Censorship by Social Media Sites

Online sites and social media sites have been “filtering” what we see for years.   Initially this filtering was to deliver a “relevant and better user experience” but now that “filtering” has expanded to censorship of ideas that sites do not want you to see or do not fit the narrative that they want to further.

The video above is a perfect example of censorship.   It has been deleted so many times from social media.  Why should sites like Facebook and Twitter censor what we see?   Don’t they think we can take in all types of information and decide for ourselves?   Or is it because we can decide for ourselves that they choose to limit what we see? 

Who is deciding what is ok to share and what is not?  Foreign interference in our election was and still is a headline that is constantly being pushed but isn’t the censoring of information that is shared the same thing?

How many times have videos or stories circulated like wildfire upsetting and enraging people about some terrible injustice only to later find out that this was only a highly edited snippet that does not show the complete picture?    We all know the full story is never as vigorously shared as the original post. 

How many times have you seen a headline and then read a story and think to yourself wow that is a “click bait headline”?   Or how many times on social media do you see a salacious headline with comments galore that realize that people never read the story and are only reacting to the headline. 

All of us utilize online tools to gather information, learn, research products or services, shop, stay in touch with our friends and family and so much more.   Our online habits are monitored, and sites use this to deliver us content and information that they feel we want to see.    Why, because they want you to use their tool so they can sell advertising to businesses and organizations who want to reach you.  This may be helpful when you are shopping for something but when you are looking to gather information on events you only ever see views that are in line with yours.  

It is happening with the biggest issues of our day.  These tactics are being used to formulate people’s ideas and understanding of issues that are extremely complex into a simplified one-sided narrative that people grasp onto.   They share these ideas and “solutions” so they can feel good.   They want to help.  However, they are only a pawn in a game.  It serves to divide us as a country.   You are either with them, on the side of good or your racist, evil, a deplorable or any other derogatory term they want to use. 

Now is the time to come out from the shadows and be heard.  Do not let this one-sided conversation continue.