Thread by @LibertyBlitz

1/ Thread on my latest post, which covers the recent announcement from YouTube (Google) regarding a decision to limit "conspiracy videos" from its recommendation AI.

Here's the relevant article from the company:
youtube.googleblog.com/2019/01/contin…

2/ YouTube gives a few examples of what sorts of conspiracies it considers harmful and will demote in its recommendations.

"Videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9/11."

3/ There's a lot to be concerned about when it comes to this policy, but let's begin with the most dangerous one. YouTube doesn't mention the most common and catastrophic conspiracy around. Government officials lying the public into war.

4/ Going back to the early 21st century, we witnessed a major conspiracy to start a war in Iraq based on lies; lies which were endlessly repeated uncritically throughout the mass media. Will such conspiracies that lead to untold deaths be demoted on YouTube? Of course not.

5/ Significantly, many years ago General Wesley Clark described an even larger conspiracy which consisted of starting multiple additional wars in the aftermath of 9/11. He said targeted countries would be:

Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.

6/ As is clear from U.S. foreign policy in the years since, under Republican and Democratic administrations, this conspiracy to start wars is ongoing. Will YouTube demote government officials lying us into more wars? Of course not.
Here's the relevant clip

7/ So what YouTube is actually saying is that conspiracies discussed by regular citizens will be demoted, while conspiracies launched by the powerful will continue to be promoted. The end result is to put power on a pedestal and harm free speech in the process. This is terrible.

8/ There are a couple of initial takeaways from this. First, Google is offering further proof that YouTube IS NOT a platform. It's skewing video distribution based on its political leanings, human biases and, most importantly, its total deference to the status quo.

9/ Second, it highlights the dangers of the tech giants in general, which claim to offer platforms but are now rapidly transforming these prior free speech arenas into gated zones where their opaque algorithms determine truth from fiction behind the scenes.

10/ Importantly, tech giants and their billionaire executives, will always be biased toward the status quo point of view. The status quo made them who they are, and the status quo can challenge them via anti-trust. Tech giants will NEVER challenge the establishment.

11/ Ultimately, I think these moves will sow the seeds of their own demise. We’ve seen what it’s like to have genuine free expression on the internet and we don’t want to turn the web into another cable news where Facebook, Google and Amazon become the new CBS, NBC and ABC.

12/ But that's exactly what's at stake. The people who wish to maintain the establishment system cannot have us freely talking to each other much longer. They must turn the web into television or they'll lose control of the narrative forever.

13/ Thus, it's no exaggeration when I say the web must remain a place for free speech and thought or we will stay stuck in this broken neo-feudal system. We need new platforms and we need to take this very, very seriously.

14/ If you enjoyed this thread, have a read of my latest post:
"YouTube Will Determine What ‘Conspiracy’ Is and Stop Recommending Such Videos"
libertyblitzkrieg.com/2019/02/11/you…

15/ Finally, earlier this week I eliminated all ads from my website. Thus the only money that will come into this endeavor from now on will be from supporters. Here's how you can donate if you appreciate my work.
libertyblitzkrieg.com/support-libert…

16/ I also love receiving Bitcoin.

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