Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communications, or other information on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, or inconvenient (Wikipedia). What we are currently seeing across all of the social media platforms should be of extreme concern to everyone who value free, open speech and debate on any issue. There are many issues and questions with the current state of affair, specifically:
1. Who makes the determination on what is objectionable, harmful, or inconvenient?
2. What exactly is objectionable, harmful, or inconvenient content? Who establishes the definitions?
3. Why are standards not applied equally for the left as we have seen for the right?
4. Why are legitimate conservative news sources being silenced via account cancellations and the demonetization of revenue generating channels like YouTube?
Despite working in tech, I do not trust social media companies like FaceBook and Twitter that have treated users as the commodity and sold / monetized their information. Sure, they provide these platforms for “free” or do they? What price have we paid in terms of information privacy and reputation? I also do not trust the current partisan government that seems to be more concerned with destroying the other side and willing to take anyone, i.e. American citizens, with a dissenting opinion as collateral damage. Seriously, just because someone supported President Trump they must now be “deprogrammed” as stated by various left-leaning media personalities and Democrat politicians.
I remember reading George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm in high school and thinking that we would never see that play out in America. Unfortunately, the America of today is not the America of yesterday and Orwell is most likely spinning in his grave.
The truth is that all the social media platforms are private companies and can do whatever they want. They set the rules of engagement that users must adhere to, no matter how one-sided or partisan these rules are and can be. The only choice we, as individuals can make is to stop using these platforms or find an alternative that still champions free speech and open debate of thoughts and ideas. If one continues to use these social media platforms, they do so at the risk of being labeled, often in a negative manner, because of their beliefs that dissent from the current liberal narrative and political correctness permeating in our country.
I have already cancelled some of my social media accounts and have limited my involvement in others. I will also embrace the new privacy features that Apple will be rolling out soon to further limit the reach these companies have into my life and my information. You may be thinking why do I still have some of these accounts. The answer is simple: to stay in contact with family, friends, and groups congruent with my interests – nothing else. I do not get my news from social media posts nor do I opine on anyone else’s post. I refuse to participate or be influenced by the hatred, partisanship, labeling, name calling, intolerance, and censorship that social media has become.
The next few years will be very telling. Will our culture improve or further deteriorate into the abyss of intolerance and hatred?
Dr. Johnny Guimaraes 