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Category: Censorship

The asymmetry of “Freedom of speech”

The asymmetry of “Freedom of speech”

Academics have long maintained they have a “freedom of speech” to pursue whatever they want to pursue in terms of research; this freedom extends to political opinions. In my state, all public sector workers have protection on their off-the-job speech. Private sector workers have no such protections and may be fired or receive negative performance reviews for their off-work speech. Which means when it comes to speech, some have more freedom than others, and that means, for example, that viewpoints of academics and public sector workers could be more influential because others may not be able to counter their comments.

Censorship: Who regulates offline speech?

Censorship: Who regulates offline speech?

Promoters of social media censorship say it is necessary to combate misinformation and disinformation. But then, who regulates offline speech, such as political hit pieces that arrive via postal mail the week before an election? No one does. In fact, the government regulating either is a First Amendment violation – they cannot regulate our speech.

Is “pretty privilege” a “thing” on social media platforms?

Is “pretty privilege” a “thing” on social media platforms?

Is “pretty privilege” real on social media? There are strong hints that it is a real issue. Some of it may come from how users select videos, which trains the “algorithm” in your likes, but others have said that the algorithms are intentionally designed to minimize views of videos with “non pretty” people.

Using social media to destroy your career

Using social media to destroy your career

A medical professional posted on Twitter that she can and will withhold care from patients based on her perception of the patient’s sex, race and political beliefs. By Monday, her hospital bio page displayed “Page not found”. Far too many engage in inappropriate emotional outbursts on social media that have led to severe consequences, including being fired from a job.