In an era of hyperpartisan disinformation on both sides, one judge has tied the hands of federal authorities trying to keep disinformation from going viral. I am against censorship and all for freedom of expression. But social media companies have a responsibility to their users. And as increasingly important sources of news, they have a responsibility to society.
There is no evidence that the government is making decisions for social media platforms. The platforms apply their own standards. They are making their own editorial decisions. If a high-level government official warned a journalist for the New York Times, in good faith, that one of his or her sources might be speaking untruthfully, and what that reporter was publishing might very well be false, and that reporter took that into consideration, would that be government censorship? No. It would be good journalism. Of course, no journalist should let themselves be pressured into not publishing what is true by the government. But if a government agency (or anybody else for that matter) steps forward and in good faith warns a news outlet that their news is mis- or dis- information, that news outlet has a responsibility to investigate and act accordingly. What conservatives are doing is demanding social media platforms act in socially irresponsible ways just as those of us who care about journalistic ethics have been trying hard to get them to do the opposite.
This is not a conflict about the government trying to keep anyone from speaking their mind. The constitution gives citizens the right to speak–however heinous, wrong, or otherwise mis- or dis- information. But you don’t have the right to take the conflict on-line and demand a private company, applying a set of reasonable journalistic ethics, publish your article if that private company deems it to be untrue. If I write a letter to the editor for my local newspaper and their editorial board thinks I’m lying or I don’t follow their rules, they don’t have to print it. That kind of editorial decision is the newspaper’s freedom of speech.
Even if there is bias on social media platforms, there isn’t much anybody can do about it. Ironically, conservatives claiming bias are the ones attempting to violate people’s free speech. If social media platforms want to be biased, they can do that; it’s their freedom of speech. Imagine what kind of chaos we would have if people argued their first amendment rights were violated every time they perceived bias in editorial decision making.
The alt-right does not own Facebook and Twitter. They were not created to give them a platform for their deliberate mis- and dis-information. Social media should be there to help people connect and learn about things going on in the world that they might not know about otherwise. If conservative voices are angry that their speech is no longer welcome on social media platforms, they should reread content moderation policies–policies that private news corporations have a right and a responsibility to defend.
Progressive Without Apology 