Thank god for Douglas Murray and voices like his. I’m shocked at the number, who normally espouse liberal opinion, willing to turn a blind eye to such brazen censorship as long as it’s in the direction they personally favour.
I’m basically a simple fellow but it always seemed obvious to me that what liberals value is freedom of speech for themselves and like-minded people. They seem convinced that ideas they strongly disapprove of are like a harmful contagion and must be suppressed in the interests of public safety. Such is the logic of censorship for the common good.
True freedom of speech is only tolerated by people who are not afraid to have their world view challenged (or perhaps totally discredited) ““ a rare if not mythical type.
I don’t suppose many of us are keen to have our world view challenged, especially those of us who have been developing it for some time. It’s also a strong brave person who has no need of anything external to build a framework of meaning upon.
And yet, these same liberals constantly tell us how concerned we should be about ‘the undue influence’ and ‘manipulation’ of social media/ data companies have on politics/referenda…..staggering hypocrisy
It all comes down to “Section 230″, which grants socials media legal protection regarding the content that is distributed on their platforms (i.e. unlike traditional media, they can’t be sued for what gets published) . This has always been problematic, but this latest and most blatant censorship of the NY Post article just throws into relief just how much the likes of Facebook and Twitter are in fact controlling and manipulating the content which appears on their site, totally undermining their claims to be simply “neutral” distribution platforms. Section 230 at the moment is allowing them to behave like traditional newspapers with editorial control over content, while having the same legal responsibility for that content as the distribution company who delivers it to the readers. It’s an untenable state of affairs and something has to give.
Yes, politicians from ‘both sides of the aisle’ should have come together to tackle the Section 230 issue some time ago. But, as always, they are too useless and divided.
I don’t believe for a second that political corruption in the US is exclusively a Democrat thing – actors on both sides have an interest in preserving the status quo. I think that is why Trump freaked out the establishment so much ““ as an outsider he wasn’t compromised by being a member of their own sleazy club.
Sorry, I should have written ‘both sides of the aisle’ not ‘across the aisle’. (I have corrected this now). I fully agree that politicians on both sides have a corrupt interest in preserving they status quo and continuing to bring in the funding from the Military, Pharma, Healthcare complexes etc, and to keep the wars going. And yes, Trump threatens this and they don’t like it,
Nobody doubts that Trump is corrupt and unpleasant. But he is actually less corrupt and less unpleasant than Biden, Pelosi, the Clintons, the Obamas the entire Dem establishment. And at least he believes in the US and its people.
I disagree. But his policies are an extension of theirs. For decades Presidents have failed to restore what their predecessors eliminated. Strong Antitrust laws, reduced corporate taxes, etc.
> Facebook and Twitter are in fact controlling and manipulating the content which appears on their site, totally undermining their claims to be simply “neutral” distribution platforms.
Where have they claimed to be neutral? Getting rid of 230 means no more comment section on a site like Unherd, probably (too much legal risk).
I see your point but I would imagine that in this day and age is would be perfectly possible to come up with a legal framework which separates liability for what is published “above the line” (editorial content) from what goes on “below the line” (comments).
230 was introduced after a site which moderated comments was held liable for a commenter’s defamation because it took editorial control by moderating some comments, whereas a site which didn’t was seen merely as a distributer (Wikipedia’s article on “Section 230” has the details). No section 230 = a free for all in the comments OR no comments section because moderation would expose the site to being sued for libel. Most sites who don’t want their comments section to be full of dross will choose the latter.
You suggest that an exception could be made for “below the line” comments. If a site chooses to moderate those on political grounds, would they lose this immunity? It seems odd that you want to restrict what the site can do with its own property.
A business has a license, and that requires they conduct business with all. I doubt you could get a business license for a bakery shop which only serves men. Also there is a difference in BTL as it should reference the above line. Twitter is all BTL with nothing above the line.
Where have they claimed to be neutral? They have repeatedly claimed that. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey used to be very explicit about not wanting to moderate debate, and FB began as an all-comers’ platform with a TOS that included basic things. Only recently have those two invited govt scrutiny.
Maybe they’re doing it on purpose so that legislation is passed that effectively prevents other platforms for competing. Or maybe they’re just trolling govt officials to see how much they can get away with.
I’m replying to me own post to see what Disqus id it gets posted under. Unherd seems to randomly ascribe my posts to one of two different Disqus ids, even though I always use the same login. There’s something a bit glitchy about the process
I am English but my perception is that most, if not all, of the huge online platforms would support the Democratic party in broad terms. Would this be correct and if so what balance can be had in the online debate??
Sidney Falco
3 years ago
If the unthinkable happens and the corrupt, mediocre, plagiarising, senile old blowhard Biden wins the election then America is finished as a serious country and will become a satrapy of China within a decade.
