Removing Holocaust Denial Content

Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by amadeuspagel on Monday October 12, 2020 @12:47PM (#24756400)

Sure, the effects of speech on the real world has always been the reason for censorship. "Ignore voices you don't like" isn't a refutation of that old and honest argument in favor of censorship, it's a refutation of the new and dishonest argument that censorship actually protects freedom of speech.

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by skrowl on Monday October 12, 2020 @02:59PM (#24758066)

> it's a refutation of the new and dishonest argument that censorship actually protects freedom of speech

Once you convince people that the other side is evil and your side must win at all costs, they'll rationalize any behavior. This includes censoring and de-platforming voices that don't agree with them.

After you've convinced yourself that "I believe that we should hire whoever is the most qualified, regardless of their ethnicity" or "I believe that all lives matter equally, none more than any other" are HATE SPEECH, it's very easy to convince yourself to ban people with those opinions from being able to speak their opinion. This is why throwing around "Nazi!", "White Supremacist!" for people not actually exhibiting those behaviors is so dangerous. Once you de-humanize someone, it's easier to convince yourself to take away their human rights (like free speech).

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by throwaway2048 on Monday October 12, 2020 @03:42PM (#24758596)

Just to reground the rhetoric, we are talking about facebook removing posts by people that try to convince others that one of the largest genocides in human history didn't happen, not about all that other stuff.

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by bjourne on Monday October 12, 2020 @04:32PM (#24759131)

The Holocaust was peanuts compared to the looming climate catastrophe. Thus, we absolutely must silence anyone who denies that the earth must become carbon neutral by 2040.

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by waterhouse on Monday October 12, 2020 @08:40PM (#24761159)

Nice example. Another would be abortions. If someone believes that abortion is murder, well, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_statistics_in_the_Uni... gives numbers that add to 46.4 million abortions reported to the CDC in 1970-2016. Imagine if the people who held the reins at Facebook were hard-line pro-life.

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by triceratops on Monday October 12, 2020 @06:48PM (#24760378)

I think you're right, we should.

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by DaiPlusPlus on Monday October 12, 2020 @12:57PM (#24756524)

> censorship actually protects freedom of speech

I believe it does. And I don’t believe it’s a dishonest argument.

But I sincerely respect your position (to use the cliché: I understand where you’re coming from...). And I agree to disagree.

Will you agree to disagree with me, though?

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Re:Removing Holocaust Denial Content by raxxorrax on Tuesday October 13, 2020 @04:57AM (#24763624)

Yes.

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