Alasdair AllanNov 20, 2022
Musk has used "Vox populi, Vox Dei" to justify reinstating Trump on #Twiiter. But the quote is from a letter from Alcuin to the Emporer Charlemagne urging him to resist such ideas, "Nec audiendi qui solent dicere, Vox populi, vox Dei, quum tumultuositas vulgi semper insaniae proxima sit." Which translates as "And do not listen to those who keep saying, 'The voice of the people is the voice of God', because the tumult of the crowd is always close to madness."
Show threadAlasdair AllanNov 20, 2022
Musk is not, of course, the first to use the "Vox populi, Vox Dei" quote out of context to justify dangerous actions. The phrase has been a political punching bag for centuries, notably in the 1700s amid the Jacobite rebellions. Although the use of the phrase in the opposite to the original context has been common since 1327 when the then Archbishop of Canterbury, Walter Reynolds, brought charges against King Edward II.
Show threadArneBab
@aallan What I’m still missing from this debate: what’s the percentage of bots in the votes?
Nov 20, 2022 at 11:58amWeb
Show threadq2rg ltkmrNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan just pretending that a vote in chamber like twitter is a democratic tool is damaging for the idea of democracy.
Show threadTakingOffNov 20, 2022
@straftanz @ArneBab @aallan also, it's insincere on Elon's part. If they had a pole asking whether he should abandon Twitter and just lose his 44 billion dollars, I think 80% would say yes. But of course he wouldn't obey that. Because, "Vocem suam credit esse vocem Dei." He believes that his voice is the voice of God.
Show threadTrixie_the_PugNov 21, 2022
@straftanz @ArneBab @aallan hallelujah to that!!
Show threadWu Evar 🇪🇺🇺🇦Nov 20, 2022
@aallan @ArneBab According to Musk he would fight and ban all bots on Twitter once he owns it, so I‘m pretty sure this are all legit votes *cough* 🤡
Show threadKlaske Wijkstra 🌻Nov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan The algorithm sends recommendations to 'likeminded' people, well, to people om whom the algorithm has found clues of likemindedness.. I would not be surprised if it could 'organise' an electorate that is biased. I also doubt if polls on twitter ever can be at random.
Show threadjoostetoNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan Clearly about 52.6% bots in the votes.
Show threadArneBabNov 20, 2022
@joosteto 😃
Show threadJose PaezNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan not only that, I thought there was going to be some sort of council for this matters and that no reinstatements would take place before said council first convened, go figure...
Show threadArneBabNov 20, 2022
@regionativo I guess that council is among the people Murks fired. @aallan
Show threadComfortably NumbNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan In Musk's case it's rather "Vox Automata, Vox Privilegiata"
Show threadBruce_AkNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan votes in the Bots I think
Show threadFrancohioNov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan Vox automati, vox fatui
Show threadAndrzej_HS Nov 20, 2022
@ArneBab @aallan Only Twitter (Musk) knows this, in one of his tweets he emphasized quite strongly that the bot attack on this vote was interesting. Of course, he didn't shut it down because it was just an excuse to reinstate Trump's suspended account.
Show threadRatherOddPursuits 🦆Nov 20, 2022

@ArneBab @aallan

It's Schrödinger's bots. If I got the result I wanted the race was fair. If the other side won it's because of manipulation.

Show threadFeralRobotsNov 21, 2022
@ratherodd @ArneBab @aallan which is a good example of why an informal poll of users on a service known to have a serious problem with inauthentic accounts - whether they be bots or trolls - should not be treated asa proxy for democratic choice.
Show threadRatherOddPursuits 🦆Nov 21, 2022

@FeralRobots @ArneBab @aallan

No shit