I don’t see how they can make a bigger mess than the vile incompetents that run the West. The Chinese economy has GROWN substantially this year, while the West commits economic suicide.
Also I note China did let this go from a Bio lab. Many experts talk of ‘Dark Matter Immunity’ or some mechanism other than antibodies which give immunity. A glance at worldometers shows China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Korea are hardly effected in deaths per million. Some experts also said the East Asian Pacific has natural immunity from these corona virus being endemic there for ever. A case of what Jung would call Synchronicity.
Indeed, Western governments look to China with envy as a blueprint on how to govern their populations. The world is rapidly being divided into those who think people need to be managed by a bureaucratic layer, and those who reject that.
I think the polls are largely as fake as the media that commissions and pushes them. In some cases they literally poll more Dems than Reps. One poll assumed that only 74% of Reps would vote for Trump when he has the highest in-party support of any Rep candidate ever.
Look, instead, at the viewing figures on YouTube for conservative (and often black) podcasters, which are through the roof. Look at the viewing figures for Fox, also thought the roof. Look at the tens of thousands that attend Trump rallies, when Biden can hardly attract 10 people.
Look at the 87 million followers that Trump has on Twitter relative to, according to Officer Tatum, 10,000 followers for Biden. Look at the 50% collapse in NBA viewing figures due to their wiokeness. Etec etc.
So was JFK and FDR. It didn’t stop them becoming liberal icons, because they separated the office from the man. The Bidens — and the entire Democratic Party — are grifters. The office exists to enrich the man financially. Stop chanting “Orange Man Bad” and actually look with a cold eye. Trump doesn’t have to be Cincinnatus, he just has to be better than the grifters. And he is, by lightyears, personal behaviour not withstanding.
Trump has done more damage than his last several predecessors. I despise Biden but Trump is worse.
Fraser Bailey
3 years ago
Thanks Douglas, a very good summation of the issue, which I am following very closely via all the US podcasts – Tim Pool, Jimmy Dore, Dave Rubin, Officerr Tatum, Jericho Green etc etc. And, of course, on the NYPost site itself, which I have been following for some time now.
Of course, we have known for some years that Twitter and CleggBook are censoring and burying voices they don’t like. Perhaps this will alert a few more people to their evil. But most people are know-nothing sheep. They have no idea. And if and when they ever wake up it is usually too late.
“Gee Officerrr Tatum you’ve done it again Trump don’t need the White House He needs a year in the pen”
goloss
3 years ago
And Douglas’s last book is again prophetic. It seems like The Madness of Crowds could be expanded every fortnight.
David Bell
3 years ago
Twitter always was an echo chamber but it has now become an exclusively left wing one where free speech means the freedom to say what Twitter approves of. If it becomes one dimensional business will stop advertising on it because it will contain the wrong demographic. Twitters finance have always been perilous and even a small drop in advertising revenue could see it fall.
And that’s what’s so crazy-making about the Left. They applaud censorship when the other side suffers, but fail to realize that it’s a weapon that can easily be used against them. So short-sighted.
There is no Left, at least not here in the US. At least not of any size or significance.
Andrew Russell
3 years ago
Definition of a liberal: a person who will tolerate any different opinion provided it coincides with their own. Otherwise they will censor you – that’s democracy!
jonathan carter-meggs
3 years ago
Social media, like “old school” media is controlled by billionaires with their own agendas. In the end I believe they will accelerate us towards social breakdown and possibly the third world war. Unfortunately humans are not good at critical thinking and, even if they are, don’t have the information to hand or the time to make valid analyses. Consequently news feeds are overly influential in community thinking. This is often negative in outlook as scare stories travel quicker than nice ones. We’re all doomed!
Also the Pentagon Papers, Trump’s tax returns, WikiLeaks, MP’s expenses and pretty much any meaningful journalism in history.
Fraser Bailey
3 years ago
‘We hear a lot about purported, exaggerated “foreign interference” in elections, but here is the real interference.’
Surely Nick Clegg counts as ‘foreign interference’…
Walter Lantz
3 years ago
IMO, if there still is something that can be called the ‘silent majority’ then that will be the key to the election. We know that publicly voicing support for Trump, or conversely, voicing dislike of the Dems is in many instances simply “not done”. For some the social media blowback isn’t worth the hassle but for others such opinions may actually jeopardize their livelihood. It would be foolish in the extreme to automatically interpret that silence as Dem support and much of the MSM acknowledges that when they say things like “Biden has a huge lead but don’t count Trump out”. “Trump Fatigue” may very well hand Biden the election but I can’t see where the Dems have done anything or are offering anything earth-shattering to earn support.
That’s the problem with Democrat supporters. They’re intolerant of other views, so no-one really shares their thoughts with them, thus they end up being totally gob-smacked when the elections don’t go their way. I’m not sure what this upcoming election is going to look like if Trump wins again.
