxBoot) April 18, 2022
Related:
Record levels of BUTTHURT –> Max Boot comes UNDONE after getting DRAGGED for anti-Elon Musk tweets, TRIPLES down and LOL https://t.co/jSfXAhpLiu
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) April 14, 2022
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