Twitter is a national security threat if we are to believe Trump

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/trump-twitter-diaperdon-election-press-conference-b1762682.html

Donald Trump has angrily declared Twitter a national security threat after #DiaperDon went viral following a news conference in which he repeatedly complained about perceived injustices.

“Twitter is sending out totally false ‘Trends’ that have absolutely nothing to do with what is really trending in the world. They make it up, and only negative ‘stuff’,” the US president tweeted without providing evidence in the early hours of Friday morning.

Mr Trump did not say which trending topic upset him, but following Thursday’s press briefing, which saw him furiously assail a reporter from behind a surprisingly small desk, the hashtag #DiaperDon surged towards the top of Twitter’s trending list in the US and UK.

I don't think he fully understands what a national security threat is... Or I have completely missed it. WTF?

I guess he showed the hashtag that was trending was real.

Free Speech President everyone!

As I've mentioned before the only freedom the right believes in...........is guns. No other freedoms matter. No free speech. No right to protest.

They believe in the right for the government to gun you down. And your right to do the same. Maybe it should be the right to wear diaper. DiaperDon or DD got a new meaning here now :P

So, to protect free speech you support companies who own nearly 100% of the market share to use their size, power, and influence to influence elections in your favor by censoring opposition? Seems legit. It's no wonder the left is already starting to piss and moan about Facebook and Twitter losing out to upstart social media platforms that actually promote free speech. But as even Zuckerberg admitted, big tech companies do work together and collaborate on censorship efforts. This puts them well within the realm of antitrust violations.

Private companies have to police themselves or they would be government censored. Which you are against so I don't see why you're complaining.

I'm guessing you buy Dorsey's statement that Twitter doesn't have the power to affect elections? Not surprised.

If you don't, and you recognize that the policy of social media companies can have exponentially more impact on the democratic process in the US than the Russian interference that the media has been going on about for four years now, then it seems pretty obvious that they are (at the very least) tremendous potential threats.

If you actually have any interest in not watching world governments turn into de facto corporate technocracies, recognizing that the companies that control what information gets to the voters are threats seems an obvious approach. Simply put, when a few algorithm changes made by a politically biased company can drastically limit parts of a conversation, or give them a blanket image of being illegitimate, that will turn elections and shape the public mind. Even if Donald is a shamelessly self motivated and bad faith actor in this, he's quite obviously right - Twitter and, more broadly, social media companies at large are tremendous threats to democracy world wide.

Honestly, it says a lot about what level of partisanship there is in this forum that you balk at unelected organizations having this level of power not being threats.

@AfterShafter: So you admit social media elected trump in 16.

I want you to explain, using specific detail, how you perceive me to have made this admission. If you're going to try and derail my point, at least give some detail.

Happy

President denounces Twitter by tweeting and upholds personal tradition of not citing evidence. Followers believe him as always.

God, the world really has become an onion article.

If you're happy to do it, then do it. I'm waiting.

Perhaps we ate the onion and this is the result.

You think you have the right to free speech in private companies?

Not according to section 230 they wouldn't be. Without it they absolutely would be subject to a lot of litigation from government and private entities. So no, they don't police themselves because anything is going to happen to them if they don't, they engage in censorship in a one-sided fashion purely for political reasons. I know you know they do it, so let's cut the bullshit.

When those private companies control nearly 100% of the market share and do so in order to influence elections, I think there are some serious antitrust rule breaks going on that those companies should be held accountable for. That means breaking them up as well. The same thing that would happen in any industry under the same rules when the same things occur. Also on the topic of section 230 it was created for internet providers. You know, people like America Online and NetZero back in the 90s, not for social media platforms. If they engage in censorship they've become defacto publishers and should be held to the same legal standards as any other publisher of any kind of media. This means opening them up to lawsuits for things like libel, slander, harassment, etc over the content of the members of it's platform.

These companies claim to be platforms, and as such they enjoy protections from the government. They're not as "private" of companies as you may think.

One sided fashion purely for political reasons. Can you expand on this?

Oh stop with the victim mentality. This is all because trump is mad he was called out for his lies. That's ALL this is.

Also you are posting fallacies.

Victim mentality? What the **** are you even talking about? You can't even be honest. You outright lied to me and got caught for it. Cut the BS, at least have the balls to admit you know it's true, and you're okay with that, but don't come at me with your phony made up crap that big tech censorship is anything even remotely fair or altruistic.

@LJS9502_basic: said poster has been doing that as of . recent.

but onto the topic. yeah when trump does not get he way or gets own by system he attacks it.

No I did not lie. You caught me in nothing and once again you've proven you don't understand posts.

So you're saying you are so oblivious, uneducated, and ignorant of the situation that you truly think Twitter and Facebook are only censoring political content from one side because they truly care and want to make the world a better place? Spare me.

