When big tech erased our local river cleanup campaign, it hit home.

Last month, our local group posted videos showing the state of a polluted river. Within hours, the platform took them down, citing vague community guidelines. It's funny how ads for the companies causing the mess never face the same scrutiny. This selective moderation makes a joke of free speech online. We're not spreading lies; we're sharing facts that some find inconvenient. If platforms keep this up, they're just tools for silencing dissent. So much for digital town squares.

4 comments

4 Comments

the_brian1mo ago

Your take on "selective moderation" joking about free speech is where I disagree. Those platforms HAVE to use automated tools that often pull down good posts by ACCIDENT. It's a messy system trying to handle everyone, not some plot to silence people.

skylerh331mo ago

That bit about automated tools pulling down good posts by accident really clicked for me. I used to think it was all on purpose, but now I see it's just a messy system trying to keep up.

cora_kim391mo ago

Is it really all just accidents? I've seen political posts get taken down instantly while plain hate speech lingers for days. Those algorithms are built on data that can hide real biases. That seems like more than a messy system, it feels like a broken one. If it was truly about volume, why do some obvious problems slip right through?

claire8721mo ago

Automated tools? My friend's baking photo got removed last week.

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