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from the right-to-speak-but-not-to-be-heard dept.
[Seconding-Ed note: This story is likely to be contentious. In the interests of helping set the tone, I would like to start off by quoting H.L. Mencken:
The trouble with fighting for human freedom is that one spends most of one's time defending scoundrels. For it is against scoundrels that oppressive laws are first aimed, and oppression must be stopped at the beginning if it is to be stopped at all.
Further, this quote which has appeared in various phrasings and attributions:
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.
To mind's eye, I must be willing to accept against my own words and actions any that I would wish to see imposed upon another. --martyb]
YouTube Restores Far-Right Channels After Appeal
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The channels of two prominent far-right YouTubers have been re-instated after the video-sharing site said it made a mistake in removing them. Initially, YouTube gave no reason for changing its decision and just said it had made a "wrong call". Later, it said that while many people found the channels "deeply offensive", they had not broken its rules. The decision came days after YouTube's chief executive said YouTube had to be open to hosting "controversial" ideas.
YouTube removed several channels and accounts this week, claiming they had broken its hate speech policies. Among them was a channel run by white nationalist Martin Sellner and an anonymous British YouTuber known as The Iconoclast. Mr Sellner was reportedly in contact with the man who allegedly carried out the Christchurch mosque shootings in March this year that killed 51 people. Austrian police are investigating his links to the attack. He denies any involvement in the shooting.
Both men protested about the closure of their YouTube channels on social media. They shared information sent to them from YouTube, which said they had "repeatedly" broken its guidelines. On Thursday, YouTube reversed its decision and reinstated the two channels. Several other far-right channels that YouTube banned this week remain unavailable.
An explanation for the change of heart came on Friday. Farshad Shadloo, YouTube's global product policy communications lead, said that after a "thorough review" it had decided that the channels had not broken its rules. "We realise that many may find the viewpoints expressed in these channels deeply offensive," he said. Mr Shadloo added that YouTube had recently updated the way it handled "hateful content".
Earlier this week YouTube boss Susan Wojcicki wrote in a letter to video-makers that YouTube must remain an "open platform". She said the desire to welcome all kinds of views had to be balanced against a "responsibility to protect the community".
"A commitment to openness is not easy. It sometimes means leaving up content that is outside the mainstream, controversial or even offensive," she said. "Hearing a broad range of perspectives ultimately makes us a stronger and more informed society," she claimed.
'I am Talking Directly to You': US Attorney Delivers Powerful Rebuke to White Nationalists
The U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio on Thursday announced new federal charges against a self-avowed white nationalist accused of threatening to commit an attack on a local Jewish community center. James Reardon, who attended the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, was arrested last week after authorities said he posted the threat on Instagram. U.S. Attorney Justin Herdman said Reardon has now been charged with one count of making threats as authorities continue their investigation into Reardon and whether he my have any accomplices.
Of course, not so much that, but what Herdman said after that.
"I am talking directly to you," Herdman said at a news conference announcing the charges. "The Constitution protects your right to speak, your right to think, and your right to believe. If you want to waste the blessings of liberty by going down a path of hatred and failed ideologies, that is your choice."
Herdman continued, evoking the sacrifices made by U.S. service members in World War II against Nazism, as well as those who marched for civil rights throughout U.S. history.
"Thousands and thousands of young Americans already voted with their lives to ensure that this same message of intolerance, death, and destruction would not prevail - you can count their ballots by visiting any American cemetery in North Africa, Italy, France, or Belgium and tallying the white headstones," Herdman said. "You can also recite the many names of civil rights advocates who bled and died in opposing supporters of those same ideologies of hatred. Their voices may be distant, but they can still be heard."
"The Constitution may give you a voice, but it doesn't guarantee you a receptive audience," Herdman added.
(Score: 5, Informative) by janrinok on Saturday August 31 2019, @11:46AM
Last week we discussed moderation and that discussion became the most commented story of all time. It explained the tools available to everybody to ensure that this site remains usable. We covered moderation of course, but also viewing thresholds and the need to debate intelligently rather than simply mark views that we did not agree with as Troll.
This week there is a story about Freedom of Speech - not white supremacy, or hating the alt-right - FREEDOM OF SPEECH.
True, this has become a story where the most extreme and objectionable opinions and ideas to some are being expressed. But as YouTube has pointed out, it is only by listening, analysing and debating will we reach an understanding of each others points of view. Furthermore, they also discovered that arbitrary censorship is not the solution to hearing unpalatable views. But some of you are complaining that the staff should now take action to stop people from expressing themselves here. Some of us do not like reading what is being written. Well, cast your mind back to last week. Change your viewing threshold so that over 50% of the rubbish disappears in a matter of seconds. Use your mod points to mod up those who are making intelligent comments and have points worth debating. And bring your intellect to bear by debating calmly and clearly to defeat those with whom you disagree.
It is of little importance that you profess in one story how you face up to those whose views you despise, telling us of how you tackle them head on, and then in the next breath come calling for the staff to take action because you don't like what you are reading. If your debating skills are good enough and if you have the intellect, then you should be able to defeat the worst of the arguments put forward here in these threads.
This is the whole crux of what the US Attorney in Ohio said. Everyone has the right to express themselves - but they do not have the right to expect a receptive audience. Make your arguments, express yourself, make your opinions count. The staff do not control this site - YOU DO! Moderate appropriately those who do not wish to play by our community rules.
And if you still can't stand it here, there are lots of other stories that we have published where you can have a more genteel debate about meaningful topics. You don't have to read every story.
THIS is freedom of speech. Get used to it.