The Social Media Censorship Issue - Taking Our Power Back
I had a pretty in depth response to one of my posts on the social medial censorship issue. I feel it brought up many different angles to explore the issue from perspectives I did not address in my original post. For this reason I am sharing it, not to point the finger at anyone. The following is copied from my response to a comment in the post listed above. I hope these alternative perspectives assist in shedding more light on what seems to be a shaded topic. Let's start taking some responsibility folks.
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUuNGXd4xmVanrnQ2g4v264W47PSh8mFsNZGDtV2BrTsK/image.png)
Image Source
My Comment
I'm not trying to speak down to anyone in my post, or you in my comments. I agree with most of what you are saying, and hey - I'm not here to judge anyone. On the other hand, I'm not here to sugar coat the Truth or "gently coax" you either, nor have I made a "demand" in my post.
As far as it goes, all the great info being shared on these platforms is using one of the enemies most powerful weapons against them. That's amazing!
"Not to MENTION, if I educate even ONE person on either of those 2 platforms and the seed is planted, that's worth something."
Hell yeah!!
I'm just stating facts, the main one being: If you will go and read the contract you signed with these corporations to use their platform you will find you have agreed to most of what they are doing.
Here is a great example of another practical possibility: In Canada to "legally" acquire a handgun, which is considered a restricted weapon, you need to sign a contract to get your license which forfeits your right to privacy in your home and grants the police the right to search your home without a warrant. Is it not a right to own a firearm in a responsible manner if you choose and also not your right to the sanctity of your own home? Of course it is. But when they search your home for no reason and it seems unfair, do you have a right to complain?
The social media platforms are doing the same thing all the 'powers that think they be' are doing cooperatively at the same moment in history - Imposing the power which we have granted them over time by giving away our rights by consent. Look at all the fucked up legislation the governments are bringing in to enforce in the near future - unless we change our thinking and act.
It's fine if people still want to use any platform of their choosing. That is their Right. Especially if people want to use it for good, we're on the same side! But don't complain when what you should have known would happen starts to happen. That's like getting yourself a sin number or social security number, filling out your tax return, then acting surprised the government came to collect taxes from you.
Reporting the issue is the necessary first step. The next step, the one everyone typically feels someone else should do for them is to TAKE ACTION. If you have a better way to combat these corporations than boycotting I'm all ears, I'm here to learn as well! Fact is I remember when there was no google. I remember when there was no facebook or youtube, twitter or any of that other crap. We don't need them and have the technology and open source community willing to take this into their own hands, they just need patience and support.
"If I need an answer to something and I know I'll get one fast there, then I'm going to use that platform."
This is part of the reason alternative platforms are few and far between (although emerging now) and why the ones that are around take so long to grow. I remember when youtube sucked! It only took a few years. Why? because there was nothing else and many people focused their attention on it. If we were to act as if alternative platforms were the only option would they not grow as quickly? Maybe even more quickly?
Do I think steemit is the answer to our problem? I've yet to see it. Better pullout your shit sieve to get to the good posts. Here you're just buried instead of censored.
I feel you're taking a western medicine approach to this issue and looking at the symptoms instead of the root.
"It's a commonly known fact that FB uses manipulation techniques to draw in humans by triggering chemical responses in their brain."
This does not effect those not using the platform. Does google sensor my search results? I stopped using google search. Does youtube ban my videos? Guess I'd have to be posting some.
You suggested:
"And if you think that it's ONLY the media platforms that keep us slaves, I disagree vehemently!"
Don't take me to be as deep as the one or two posts of mine you have read. I am well aware of what the problem in society is, I've looked in the mirror. These corporations have no power over me, nor do the thug governments of the world.
"My life and taking care of myself comes first."
This I highly disagree with. This would be a response you would receive from a police / military officer or government official when confronting them with the morality of their profession. This would be a response you would here from the head of a large corporation who employs slave labor in a foreign country. And let's be clear, I did not compare you or your actions to these people, it is however the same base mindset. The same base mindset I am fighting to conquer.
Let's stop lying to ourselves here. If you think the social and mainstream media is the problem - you're wrong. If you think the corporations and banks are the problem - you're wrong. If you think the governments of the world are the problem - you're wrong. The problem is me. The problem is you. None of these organizations have any power aside from that which we acknowledge and grant to them. We attempt to delegate our responsibility so we can point the finger externally. Guess what? The blame still falls on us.
