Thread by @DonovanFarley

Given all the discussion around online speech and its ability to inspire real-world violence, I thought it a fine time to share a piece I wrote on the subject for @Playboy that concerns 8chan (now 8kun), “The Worst Site On The Internet.”
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playboy.com/read/8chan-hat…

For the piece, I spoke with Ron Watkins, the 8chan/kun owner and admin who became a primary figure in the Dominion conspiracy & is one of the only people who knows who Q is (or *is* Q); US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR); 8chan founder Frederick Brennan (@fr_brennan); and a bevy of 2/

tech experts about how places like 8chan come to exist and what, if anything, we should do about censoring provably dangerous online speech. Beyond the damage Q has caused, in 2019 alone members of 8kun/chan murdered at least 74 people in mass shootings around the world. 3/

For his part, Frederick Brennan has become something of a crusader against the site, saying that 8kun/chan—which you cannot find on Google because of the reprehensible content therein, including child porn—should be permanently de-platformed. 4/

Ron Watkins—who with his father Jim took the reins of 8kun from Brennan—was adamant that any silencing of 8kun would be an egregious overstep, however. Ron also adamantly claimed to know nothing about Q, so you can imagine my surprise when screenshots of our conversation 5/

appeared in a deeply strange post disparaging both myself and Mr. Brennan on Q website Neon Revolt a month before my article dropped. The post is rambling to the point of insanity—but still resulted in Q adherents seriously harassing not only me but also my family. (Again.) 6/

The unhinged post alleges that among other things I am both a Communist and somehow also a participant in a CIA/Playboy honeypot scheme. (Note: "Codemonkey" is Ron Watkins' screenname.) How odd. 7/

Moving on, the "True Threat Doctrine" is the basis by which American courts decide whether or not to limit speech—but as @DavidColeACLU pointed out, the pre-internet ruling is essentially impossible to apply or enforce on the irony-drenched modern internet. 8/

Further complicating the issue of online censorship is the total abdication of responsibility shown by companies like @Facebook and @Twitter, a thought Senator @RonWyden adriotly put forth in the piece. 8/

In light of this, I asked @kevinroose where the line should be drawn in terms of free speech in the Internet Age. His response? There shouldn't be a "line." 9/

Tech maven @theashbhat's thoughts, though similar, were interestingly more focused on the adverse effects online speech suppression might have on our ability to connect in real life.

All in all the issue of online speech is a complex one that will only become more prominent and important. It's also an issue that's being ignored at great peril by politicians and citizens alike. I'd think I captured that in this piece. playboy.com/read/8chan-hat…

Big news in Q world:

https://twitter.com/travis_view/status/1352037604942872576