Platforms' current attempts to regulate misinformation amplify opinion power
Flash back, four years.<p>&quot;But @bjt2n3904, misinformation is bring spread, that is causing &#x27;real harm&#x27; (TM)!&quot; Some justification. Real harm is being done now, and it isn&#x27;t doesn&#x27;t need social media to survive.<p>You know, I spoke out against online platforms taking responsibility for what it&#x27;s users wrote back then. But I wish I had the forethought to say this:<p>How do you think conspiracy theorists, who believe their messages are being suppressed to hide the truth, will react when Facebook steps in and fulfills their prophecy?<p>How do you think people who don&#x27;t live in the tech bubble will react when they share an opinion on politics, and it gets marked as &quot;Actually this is untrue&quot; by Facebook, and buried?<p>How do you think people, who already believe everything they read on the internet, will react when they see Facebook flag something as &quot;untrue&quot;? Certainly, it won&#x27;t reinforce their biases about how &lt;political opponent&#x27;s supporters&gt; are all misinformed people with the wool pulled over their eyes, and can be dismissed off hand.<p>Surprising to no one, these attempts at correcting &quot;misinformation&quot; are having the opposite effect. Who would have thought that using technology to solve an obviously human problem wouldn&#x27;t have worked?<p>Edit: &quot;Ackshually, @bjt2n3904, Facebook isn&#x27;t under any obligation to follow the 1st Amendment, there&#x27;s this great XKCD comic that explains this, hold on...&quot;<p>This is what we mean when we say &quot;freedom of speech&quot;. It isn&#x27;t just a good thing for the government, it&#x27;s good for society, too.