Thread by @michaelkasdan

THREAD

My thoughts on and learnings from the continued conversations around the Joe Rogan, Spotify, Neil Young story including ‘tribalism, de-platforming, free speech, boycotts and battling disinformation.

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It’s been both frustrating and fascinating to watch the Spotify/Joe Rogan/Neil Young story and the discussions around it wind it’s way through our society.

So many critically important and complex social, cultural, and legal issues are crammed up in there:

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COVID, vaccines and anti-vaxxers, what to do about disinformation, tensions between (lower case) free speech and public health or other concerns, how or whether we assess racist or sexist or homophobic speech on private platforms;

#JoeRogan #Spotify #NeilYoung

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the difference between First Amendment Freedom of Speech and the right of private companies to control their platforms, freedom of speech vs freedom from consequences;

#JoeRogan #Spotify #NeilYoung

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how much liability and culpability we should place on content platforms and social media companies like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Spotify for the content they host and how much we require their active monitoring of what’s said on their platform;

#Spotify #NeilYoung

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the freedom of artists to express themselves through who their brand associates with, boycotts as freedom of expression and effective social tools, and - last but certainly not least - tribalism.

#JoeRogan #Spotify #NeilYoung

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If I had to say what my most important takeaway so far is, it’s this:

In today’s (hopefully) post-Trump era, don’t underestimate the ability of humans to bend facts and principles to support their beliefs.

The reaction we are seeing to this is intensely tribal.

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More than anything, Tribalism drives what people think about this issue.

Anti vaxxxers and pro Trumpers support Joe Rogan. Others -save perhaps social critics fiercely protective of their right to say whatever they want, like certain comedians - support Neil Young.

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https://twitter.com/michaelkasdan/status/1490202395682422784

It’s not about consistency or principles. Rather, people seek to twist principles - including “free speech”in service of how they feel, what they want to do, and who they want to side with.

/9

Personally, I support artists right to use their social/economic power to support causes they care about.

Just as in sports, there isn’t any “just stick to music.” Artists are humans. These are important human issues - racism, sexism and public health in this case.

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And no - it’s not a First Amendment issue. (More on this later).

Businesses like Spotify will make these decisions based on what’s best for the business. Hopefully, enough people care about this stuff that their decisions align with what’s best for all of us. We’ll see.

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https://twitter.com/ericboehlert/status/1490521891056062464

As stated above, boycotts ARE speech. They’ve been around forever and are a freedom of expression that has long been employed by both sides of the political aisle - vote with your wallet and hit ‘em where it hurts: the pocket book.

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Neil Young. Joni Mitchell, Brene Brown, and Indie Arie all have the right to say “I don’t want my brand associated with vaccine disinformation or racist speech or, frankly, whatever they want. To deny them that right is un-American.

insider.com/india-arie-ask…

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People also seem to confuse allowing for consideration of a multiplicity of opinions and an open exchange with being forced to carry racist, sexist or literally dangerous speech (public health disinformation that leads to more people dying) on massive private platforms.

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They are not the same thing. This isn’t some fascist regime censoring views they don’t like.

Artists threatening to leave the platform unless Spotify ousts Rogan - are being done in response to racism and deadly public health misinformation. Not differences of opinion.

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As for the issue of whether it’s legitimate to “de platform” someone, to me this seems like an easy one. All of these platforms have terms of service. If you violate them they are well within their legal and contractual rights to boot you. That’s the deal.

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Twitter will suspend or ban you for violating its terms of service. Same for YouTube. Facebook has come under fire for not doing more, but they will at least flag potential misinformation.

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With no -or very weak- legal regulatory regimes in place for these platforms, whether Spotify exercises that right comes down to its own calculus about the cost/benefit to its brand & profits. Thats it.

That is why what consumers actually do and how they feel is critical.

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As for The First Amendment, I’ve sadly come to the conclusion that 97% of people don’t understand it or don’t care to. There is no 1A issue here because this is not about the Government censoring speech based on its point of view. Always love using the below cartoon.

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Another incredibly annoying thing about this discussion is the “I’m just asking questions” trope.

This technique is used by Joe Rogan himself actually.

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Here’s the thing. I’ve met many strangers on Internet who say they’re “just asking questions.” Usually they’re not doing that at all. They’re trolling you. There’s even a name for this technique:

“Sealioning”

Don’t do it. Don’t fall for it.

macleans.ca/culture/sealio…

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The other trope that is being brought up when discussing these issues is “Cancel Culture.”

God, I hate hate that phrase.



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Like, it’s in my top five pet peeves. Probably behind only “virtue signaling,” if I’m being honest.

That’s because it’s not a real thing that exists in the world. Show me someone who has been “canceled” and it will be the first.

/24 (END PART 1)

HERE IS PART 2:

https://twitter.com/michaelkasdan/status/1490721352017448961

. @threadreaderapp pls unroll