Tech Giants Know Best With Their Vague Rules For Censorship

Every time I scroll through my feed on Twitter, I am always reminded why I prefer dogs over humans. I follow a wide array of different viewpoints, so I see multiple opinions and news outlets on my feed. From cherry-picked facts to bias opinions, I go crazy when I see tweets that don’t align with my ideology.

But all these Twitter accounts on my feed have the right to their own opinion. Free speech on Twitter shouldn’t revolve around my own opinion, but instead a variety of different voices.

As many know, we recently witnessed InfoWars’ Alex Jones suspension from Twitter due to some unclear guidelines and the assumption that he is too aggressive with his conspiracies. We have to take into account that yes, Twitter is a private company and they are free to do what they want on their privately owned space; But the fact is, Twitter is a monopoly that works hand in hand with the government. The CIA is currently using social media data to develop artificial intelligence and to combat terrorism. So, are they private?

Although every private organization/company has the right to their own personal space, Twitter (along with other social media platforms) have a lot of influence on the US and the World. Unlike a Christian baker who refuses to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding, Twitter is connected with a larger platform that can dangerously influence the masses. 2⁄3 of the US population rely on Social media for their news, so when journalists like Alex Jones are banned from these platforms this puts a serious dent in their viewer audience.

Jones has proven to be obnoxious and his ridiculous conspiracies make absolutely no sense. His reporting influences a radical right-wing audience that indulges in racism and fuels the Alt-right. Many of his viewers give credence to a radical conspiracy that is actually harming families of the deceased; i.e. Sandy Hook.

But just like everyone else, Jones should be allowed to speak his opinion and share his individual ideas to his base. If Twitter is going to crack down on their rules and fight “fake news” they need to have a concrete standard as to what they define as fake news or conspiracies.

Although InfoWars may have harmed the innocent families of Sandy Hook they did not influence and propagandize the invasion of Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan like CNN, MSNBC and Fox News did.

To my knowledge, Jones never told the American people that Saddam had an alliance with Osama bin Laden and was building a major nuclear arsenal. No this came out of the mouth of the mainstream media. Did InfoWars publicly announce that Iran has weapons of mass destruction? No that, again, was the mainstream media that consumes our cable networks.

When is Twitter going to ban The New York Times, CNN, MSMBC, Washington Post and CBS for continuing to report on their Russophobia propaganda, that is fueling a Neo-McCarthyist mindset and resurrecting an unnecessary cold war between two countries that possess 90% of

the worlds nuclear weapons? I guess these conspiracies do not matter to Twitter, but only the conspiracies that come from Jones.

Conspiracies and “fake news” come in all different shapes and sizes. We hate when they show up on our timeline; But remember the next time you celebrate the censorship of your adversaries because you think their news is false, maybe your news source is just as phony and dangerous but isn’t being recognized.