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Is the govt censoring dissent thru private media sources?


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Peter Van Buren: Twitter Suspends Me Forever

written by peter van buren
tuesday august 7, 2018printer.png
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Some readers are aware I have been permanently suspended from Twitter as @wemeantwell.

This followed exchanges with several mainstream journalists over their support for America’s wars and unwillingness to challenge the lies of government. After two days of silence, Twitter sent me an auto-response saying what I wrote “harasses, intimidates, or uses fear to silence someone else’s voice.”

I don’t think I did any of that, and I wish you didn’t have to accept my word on it. I wish instead you could read what I wrote and decide for yourself. But Twitter won’t allow that. Twitter says you cannot read and make up your own mind. They have in fact eliminated all the things I have ever written there over seven years, disappeared me down the Memory Hole. That’s what censorship does; it takes the power to decide what is right and wrong away from you and gives it to someone else.

Hate what I write, hate me, block me, don’t buy my books, but please don’t celebrate handing over those choices to some company.

I lost my career at the State Department because I spoke out as a whistleblower against the Iraq War. I’ve now been silenced, again, for speaking out, this time by a corporation. I am living in the America I always feared.

Reprinted with permission from WeMeantWell.com.
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  • Gold Member

He brings up a good point. Its a conundrum,the company had yhe rigjt to support whatever it wishes but it can also, in a sense, silence those it wishes. Personally I think much of this stems from the threat of lawsuits and public backlash for unpopular opinions. Also just my opinion, twitter and the rest shouldnt be responsible for what I post, I should be responsible for what I post. Most importantly, the general public should be aware of that so the consequences fall on me alone. This notion that twitter etc... need to act because someone got hurt feelings is ludicrous.

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1 hour ago, Kivalo said:

He brings up a good point. Its a conundrum,the company had yhe rigjt to support whatever it wishes but it can also, in a sense, silence those it wishes. Personally I think much of this stems from the threat of lawsuits and public backlash for unpopular opinions. Also just my opinion, twitter and the rest shouldnt be responsible for what I post, I should be responsible for what I post. Most importantly, the general public should be aware of that so the consequences fall on me alone. This notion that twitter etc... need to act because someone got hurt feelings is ludicrous.

They dont like that anti war sentiment. Think of the anti Vietnam rallies of the 60's. Cops put dogs, batons, rubber bullets on those protestors. High profile anti war figures were put in jail and even shot. This is much easier. Ban them and discredit them.  

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Just now, Nazipigdog said:

If he wasnt such a whack job I could defend him easier. :lol: 

Me too.  But, there's plenty whose voices I'd like to silence....permanently.  But that not how it works.

Reality, for me at least: fuck that fucking whack job.  But, why do others with the opposite and just as dangerous viewpoints get to remain?  Answer: popularity.  So, we can all use the tools of speech we are provided as long as we don't stray too far past the "authorities" agenda and start to get too many people to listen to us.  Got it. SMH.

This would be like CNN, MSNBC or Fox cutting off a political figure's speeches or comments because they don't like them and can decide for America what they should hear.  Could you imagine?!?

Wait.....................

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2 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

Me too.  But, there's plenty whose voices I'd like to silence....permanently.  But that not how it works.

Reality, for me at least: fuck that fucking whack job.  But, why do others with the opposite and just as dangerous viewpoints get to remain?  Answer: popularity.  So, we can all use the tools of speech we are provided as long as we don't stray too far past the "authorities" agenda and start to get too many people to listen to us.  Got it. SMH.

This would be like CNN, MSNBC or Fox cutting off a political figure's speeches or comments because they don't like them and can decide for America what they should hear.  Could you imagine?!?

Wait.....................

I totally agree. 

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37 minutes ago, Carlos Danger said:

This will lead to competitors for the likes of Twitter, Facebook, ETC,ETC.

A great thing.  And our current administration will hopefully ensure a quick passage through regulatory requirements.  The pen really is mightier than the sword....in these cases.

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  • Platinum Contributing Member
3 hours ago, Kivalo said:

He brings up a good point. Its a conundrum,the company had yhe rigjt to support whatever it wishes but it can also, in a sense, silence those it wishes. Personally I think much of this stems from the threat of lawsuits and public backlash for unpopular opinions. Also just my opinion, twitter and the rest shouldnt be responsible for what I post, I should be responsible for what I post. Most importantly, the general public should be aware of that so the consequences fall on me alone. This notion that twitter etc... need to act because someone got hurt feelings is ludicrous.

True, but suing twitter is a lot more of an attractive idea then suing you. And that is the root of the problem.

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54 minutes ago, steve from amherst said:

True, but suing twitter is a lot more of an attractive idea then suing you. And that is the root of the problem.

Agreed! 

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2 hours ago, old indy said:

Image may contain: 12 people, crowd and textHow many of you can tell me when this happened??without looking it up.

ya id say they do a damn good job of it too.               

What were they protesting, soap?

  • Haha 1
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