Michael J. McEachern
3 years ago
The largest social media platforms are making so much money and are so terrified of what they believe is the future of United States governance, that they willingly submit to the demands of the left. Fighting back, as Douglas Murray courageously advocates, is an uphill fight against the overpowering odds of the online data industry. I hear the questions asked: where is the conservative Google? why isn’t there a libertarian Facebook? and so on. Such things have started (Parler, UnHeard, and more) but it is too little, too late. If only the right hadn’t dismissed the big online platforms as “passing fads” while they grew to virtually replace print media and now promote whatever woke BS is in fashion. There is certainly a lot of blame to go around!
Peter KE
3 years ago
Good article. Twitter and facebook both anti democratic and left wing leaning.
Ian Moore
3 years ago
I posted this elsewhere –
I had a great discussion with a friend last night about what is going on in America, and the world as an extension. The democrats, and the left in general, are playing a very dangerous game right now with their policy of “anything goes” to win power. They are letting the cat out of the bag with some very dangerous practices, groups, and individuals. Look at the rioters for example, antifa or BLM take your pick. Do the democrats think that if they won power these groups would just go away, these groups have had a taste of control now and they will never go away. They are a bigger threat than any organised crime or gang because they are legitimised by the democrats. The media have been complicit in doing what they want and covering things up, that will have a price, the large corporations/people bankrolling this will take more and more. Out of all the groups involved in the attempted coup in America the democrat politicians are by far the weakest. They may end up in power but they will never have control, and this is a slippery slope to stronger/richer/more powerful/more dangerous groups taking over. I honestly don’t see where the democrats go if they win. They’ve sold out and this will eventually come back to bite them.
Diana Durham
3 years ago
Very well articulated. Many thanks.
Andrew Harvey
3 years ago
It is well past time that government agencies stop endorsing Twitter by using it as an official means of communication.
They’re a p.o.r.n publishing platform that makes money by, amongst other things, encouraging people to kill themselves. They’re scum. Who pretend to occupy the moral high ground.
Enough. No government employee should be posting on Twitter in an official capacity.
Jeremy Smith
3 years ago
Milo is funny, Kate is just crazy.
Paul D
3 years ago
Great to sign up via Facebook!
ky.cao
3 years ago
The only way to fix this threat to democracy is to vote for Trump and for GOP to take both House and Senate. Legislation fixing S230 could only be done that way. Big Tech knows this is very unlikely hence its brazen behavior.
Andrew Harvey
3 years ago
…
David Drumright
3 years ago
If “elections” existed, this might matter. Since “elections” are meaningless noises, this doesn’t matter.
diva1836pro
3 years ago
Twitter is for TWITS. A twittering TWIT tweets and a twittering, twitter TWIT tweeting is either a NITWIT or a Big Bird. Tweet, Tweet (TWEETY Bird).
in_de_vise
3 years ago
Twitter and Facebook are definitely in on the fix. The way AI can be used to either sensor stuff or spread misinformation is astonishing.. Soon the masses will be the great “Pets” Porno for Pyros sang about, except it won’t be Martians, it would be AI
Judy Johnson
3 years ago
Franklin Foer’s book, ‘World without Mind,’ explores these issues well.
Judy Johnson
3 years ago
I agree that Hunter Biden’s activities should be known and not suppressed; the companies doing so have no such authority. However, I do not understand why we would assume that he learned his bad habits/behavious at home.
Irv Friesen
3 years ago
This place feels like a nice warm echo chamber. Not much critical thought here. Guess we all agree then. Very good.
L P
3 years ago
So Ms. McEnany’s Twitter account was “locked” (whatever that means). Certainly the press secretary could find any number of outlets for her thoughts, including (a) a press release, (b) a phone call to a reporter, (c) a post at whitehouse.gov, (d) a text to someone, anyone. Importantly, none of these is controlled by The Government (including Twitter). Given all these options, why would anyone assume that locking Twitter amounts to censorship? This smacks of unhinged outrage.
diva1836pro
3 years ago
One wonders how DM rationalizes and reconciles himself to enabling and empowering evil by continuing to keep twittering on his twiiter account
Richard Slack
3 years ago
There has been a battle raging for a few years as to what the status of social media is it basically a post box, or billboard where anything can be placed or whether something on a social media site has been published, in which case someone has to have taken a decision to publish it according to guidelines. The former model unfortunately has proved unworkable. Facebook and Twitter cannot continue to make huge amounts of money while disclaiming any responsibility to the way it is achieved. Murray is, actually referring to twitter not forwarding things which are already published and available. The New York Post item is available on its website.If Murray and his associates think that this story (largely already discredited) they have the power to criss-cross the USA pushing it as much as they like. The mantle of Voltaire really doesn’t fit here.
If Facebook and Twitter are actually publishers, and they are actually American, then they, in all fairness, have the right to “interfere” in the American Elections by publishing what they like, just as the New York Post and New York Times do.
