JosephMennI don’t usually gift breaking news articles before the context and analysis are added. But holy moly, a preliminary injunction against Biden officials communicating with the social media companies. https://wapo.st/44snxyc
Nick has moved to Mathstodon@JosephMenn Every time I see a statement like "...and Twitter replied with an automated message containing a poop emoji" in a news story, I am reminded again that we live in the stupidest timeline.
James M.@JosephMenn by "both-sidesing" basic facts about vaccines, the 2020 election, etc., the GOP is claiming that truth itself is subject to political interpretation, i.e. that truth and facts don't really exist.
History shows us that this is literally a fascist tactic.
Doug Pasnak@jamesmarshall @JosephMenn This is some of the real meat right here. Forbidding the government from speaking with policy and subject matter experts is just not conservative anti-intellectualism.
Eli Rivera 🍉@JosephMenn thank you very much for sharing this
Luce@JosephMenn wow! this sounds so huge I am not sure whether it's positive or negative and what repercussions could it even possibly have. although the existence of the investigation convinces me that US democracy works better than I have previously thought that it did
Nevin Thompson@JosephMenn @elicitizen would seem to be in coordination with Jim Jordan / GOP Judiciary committee’s “weaponization” campaign, see the June 27 report.
sadele2@JosephMenn
From Bloomberg Dec 2022 – much of it re same judge, Doughty:
"Republicans Find Home Court for Biden Suits in Western Louisiana."
"Court shopping becoming more sophisticated"
"Picking the right trial judge is a key to success"
"Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee based in Monroe, La., is one judge the Republican attorneys general stumbled upon—and since then have sought out specifically."
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/western-louisiana-becomes-gop-home-court-for-suits-against-biden-21
Republicans Find Home Court for Biden Suits in Western Louisiana
Republican attorneys general are precisely targeting federal courthouses in western Louisiana where they see the best chance of winning. Solid conservative majorities now control the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which hears appeals from Louisiana, and the US Supreme Court. As a result, Republican attorneys general have never had a better chance of prevailing in political battles.
Ole Dirty Rice 
@JosephMenn @drewharwell Sure, it’s bad but on the bright side: maybe a Calvinball ruling by SCOTUS trying to agree will set a precedent banning private meetings between government employees and corporate executives. We might backdoor our way into the first good government reform in a generation.
Beeks@codybrumfield @JosephMenn @drewharwell except that's not how it would work. The GOP would still be as corrupt as ever and if you dared call it out they'd call you a liar and then screech about Hillary or Hunter or some other new right wing boogeyman. Laws do not constrain fascists.
Marty@codybrumfield @JosephMenn @drewharwell That's assuming that Republicans, when they hold the white house again, will follow the rules they're trying to set.
And of course it won't stop the ultra-wealthy people who bankroll Republican campaigns and pull their strings from talking to heads of companies about shaping the discourse.
Gordon W@JosephMenn #FreeSpeech #misinformation #fakenews #journalism So it’s okay to yell fire in the theater when there isn’t one and cause people to die when they are trampled at the exits? Social media speech that lies about disasters, when and where to evacuate from wildfires, hurricanes and earthquakes is just A-Okay. Emergency Man comms need to be done by those in charge of managing the disaster. Vulnerable communities are at risk when social media is used against them.
Bill Of Earth42@JosephMenn having read the order, it looks to me (not a lawyer, just a "reasonable person") that the list of exceptions allows the govt to say, "Nothing in this order appears to have an effect on our communications with social media" 😎
Ehuff@JosephMenn the most unenforceable order ever. Anything can be interpreted as a potential criminal investigation
Peter Koopman 🦣@JosephMenn
The GOP needs lies and misinformation like a fish needs water. In that light, this news comes as no surprise.
The GOP needs lies and misinformation like a fish needs water. In that light, this news comes as no surprise.
xanatax 🐰@JosephMenn 💜 Thank you for the link!
Interesting article, but this advert was jarring. “Salem News Channel” proving they can spread disinformation just fine without Social Media. 😢 Good job, advertizing corporation, bonus point for irony.
“1A vs. Big Tech” is gonna be a wild ride.