You're obviously active in this thread. Could you please do what you said you'd be happy to do and explain how you came to this conclusion from my post:

"So you admit social media elected trump in 16."

Again, specifics appreciated.

Again victim mentality. Lies get pointed out. That's not censorship. His tweets aren't even removed so show the censorship. Fail.

I answered that hours ago. If you don't understand then that is on you.

"Not surprised"

This one really triggered the toddler so I'm guessing there is some truth to it.

Yeah. That's what happened.

Security threat? No, not really.

But certainly a cultural and social threat.

Twitter is Trump's main platform, and Twitter gives Trump a ton of leeway to say whatever he wants (as long as it doesn't break their terms of service).

I also like that they took on the social repsonsibility of adding a 'doubtful' tag to Trump's election tweets. That's an important public message - allowing him to say inflammatory things that harm US democracy, while tempering his statements with "...but other sources disagree".

Still...they're probanly just doing that to cover their own arses. If s.230 didn't exist, Twitter would be the publisher of all of Trump's posts, and that could make them responsible for all sorts of problems (inciting violence, undermining the integrity of the election, etc.).

Trump should just do what a lot of us conservatives did. Drop twitter and go on Parler exclusively. I know he’s on both, but he could singlehandedly get millions off Twitter if he did.

I honestly don’t know anyone who uses Facebook for anything social.

LMFAO you Trump supporters worship this!!!!! hahaha

https://www.ibtimes.sg/diaperdon-viral-trump-photo-has-led-many-believe-hes-wearing-adult-diapers-53692

MySpace is the real danger. I'm on to you Tom!

It seems Twitter is doing a good enough job of their own turning Twitter into a liberal only platform as millions seem to be leaving it and Facebook. They're great places to go to if you wish to live in an echo chamber.

I swear I've never seen such a victim mentality as I have with the Right.

"Media's against me! Big Tech's against me! The world's so unfair! Wahhhhh!!"

Party of personal responsibility my ass. Nearly every word out of Trump's mouth is about how the world is so unfair to him. Historically unfair. It's nearly all he rants on about every time he speaks. Yeah, that's typically what happens when you're a chronic bullshitter and conspiracy theorist who lies with every utterance muttered. Twitter has bent over backwards in the enablement of Trump's lies throughout these four years. Over backwards. How about he take some account for his own attempts at duplicity? And further, those who enable him?

Amazing that people can become so indignant to their own treatment without for one second taking a look in the mirror in what they support? You don't want companies to treat Trump this way? Then best place the responsibility where it lay for that outcome, and it doesn't exist anywhere else but Trump.

Now that is some delicious irony.

@Planeforger: He does break their terms of service though. Or at least Twitter said as long as he was an elected official they would not ban his account.

Just stop it... and get some introspection.

No one on twitter is getting banned for saying "Taxation is theft". Or arguing in favor of free markets and low government intervention in the economy.

People are getting banned for hateful messages towards other demographics. Something social conservatism is heavily rooted in, as social conservatism is heavily tribalistic. People are also getting into trouble for conspiritorial thinking, which you two even demonstrate in your current posting.

For the record, hateful leftists are also getting into trouble, for their bigotry. So stop with the persecution complex and get some introspection. You might realize just why these people are getting into trouble.

Trump didn't provide evidence of his claims in the OP. As noted by the linked report.

The addition of "Seems legit" in your post was especially unintelligent given this fact. You're struggling to defend Trump these days.

By all means, feel free to dump Twitter and Facebook and head to Parlor. I hope more of Trump's ilk follow suit.

President Trump doesn't realize that repealing 230 would mean he'd be more likely to be banned. Not that I care but him having a tantrum just proves everyone's point.

"I'm the President of the United States. Don't ever talk to the President that way."

Sorry but are NOT the king of the U.S, you are the President of the U.S. DealWithIt...till Jan 20th, 2021.

What exactly did Trump say about Obama in the previous 8 years?

That was especially rich to watch.

If he wants to be accorded a degree of decorum the position grants, perhaps he should act accordingly to its standards. The nerve of this child.

@Maroxad: ‘People are getting banned for hateful messages towards other demographics.’

‘People are getting banned for hateful messages towards other demographics.’

Any citations of Twitter banning lefties for hatred towards conservatives or the PotUS?

hell i was ban for saying no to a second civil war on a conservative sub reddit.

i was to much of a liberal they said.

Citations? People getting banned on twitter isn't exactly newsworthy you know. But the ToS remains the same.

I do agree that republicans are disproportionally targetted, but it isn't because of some conspiracy against conservatives as much as conservatives are far more likely to deal in hate speech or peddle in conspiracy theories.

Edit: @firedrakes Speaking of Reddit. Several leftist subreddits are quarantined too. Chapo Trap House Subreddit is banned.

Maybe that should tell you conservatives cross the lines more.............

I still don’t see a compelling reason from Trump supporters why #DiaperDon should be censored.