The point being, that the New York Post and New York Times can be held legally responsible for what they publish, in ways that FB and Twitter are not. This is the anomaly.
Cleggbook and Twitter have seized for themselves all the privileges of a publisher with none of the legal or moral responsibilities. The whole thing is evil.
Of course Facebook and Twitter should have the right to interfere in American elections.
And also be sued for copyright infringement, libel and hate crimes.
Last Jacobin
3 years ago
Facebook,Twitter and Google are among the most right wing neo-capitalist actors on the world stage. Certainly the most anti-libertarian. They harvest our data, process it for profit and will do anything they can to get more of it.
If you think they are silencing voices on the right you really have to ask why they would do that?
If you think they are silencing voices on the right you really have to ask why they would do that? Because they are not at all the right-wing actors you claim they are? Because the implication that the left dislikes capitalism is based on a myth?
The Left dislike capitalism as in when it’s not directly benefitting them. Give an Antifa supporter a couple of million dollars and in a few years, he’ll be a conservative donor.
Well if you are puzzled by that you haven’t been following things for some years, during which time they have banned or censored all manner of conservative voices.
The thing is that yes, they are globalist-capitalists of the purest kind. As such, they are opposed to people like Trump who want to try and erect a few barriers that protect US workers. Or who want to restrict immigration and perhaps even stop wars and bring the troops home.
It is the cultural right they oppose, not the economic right. And, as the socialist Jimmy Dore says, Biden is now to the right, economically, of Trump in that he will take down all barriers to trade and once again set about destroying the US working class, as he and his Democrat mates did with NAFTA.
That is a useful distinction: not the economy right, but the cultural.
Pieter Schoombee
3 years ago
The writer fails to mention that the slander about the Bidens comes from Giuliani. Yet he wants it spread countrywide for maximum damage. Just like the slander about Clinton’s emails which cost her the election, with the help of Russian sabotage.
This is not ‘slander’ and they have not denied it. It is proof, as if we needed it, that the Bidens were working with foreign companies and countries to enrich themselves. I first became aware of this when it was a front cover New Yorker story in the summer of 2019. So even the Trump-deranged Left initially acknowledged it, before trying to cover it up.
Shooting the messenger is a tired fallacy. The Post story is either accurate or it is not, and that’s irrespective of whether the outside party is Rudy or Jesus Christ. The computer is full of Hunter’s communication in Hunter’s own words. And we’ve already learned that the “Russian sabotage” caper was engineered by Camp Hillary with the approval of Team Obama. Or did you miss stories about that, too, and how John Brennan’s handwritten notes spell out how that began?
Chris C
3 years ago
“…..purported, exaggerated “foreign interference” in elections….” ?
Douglas, you clearly find 2016’s massive – and successful – Russian effort to install Trump awkward. So given your claim to be the ice-cold voice of truth and reason, maybe it would be worth asking yourself why Putin wanted Trump elected, and whether the interests of the Kremlin are the same as the interests of ordinary Americans? An Unherd posting from you on that would be interesting.
After all, if Venezuela had done that for the Democrats, you’d be both drawing conclusions and backing a US invasion.
When you say “successful” are you implying that without Russia’s “help”, Hilary Clinton would have won?
Maybe if you had some additional information about Russia’s “massive” effort you should have told Robert Mueller and his team because they couldn’t find it. Bit late now though.
The only Russian influence that has been proven is the fabricated dossier that Hillary Clinton commissioned to be assembled by a Russian agent to be used to smear Trump…As usual, if you want to know what the Democrats are doing, simply look at what they are accusing everyone else of…it never fail.
There was also the 3.5 million that Hunter Biden received from the ex-wife of a Moscow mayor. I very much hope that we might hear more about this from the NY Post in the days to come
Douglas, you clearly find 2016’s massive – and successful – Russian effort to install Trump awkward. John Brennan’s own handwritten notes show that the Russia thing was the work of Camp Hillary, known of and approved by Obama. Yet here you are, impervious to fact and reality. Is it because the media tried to bury that story, too, and you don’t know about it, or because you refuse to accept it?
Thank god for Douglas Murray and voices like his. I’m shocked at the number, who normally espouse liberal opinion, willing to turn a blind eye to such brazen censorship as long as it’s in the direction they personally favour.
Why would you be shocked a liberal hypocrisy? Every fibre of their being is hypocritical. It is the foundation of their very existence.
Hypocrisy is widespread among the conservatives too.
It is the default condition of human nature.
Yes, human nature. But to me the ‘conservative’ viewpoint is the more grown up, and much less hypocritical than the ‘liberal’.
It would be interesting if you would put some observed facts under that theory.
Intuition is unquantifiable but sure as hell worth paying attention to.
