Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended that

Re:Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended ... by NeedMoreTea on Thursday April 18, 2019 @03:11AM (#19689290)

The difference is traditionally it's a) visible, b) legal, and c) only targets in the most broad-brush terms the major groups in society - broadly in line with the manifesto. breaching regulations in an advert, speech or leaflet has resulted in consequences up to and including prosecuting or throwing out the whole result. I believe the Swiss voided a referendum result only the other week because the electorate didn't have enough or accurate information.

There's good reason many nations have laws severely restricting political advertising including spending limits and extra restrictions near voting time, or banning custom pricing and other forms of discrimination. Saying whatever bullshit it takes to get the vote/sale must continue to come with serious consequences or we're right back where we were in the 17th and 18th centuries.

And yes, the regulatory systems do seem to be failing to cope with the new way of things.

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Re:Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended ... by guscost on Thursday April 18, 2019 @08:06AM (#19690357)

> I believe the Swiss voided a referendum result only the other week because the electorate didn't have enough or accurate information.

Wait, what? If the electorate had a vote, who are “the Swiss” who overturned it?

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Re:Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended ... by NeedMoreTea on Thursday April 18, 2019 @09:11AM (#19690706)

The checks and balances they put in place to prevent irregularities - in this case their supreme court.

"the supreme court has now voided the result on the grounds that voters were not given full information, and the vote must be re-run."

If only British referendums were similarly protected...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-47879777

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Re:Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended ... by ufmace on Thursday April 18, 2019 @09:39AM (#19690893)

I don't know the details of that particular case, or of the Swiss in general, but the idea sounds really disturbing. I could just as easily translate "the supreme court has now voided the result on the grounds that voters were not given full information, and the vote must be re-run." into:

"The elites decided that the expressed will of the people can be ignored, because they were not exposed to enough propaganda beforehand to convince them to select the choice that the elite wanted. We'll just keep holding new referendums and pumping out propaganda until they make the correct choice, i.e. the choice that the elite want."

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Re:Once it was easy to be obscure, but technology has ended ... by NeedMoreTea on Thursday April 18, 2019 @06:46PM (#19695468)

Well it was a pre-existing law, so it's not like the govt turned round and effectively said "sorry, wrong answer - try again". Anyway in this case it was the government found to have put out misleading information.

Not perfect, but not a bad sanction against achieving a result via disinformation or outrageous advertising claims.

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