As you know I've been spending time in these rooms on CH. There is a lot of harassment and disinformation. One of the tools they implemented is Blocking. I have words on it. I'm quoted in the article below. Let's chat.
The Blue Check Mark’s Evil Cousin bit.ly/3wlpJGV
The Blue Check Mark’s Evil Cousin bit.ly/3wlpJGV
The feature is problematic in the natural progression of how humans interact and how the platform works. Also, while the article describes how anti-semitism, misogyny and coronavirus misinformation have come into play, racism was missing from the conversation.
Including the use of a black exclamation mark was the chosen icon utilized to signal that a user is blocked, which is rooted in the "black is bad" effect that perpetuates antiblackness.
Additionally, this feature is often used to silence, intimidate, and victimize marginalized individuals, which the audio social media platform has purported to protect.
“The problem I have with the blocking is that it can also be weaponized,” said Shireen Mitchell, a Black entrepreneur and activist who founded the nonprofit @StopOVAW. For instance, she’s seen vaccine conspiracy theorists block doctors on Clubhouse to avoid debunkings
and misogynists block feminists who challenge their views. “They love the power of having someone up on stage that they can then dismiss and send back down,” Mitchell said.
The same aspect of group or organized blocking is used to make some people perceived as problematic even if they haven't met them or heard them speak or have any inclination of who they may be.
If people block a person on stage that person is removed from the room. If they are mods that a speaker doesn't want on the stage they can disrupt the room. Blocking doesn't operate in a way that is person to person. It's disruptive to the rooms.
I'll say again this wreaks of lack of understanding of harassment and targeting. No concept of social threat modeling to address potential threats to users and the operation of the system.
this model is built for a hand-off approach by the founders/developers.
Clubhouse has essentially created a system of self-moderation, in which the thorny questions of online speech are devolved to its users.
And the free speech debate takes on another life.
Clubhouse has essentially created a system of self-moderation, in which the thorny questions of online speech are devolved to its users.
And the free speech debate takes on another life.
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