I’m basically a simple fellow but it always seemed obvious to me that what liberals value is freedom of speech for themselves and like-minded people. They seem convinced that ideas they strongly disapprove of are like a harmful contagion and must be suppressed in the interests of public safety. Such is the logic of censorship for the common good.
True freedom of speech is only tolerated by people who are not afraid to have their world view challenged (or perhaps totally discredited) ““ a rare if not mythical type.
I don’t suppose many of us are keen to have our world view challenged, especially those of us who have been developing it for some time. It’s also a strong brave person who has no need of anything external to build a framework of meaning upon.
Remember that the great Liberal Democrat Sir Nick Clegg is Vice-President, Global Affairs and Communications at Facebook!!!!
A staunch champion of democracy and free speech.
And yet, these same liberals constantly tell us how concerned we should be about ‘the undue influence’ and ‘manipulation’ of social media/ data companies have on politics/referenda…..staggering hypocrisy
Who??🤣
It all comes down to “Section 230″, which grants socials media legal protection regarding the content that is distributed on their platforms (i.e. unlike traditional media, they can’t be sued for what gets published) . This has always been problematic, but this latest and most blatant censorship of the NY Post article just throws into relief just how much the likes of Facebook and Twitter are in fact controlling and manipulating the content which appears on their site, totally undermining their claims to be simply “neutral” distribution platforms. Section 230 at the moment is allowing them to behave like traditional newspapers with editorial control over content, while having the same legal responsibility for that content as the distribution company who delivers it to the readers. It’s an untenable state of affairs and something has to give.
Yes, politicians from ‘both sides of the aisle’ should have come together to tackle the Section 230 issue some time ago. But, as always, they are too useless and divided.
I don’t believe for a second that political corruption in the US is exclusively a Democrat thing – actors on both sides have an interest in preserving the status quo. I think that is why Trump freaked out the establishment so much ““ as an outsider he wasn’t compromised by being a member of their own sleazy club.
Sorry, I should have written ‘both sides of the aisle’ not ‘across the aisle’. (I have corrected this now). I fully agree that politicians on both sides have a corrupt interest in preserving they status quo and continuing to bring in the funding from the Military, Pharma, Healthcare complexes etc, and to keep the wars going. And yes, Trump threatens this and they don’t like it,
“…he wasn’t compromised by being a member of their own sleazy club.”
In his campaign 2016 he openly talked about bribing politicians.
The man (real estate developer in NYC) is as corrupt as they come!
Even more corrupt than the moneylenders, sitting smugly in their London & New York Counting Houses?
Nope!
Nobody doubts that Trump is corrupt and unpleasant. But he is actually less corrupt and less unpleasant than Biden, Pelosi, the Clintons, the Obamas the entire Dem establishment. And at least he believes in the US and its people.
I disagree. But his policies are an extension of theirs. For decades Presidents have failed to restore what their predecessors eliminated. Strong Antitrust laws, reduced corporate taxes, etc.
> Facebook and Twitter are in fact controlling and manipulating the content which appears on their site, totally undermining their claims to be simply “neutral” distribution platforms.
Where have they claimed to be neutral? Getting rid of 230 means no more comment section on a site like Unherd, probably (too much legal risk).
I see your point but I would imagine that in this day and age is would be perfectly possible to come up with a legal framework which separates liability for what is published “above the line” (editorial content) from what goes on “below the line” (comments).
230 was introduced after a site which moderated comments was held liable for a commenter’s defamation because it took editorial control by moderating some comments, whereas a site which didn’t was seen merely as a distributer (Wikipedia’s article on “Section 230” has the details). No section 230 = a free for all in the comments OR no comments section because moderation would expose the site to being sued for libel. Most sites who don’t want their comments section to be full of dross will choose the latter.
You suggest that an exception could be made for “below the line” comments. If a site chooses to moderate those on political grounds, would they lose this immunity? It seems odd that you want to restrict what the site can do with its own property.
A business has a license, and that requires they conduct business with all. I doubt you could get a business license for a bakery shop which only serves men. Also there is a difference in BTL as it should reference the above line. Twitter is all BTL with nothing above the line.
Where have they claimed to be neutral?
They have repeatedly claimed that. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey used to be very explicit about not wanting to moderate debate, and FB began as an all-comers’ platform with a TOS that included basic things. Only recently have those two invited govt scrutiny.
Maybe they’re doing it on purpose so that legislation is passed that effectively prevents other platforms for competing. Or maybe they’re just trolling govt officials to see how much they can get away with.
The comment section at The Federalist has already been removed because FB didn’t like the rude comments (anti semitic, anti gay).
I’m replying to me own post to see what Disqus id it gets posted under. Unherd seems to randomly ascribe my posts to one of two different Disqus ids, even though I always use the same login. There’s something a bit glitchy about the process
I am English but my perception is that most, if not all, of the huge online platforms would support the Democratic party in broad terms. Would this be correct and if so what balance can be had in the online debate??
