Jeff Byrnes

This from @mmasnick is so spot on:

“your reputation when you refuse to moderate is not ‘the grand enabler of free speech.’ Because it’s the internet itself that is the grand enabler of free speech. When you’re a private centralized company and you don’t deal with hateful content on your site, you’re the Nazi bar.”

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/04/14/substack-ceo-chris-best-doesnt-realize-hes-just-become-the-nazi-bar/

Substack CEO Chris Best Doesn’t Realize He’s Just Become The Nazi Bar

I get it. I totally get it. Every tech dude comes along and has this thought: “hey, we’ll be the free speech social media site. We won’t do any moderation beyond what’s required.” Even Twitter init…

Techdirt
Apr 16, 2023 at 4:57pmWeb
Show thread((( Danny Stormiels ))) 🗽Apr 16, 2023
@jeffbyrnes @mmasnick literally poppers paradox of tolerance in action.
Show threadJeff ByrnesApr 16, 2023

@lookatmeimdanny sure is! Also a perfect example of the coddled insulated naïveté of folks like substack’s CEO.

Especially bizarre that he won’t even stand by his own company’s terms of use!

Show threadLaureApr 16, 2023
@jeffbyrnes @mmasnick extremist and scam content does need to be moderated. But the reality has been that small groups of extremists and scammers in huge loosely and directly affiliated networks push click bait in a mix of authentic and inauthentic ways to easily juke algorithms and dominate platforms. That’s what started in 2015 at scale and it’s mushroomed since so we have an array of online and offline channels and platforms pumping crap out. That’s the problem.
Show threadAral BalkanApr 17, 2023
@jeffbyrnes @mmasnick Absolutely spot on.
Show threadlippyduckApr 17, 2023
@jeffbyrnes @mmasnick cf. Fox vs. Dominion. Will it raise the Nazi bar running costs?
Show threadJeff ByrnesApr 17, 2023
@lippyduck one can only hope!
Show threadMike Masnick ✅Apr 17, 2023
@lippyduck @jeffbyrnes no. those are two separate issues, and the impact of the dominion suit will not impact that.
Show threadMylesRydenApr 17, 2023
@jeffbyrnes @mmasnick Scott Galloway adds that content moderation also creates value on the net. Reddit is worth more than 4Chan.
Show threadJeff ByrnesApr 17, 2023
@MylesRyden yup. Turns out, people value utility, kindness, and social spaces that aren’t full of vitriol, hate, and misinformation!