![]() In both cases, Trump’s naked effort to use his authority to threaten social media companies so they will dance to his tune undermines everything good about social media while doing nothing to address any of its serious problems. At the same time, the way others have used social media to spread misinformation and promote violence highlights that we have very real problems of content moderation we need to address. Nevertheless, given the vital importance social media have played in publicizing the murders of George Floyd, Ahmed Arbery, and too many others, how social media have broadcast police brutality against peaceful protesters to be broadcast live around the world from countless locations, and how social media has allowed organizers to to coordinate with one another, we need to remember how vitally important it is to protect these means of communication from being cowed and coopted by the President and others with power. Even by the standards of insanity known as the Trump Administration, the last week has reached heights of insanity that make a full frontal assault on the First Amendment with anything less than tear gas and tanks seem trivial. ![]() ![]() ![]() It’s hard to believe Trump issued this stupid Executive Order a mere week ago. (A substantially similar version of this appeared first on the blog of my employer, Public Knowledge) ![]()
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