If the unthinkable happens and the corrupt, mediocre, plagiarising, senile old blowhard Biden wins the election then America is finished as a serious country and will become a satrapy of China within a decade.
It will be a race between the US and the EU to see who can become a Chinese satrap first. My money would be on a tie.
Don’t despair, the Chinese will make a mess of it, as they always do.
I don’t see how they can make a bigger mess than the vile incompetents that run the West. The Chinese economy has GROWN substantially this year, while the West commits economic suicide.
Then we shall have to hope for a ‘Great Northern Rebellion’, by Andy Burnham & Co.
Grown like a swollen leech perhaps?
Also I note China did let this go from a Bio lab. Many experts talk of ‘Dark Matter Immunity’ or some mechanism other than antibodies which give immunity. A glance at worldometers shows China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Korea are hardly effected in deaths per million. Some experts also said the East Asian Pacific has natural immunity from these corona virus being endemic there for ever. A case of what Jung would call Synchronicity.
East Asians behave differently, therefore, different outcomes for certain things (like pandemics) are observed in East Asia.
Indeed, Western governments look to China with envy as a blueprint on how to govern their populations. The world is rapidly being divided into those who think people need to be managed by a bureaucratic layer, and those who reject that.
“…unthinkable happens..”
Look at the polls!
Trump is not Cincinnatus. He is a degenerate!
Nor sadly is he another Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, a man wonderfully described by a contemporary, as having “a face of iron and a heart of lead”.
I think the polls are largely as fake as the media that commissions and pushes them. In some cases they literally poll more Dems than Reps. One poll assumed that only 74% of Reps would vote for Trump when he has the highest in-party support of any Rep candidate ever.
Look, instead, at the viewing figures on YouTube for conservative (and often black) podcasters, which are through the roof. Look at the viewing figures for Fox, also thought the roof. Look at the tens of thousands that attend Trump rallies, when Biden can hardly attract 10 people.
Look at the 87 million followers that Trump has on Twitter relative to, according to Officer Tatum, 10,000 followers for Biden. Look at the 50% collapse in NBA viewing figures due to their wiokeness. Etec etc.
So was JFK and FDR. It didn’t stop them becoming liberal icons, because they separated the office from the man. The Bidens — and the entire Democratic Party — are grifters. The office exists to enrich the man financially. Stop chanting “Orange Man Bad” and actually look with a cold eye. Trump doesn’t have to be Cincinnatus, he just has to be better than the grifters. And he is, by lightyears, personal behaviour not withstanding.
And you are not Cato.
Kamala would likely take over sooner or later if Biden degrades much further.
Was always the plan
This was Exactly how Pablo Escobar got his position in the Colombian Government, by the winner stepping down for him.
Trump has done more damage than his last several predecessors. I despise Biden but Trump is worse.
Thanks Douglas, a very good summation of the issue, which I am following very closely via all the US podcasts – Tim Pool, Jimmy Dore, Dave Rubin, Officerr Tatum, Jericho Green etc etc. And, of course, on the NYPost site itself, which I have been following for some time now.
Of course, we have known for some years that Twitter and CleggBook are censoring and burying voices they don’t like. Perhaps this will alert a few more people to their evil. But most people are know-nothing sheep. They have no idea. And if and when they ever wake up it is usually too late.
If anyone can hand the election to Trump it will be the utterly useless Clegg.
“Gee Officerrr Tatum you’ve done it again
Trump don’t need the White House
He needs a year in the pen”
And Douglas’s last book is again prophetic. It seems like The Madness of Crowds could be expanded every fortnight.
Twitter always was an echo chamber but it has now become an exclusively left wing one where free speech means the freedom to say what Twitter approves of. If it becomes one dimensional business will stop advertising on it because it will contain the wrong demographic. Twitters finance have always been perilous and even a small drop in advertising revenue could see it fall.
That would be a fitting end!
And that’s what’s so crazy-making about the Left. They applaud censorship when the other side suffers, but fail to realize that it’s a weapon that can easily be used against them. So short-sighted.
There is no Left, at least not here in the US. At least not of any size or significance.
Definition of a liberal: a person who will tolerate any different opinion provided it coincides with their own. Otherwise they will censor you – that’s democracy!
Social media, like “old school” media is controlled by billionaires with their own agendas. In the end I believe they will accelerate us towards social breakdown and possibly the third world war. Unfortunately humans are not good at critical thinking and, even if they are, don’t have the information to hand or the time to make valid analyses. Consequently news feeds are overly influential in community thinking. This is often negative in outlook as scare stories travel quicker than nice ones. We’re all doomed!
Hacking Policy? Panama Papers?
Also the Pentagon Papers, Trump’s tax returns, WikiLeaks, MP’s expenses and pretty much any meaningful journalism in history.
