THREAD: It didn’t take a Nostradamus to figure out that Milo’s comments would lead to this. We called it a few days ago, but so so did everyone else. It was obvious.
Milo is one part of a much bigger problem that also includes media and social media companies.
Milo is one part of a much bigger problem that also includes media and social media companies.
This was our tweet two days ago. Milo is clearly eeking out the last of his 15 minutes of fame, making him even more desperate for attention. This leads to even more shocking and inflammatory statements with potential for real world disaster.
But it’s not like people like Milo and Alex Jones are doing this on their own. They’re able to broadcast these messages with the help of our largest tech companies. This rhetoric would not catch fire without them.
Two days ago, Joe @Bernstein of Buzzfeed asked @Instagram why Milo’s statement about “gunning down journalists” was not banned from their platform. They eventually took it down, but not until they were contacted by him.
This happens everyday.
This happens everyday.
This is exactly why we ask @TeamYouTube nearly everyday why they continue to allow Alex Jones to aim his audience at the families of school shooting survivors and places of work. But they never respond.
You’d think with Pizzagate, they’d be concerned.
You’d think with Pizzagate, they’d be concerned.
.@TeamYouTube has issued two strikes against Alex Jones, but they will not issue a third despite clear breaches of their Terms Of Service. They’re terrified of the backlash, but it has already been proven that allowing this to continue has real world consequences.
And that’s not even close to where this ends. How about @amazonfiretv @RokuPlayer @AppleTV & @GooglePlay allowing NRA TV to broadcast this same type of rhetoric? They allow this because, as Tim Cook says, they want to broadcast “an alternate view”.
This is why platforms must change. They’re terrified of “silencing conservative voices”, but these aren’t “conservatives”. They’re conspiracy theorists, attention seekers and bad actors. There is no excuse for these platforms to continue to allow this despite their own rules.
Sooner or later, these platforms will get sued for their complicity in violence. They have failed to properly enforce their own Terms and, because of that, the consequences are real. Yesterday was just one instance. As long as they refuse to do something, it will likely continue.
