Progressives: Don’t Turn on Each Other Because of Alex Jones (Part 3)

Alex Jones (on the left) crashed an interview that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida, on the right) was giving reporters on September 5, 2018. Taken from a screenshot (video).

In Part 2 of this series, I talked about the incidents that happened since Alex Jones was banned from various platforms. I also talked about how I felt about Jones being targeted. Additionally, since I found out that the U.S. government (and the European Union) was involved, it made me think deeper about the issue of online censorship.

Now, it’s been over a month since I last visited this series, but a lot more has happened on this front. Before I can get into the nitty-gritty, I will need to talk about a few of these developments.

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Progressives: Don’t Turn on Each Other Because of Alex Jones (Part 2)

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently talked to NBC News’ Lester Holt about Twitter’s decision to put Alex Jones in a week-long timeout. Twitter’s movements in this arena will have long-term implications, and most of them will be bad for progressives.

In Part 1 of this series, I talked about the fallout from Alex Jones’ dismissal from certain platforms and the effect it has had on progressives. In particular, a fight has been raging about the concept of free speech and whether or not there are limits to it. As a result, a number of progressives have turned on each other, at least in this arena. As the title of these posts suggests, I have a problem with that because progressives need to stick together.

I am also troubled by the way people are going about this argument. While both sides in this debate have valid points, one side has stronger ones, but even people on that side have made a series of argumentative missteps. In sniping at each other, progressives in this fight have subverted their own arguments to a degree.

Now, one is certain: Alex Jones’ banishment is the start of a widescale sweep and things will get worse before they get better. That said, I would like to revisit my thoughts on his banishment and talk about the effect it can have on many others.

Alex Jones: Is His Banishment an Issue of Free Speech?

Original image by Michael Zimmermann [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

No, Alex Jones’ banishment from a host of platforms is not about free speech, but it has started on interesting conversation among progressives.

The Moral Quandary of Using Internet Services

I’m taking a break from my break to make some posts. This first one concerns the Internet, particular internet services, and the arguments that arise from it all.

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Some Background Information

This weekend, I was on Twitter when I saw a trending story about Cambridge Analytica. The story was covered by The Huffington Post, among others.

Apparently, CA and its parent company had been suspended from Facebook for violating user privacy rules.

For those who don’t know what Cambridge Analytica is, it’s a political data analytics firm. CA is also part of Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), a British company. In 2016, Cambridge Analytica was paid millions of dollars by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and it was extremely effective.

From the information I already had about CA, the company used data from various sources, including from social media. The employees from company bragged about their processes and information-gathering, saying that they had information from virtually all American voters. However, according to this new information, the company may have taken information from Facebook through unethical means.

Internet News Roundup (May 15, 2017)

This week, there was some important internet news I wanted to share. Some of this is old, but important regardless.

Ruh-Roh … I Have to Create a Social Media Schedule?

With 2 more assignments to go in the Blogging: Branding and Growth and course, the eighth assignment I am tasked with creating a social media schedule. Yikes!

Extending My Brand on Social Media

For the sixth assignment for Blogging: Branding and Growth, I had to consider linking this website to social media.