‘We hear a lot about purported, exaggerated “foreign interference” in elections, but here is the real interference.’
Surely Nick Clegg counts as ‘foreign interference’…
IMO, if there still is something that can be called the ‘silent majority’ then that will be the key to the election.
We know that publicly voicing support for Trump, or conversely, voicing dislike of the Dems is in many instances simply “not done”.
For some the social media blowback isn’t worth the hassle but for others such opinions may actually jeopardize their livelihood.
It would be foolish in the extreme to automatically interpret that silence as Dem support and much of the MSM acknowledges that when they say things like “Biden has a huge lead but don’t count Trump out”.
“Trump Fatigue” may very well hand Biden the election but I can’t see where the Dems have done anything or are offering anything earth-shattering to earn support.
That’s the problem with Democrat supporters. They’re intolerant of other views, so no-one really shares their thoughts with them, thus they end up being totally gob-smacked when the elections don’t go their way. I’m not sure what this upcoming election is going to look like if Trump wins again.
The largest social media platforms are making so much money and are so terrified of what they believe is the future of United States governance, that they willingly submit to the demands of the left. Fighting back, as Douglas Murray courageously advocates, is an uphill fight against the overpowering odds of the online data industry. I hear the questions asked: where is the conservative Google? why isn’t there a libertarian Facebook? and so on. Such things have started (Parler, UnHeard, and more) but it is too little, too late. If only the right hadn’t dismissed the big online platforms as “passing fads” while they grew to virtually replace print media and now promote whatever woke BS is in fashion. There is certainly a lot of blame to go around!
Good article. Twitter and facebook both anti democratic and left wing leaning.
I posted this elsewhere –
I had a great discussion with a friend last night about what is going on in America, and the world as an extension. The democrats, and the left in general, are playing a very dangerous game right now with their policy of “anything goes” to win power. They are letting the cat out of the bag with some very dangerous practices, groups, and individuals. Look at the rioters for example, antifa or BLM take your pick. Do the democrats think that if they won power these groups would just go away, these groups have had a taste of control now and they will never go away. They are a bigger threat than any organised crime or gang because they are legitimised by the democrats. The media have been complicit in doing what they want and covering things up, that will have a price, the large corporations/people bankrolling this will take more and more. Out of all the groups involved in the attempted coup in America the democrat politicians are by far the weakest. They may end up in power but they will never have control, and this is a slippery slope to stronger/richer/more powerful/more dangerous groups taking over. I honestly don’t see where the democrats go if they win. They’ve sold out and this will eventually come back to bite them.
Very well articulated. Many thanks.
It is well past time that government agencies stop endorsing Twitter by using it as an official means of communication.
They’re a p.o.r.n publishing platform that makes money by, amongst other things, encouraging people to kill themselves. They’re scum. Who pretend to occupy the moral high ground.
Enough. No government employee should be posting on Twitter in an official capacity.
Milo is funny, Kate is just crazy.
Great to sign up via Facebook!
The only way to fix this threat to democracy is to vote for Trump and for GOP to take both House and Senate. Legislation fixing S230 could only be done that way. Big Tech knows this is very unlikely hence its brazen behavior.
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If “elections” existed, this might matter. Since “elections” are meaningless noises, this doesn’t matter.
Twitter is for TWITS. A twittering TWIT tweets and a twittering, twitter TWIT tweeting is either a NITWIT or a Big Bird. Tweet, Tweet (TWEETY Bird).
Twitter and Facebook are definitely in on the fix. The way AI can be used to either sensor stuff or spread misinformation is astonishing.. Soon the masses will be the great “Pets” Porno for Pyros sang about, except it won’t be Martians, it would be AI
Franklin Foer’s book, ‘World without Mind,’ explores these issues well.
I agree that Hunter Biden’s activities should be known and not suppressed; the companies doing so have no such authority. However, I do not understand why we would assume that he learned his bad habits/behavious at home.
This place feels like a nice warm echo chamber. Not much critical thought here. Guess we all agree then. Very good.
So Ms. McEnany’s Twitter account was “locked” (whatever that means). Certainly the press secretary could find any number of outlets for her thoughts, including (a) a press release, (b) a phone call to a reporter, (c) a post at whitehouse.gov, (d) a text to someone, anyone. Importantly, none of these is controlled by The Government (including Twitter). Given all these options, why would anyone assume that locking Twitter amounts to censorship? This smacks of unhinged outrage.
One wonders how DM rationalizes and reconciles himself to enabling and empowering evil by continuing to keep twittering on his twiiter account
There has been a battle raging for a few years as to what the status of social media is it basically a post box, or billboard where anything can be placed or whether something on a social media site has been published, in which case someone has to have taken a decision to publish it according to guidelines. The former model unfortunately has proved unworkable. Facebook and Twitter cannot continue to make huge amounts of money while disclaiming any responsibility to the way it is achieved. Murray is, actually referring to twitter not forwarding things which are already published and available. The New York Post item is available on its website.If Murray and his associates think that this story (largely already discredited) they have the power to criss-cross the USA pushing it as much as they like. The mantle of Voltaire really doesn’t fit here.