Would any of this be happening if we did not allow it in first place? How big would any social media platform be without any users? They never would have got this big and influential if more people would just read the terms they agreed to before signing they're rights away. Same goes for government, same goes for every problem on Earth.
The world is fucked because we are not doing what we are supposed to, not because of what others are doing.
You know, I guess I was making a demand. It was not a demand to stop using social media - it was a demand for us to grow some courage and take our power back. If we can't even go a year without youtube to support the growth of independent platforms I guess we're pretty much fucked as far as attaining freedom goes.
Closing
What's your perspective? Have you read the entire terms to the contract you signed? Do the corporations have the power or do we?
Great post. Censoring the internet? Censoring anything based on highly subjective words like "hate speech" and "offensive" is a no brainer. Shut it all down then. Everything is hate speech and everything is offensive!
Examples: Child molesters should be in jail.
That's hate speech, you hate child molesters. Yeah.
Child molesters are offended if you report on Child sex trafficking indictments. -yeah, so?
Union workers offended by scabs
Pro-choice offended by pro-life
Grandmas offended by public displays of affection
I am offended by LGBQR2D2etc. taking it to the streets. They are offended if I don't tolerate it. They are offended if I cover my kids' eyes.
Everything is offensive. So it all stays openly searchable!
What do I do? Quietly image cap every YT ad that I see and write to the sponsors. I am telling them how I feel about them supporting bias-based banning and that their product will not be in my home.
Changed over to yandex and duckduckgo on 12 of my 32 computers so far. Employees are banned from using google products. One will be a yace web crawler for decentralized search.
Uploading any potentially offensive yet truthful videos I find which the censors want taken down. Putting them up on DTube.
I have gotten a lot done as they pull down the majority of their most profitable sites.
Here we go... conversation!
This guys dropping solution bombs all over the place!
This over sensitivity is promoted to encourage censorship, censorship is promoted to produce thought policing.
It's great you're contacting and boycotting corporations running ads on these platforms. No is the lost word - stand up and say it!
I've also switched to duckduckgo as my main search engine and moved to firefox from chrome.
Tutanota is an encrypted email provider with free and business services, as an email option.
Thanks for keeping censored content alive by re-posting info on other platforms and thanks for the great comment!
Nice post, thanks. I see YouTube and the other corporate social media kinda like the matrix - they are a part of the problem & enemy, and yet at the same time if we don't 'enter the matrix' and use them from time to time, it is much more difficult or impossible to reach those people still on only those platforms. That's how I see it. Maybe I'm mistaken, b/c the censorship is already so effective that new people never see the news or ideas we are trying to spread.
I'm all for an all-out boycott but I think to continue to wake up the masses, some truthers and freedom lovers using YouTube and such can help. Just my 2 cents. I'm all with you that it's our fault (the people) for allowing it to get where it is today and our responsibility to fix it... Do you really think there are enough "independent" voices on social media that if they all left at once, it would be enough of a boycott to shut them down or make a big enough dent to force them to re-think their censorship policies?
I only still use YouTube because there are still so many independent voices I follow who haven't been banned yet, and I like to think they might be making a little difference and waking people up and therefore support them as best I can, particularly on Steemit if they are on here too!
I see your point about how using YouTube can help slow the growth of independent platforms, but I also see a lot of people not on the independent platforms who maybe can be reached by the independent thinkers still on YouTube or Twitter or whatever, who would then potentially migrate over to independent platforms. Already a bunch of people still on the big platforms are also on the independent ones, so the tides are shifting. I think it's only a matter of time until the independent platforms become the main platforms for all independent media. Maybe just not as quick as we'd like, and maybe that's partially our fault for still using them even just a little bit (those of us who do, maybe not you)... Sorry for rambling on. Thanks again for the awesome post, I definitely love your ideas and take on it and figured I'd share mine!
I agree. There is a lot we can do. Posting videos or even memes on twitter that would otherwise be banned. The pro is that maybe a dtube video gets out there and it can't be taken down, but the con is that every post risks my own account being banned.
Amazing comment!
You are taking an honest approach to the other side of the topic, which is hard to do when you have a vested interest (even if it is only entertainment or research).
If a person was to continue to use these platforms I suggest it be with tact. Also don't kid yourself: Know what you are signing up for and what you are giving up.
Can it be used for good? Hell yeah! But let's stop lying to ourselves, see it for what it is, quit complaining and be ready to do what it takes when the time comes!
Whoa! You're a thinker after my own heart. Good fucking post! I've got chills and a little hope for the world. Many thanks!
Awesome, it's about truth! See you around!