Category: current events

Should Congress Regulate Social Media Platforms?

Here’s a tweet from a libertarian that made me think of this:

Do you agree that presence and type of political bias at Facebook is none of Congress’s business? This seems wrong to me on a variety of levels. Let me try and sort them out. Continue reading “Should Congress Regulate Social Media Platforms?”

Controversial Hiring and Firing of Kevin Williamson at The Atlantic

The Atlantic recently hired a conservative writer, Kevin Williamson (from National Review), got significant criticism for doing so, and has not fired Williamson. This Daily Beast article breaks down the controversy, and I wanted to discuss what I think is a really complicated issue, and controversial issue. I suspect you guys might not want to talk about this, but I hope you do, because I’m interested in getting feedback on this.

Here’s the main source of the controversy: Continue reading “Controversial Hiring and Firing of Kevin Williamson at The Atlantic“

Verdict: Internet is Not a Medium for Thoughtful, Civil Discourse

Civil Beat announced their closing down their comments section. What’s interesting is that they’ve tried different software/methods, but none have really lead to civil place for thoughtful discussion. This jibes with my experience on a variety of different comment sections and discussion boards online over a twenty year period. (The Atlantic also recently shut down their comments section.) To be clear, thoughtful, civil discourse is possible on the internet–I have definitely participated in this–but it is very rare, the exception to the rule. This is really disappointing and sad to me, because I expected that the internet would provide more opportunities for this type of discourse. My sense is that this building a place where this type of discourse is the norm is too costly, and those looking for this type of discourse have to go to places where the majority of conversation turns the site into a cesspool.

(One question. Both Civil Beat and The Atlantic are keeping FB discussions alive. Are discussions more thoughtful and civil there?)

The Nature of Free Speech in the 21st Century Information Environment

I would like Mitchell (and Don or anyon else) to discuss the following Wired article: It’s the (Democracy-Poisoning) Golden Age of Free Speech. I think it touches on some of the issues that Mitchell and I have been discussing, while bringing up insights that we may not have specifically and explicitly addressed. Here are some passages that stood out for me: Continue reading “The Nature of Free Speech in the 21st Century Information Environment”