If Facebook and Twitter are actually publishers, and they are actually American, then they, in all fairness, have the right to “interfere” in the American Elections by publishing what they like, just as the New York Post and New York Times do.
The point being, that the New York Post and New York Times can be held legally responsible for what they publish, in ways that FB and Twitter are not. This is the anomaly.
Cleggbook and Twitter have seized for themselves all the privileges of a publisher with none of the legal or moral responsibilities. The whole thing is evil.
Of course Facebook and Twitter should have the right to interfere in American elections.
And also be sued for copyright infringement, libel and hate crimes.
Facebook,Twitter and Google are among the most right wing neo-capitalist actors on the world stage. Certainly the most anti-libertarian. They harvest our data, process it for profit and will do anything they can to get more of it.
If you think they are silencing voices on the right you really have to ask why they would do that?
I’m genuinely puzzled.
If you think they are silencing voices on the right you really have to ask why they would do that?
Because they are not at all the right-wing actors you claim they are? Because the implication that the left dislikes capitalism is based on a myth?
The Left dislike capitalism as in when it’s not directly benefitting them. Give an Antifa supporter a couple of million dollars and in a few years, he’ll be a conservative donor.
Well if you are puzzled by that you haven’t been following things for some years, during which time they have banned or censored all manner of conservative voices.
The thing is that yes, they are globalist-capitalists of the purest kind. As such, they are opposed to people like Trump who want to try and erect a few barriers that protect US workers. Or who want to restrict immigration and perhaps even stop wars and bring the troops home.
It is the cultural right they oppose, not the economic right. And, as the socialist Jimmy Dore says, Biden is now to the right, economically, of Trump in that he will take down all barriers to trade and once again set about destroying the US working class, as he and his Democrat mates did with NAFTA.
Also, by championing left-wing social causes they make themselves look like the ‘good guys’ without actually having to be good guys.
yes
That is a useful distinction: not the economy right, but the cultural.
The writer fails to mention that the slander about the Bidens comes from Giuliani. Yet he wants it spread countrywide for maximum damage. Just like the slander about Clinton’s emails which cost her the election, with the help of Russian sabotage.
This is not ‘slander’ and they have not denied it. It is proof, as if we needed it, that the Bidens were working with foreign companies and countries to enrich themselves. I first became aware of this when it was a front cover New Yorker story in the summer of 2019. So even the Trump-deranged Left initially acknowledged it, before trying to cover it up.
Your comment is a perfect example of why this story matters……
Shooting the messenger is a tired fallacy. The Post story is either accurate or it is not, and that’s irrespective of whether the outside party is Rudy or Jesus Christ. The computer is full of Hunter’s communication in Hunter’s own words. And we’ve already learned that the “Russian sabotage” caper was engineered by Camp Hillary with the approval of Team Obama. Or did you miss stories about that, too, and how John Brennan’s handwritten notes spell out how that began?
“…..purported, exaggerated “foreign interference” in elections….” ?
Douglas, you clearly find 2016’s massive – and successful – Russian effort to install Trump awkward. So given your claim to be the ice-cold voice of truth and reason, maybe it would be worth asking yourself why Putin wanted Trump elected, and whether the interests of the Kremlin are the same as the interests of ordinary Americans? An Unherd posting from you on that would be interesting.
After all, if Venezuela had done that for the Democrats, you’d be both drawing conclusions and backing a US invasion.
When you say “successful” are you implying that without Russia’s “help”, Hilary Clinton would have won?
Maybe if you had some additional information about Russia’s “massive” effort you should have told Robert Mueller and his team because they couldn’t find it. Bit late now though.
https://theconservativetree…
Russia hoax was just that
The only Russian influence that has been proven is the fabricated dossier that Hillary Clinton commissioned to be assembled by a Russian agent to be used to smear Trump…As usual, if you want to know what the Democrats are doing, simply look at what they are accusing everyone else of…it never fail.
There was also the 3.5 million that Hunter Biden received from the ex-wife of a Moscow mayor. I very much hope that we might hear more about this from the NY Post in the days to come
Douglas, you clearly find 2016’s massive – and successful – Russian effort to install Trump awkward.
John Brennan’s own handwritten notes show that the Russia thing was the work of Camp Hillary, known of and approved by Obama. Yet here you are, impervious to fact and reality. Is it because the media tried to bury that story, too, and you don’t know about it, or because you refuse to accept it?
the Russian attempt to install Trump has been discredited, entirely. It was, and still is, ‘true’ fake news.