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Culture War Roundup for the week of November 21, 2022

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Anyone else suspect that Apple and Google are going to collude to kill Twitter by removing it from their app stores? Apple is already deleting their accounts on twitter. Seems like they are setting the stage. The Cathedral cannot tolerate a competitor to their stranglehold on social media it seems

I am confused about these events.

Obviously this is coordinated, yet again, by the ADL, who have come out of the closet and started issuing mafia-like threats publicly. In fact they are doing this under their old StopHateForProfit «coalition of social justice» framework, which they first used when bringing Zuckerberg to heel two years ago. (From a quick search, it seems I'm the only guy who keeps bringing this up). (Related Forbes article). Zuckerberg, however, did not fight back remotely as openly.

That's... a bit too much, too soon, surely? They aren't yet feared enough, and their commitment to reposting 4chan/pol/ anti-Jewish memes when not intimidating the richest guy on the planet makes them look profoundly unserious. Or do their backchannel threats have more bite, as indicated by those hints from corporations? Because as it stands, I wouldn't be surprised if this ends with Greenblatt's ignominious removal and the organization being discredited.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised, and this is The Thing shedding the skin of wokeness and used-up assets; maybe they'll be spent to inflate credibility of Twitter that nevertheless will, as Musk promised originally, to install a censorship council. There are many theoretical ways to run circles around the public here.

Then again, mamma mia, how crude.

...Or, looking at replies to Musk's posts, eg here – maybe Greenblatt et al are rationally assessing their dominance. Huh.

Obviously this is coordinated, yet again, by the ADL, who have come out of the closet and started issuing mafia-like threats publicly.

What part of the tweet you linked is a "mafia-like threat"? That tweet is the last of a series in which they claim they've documented a rise in anti-semitic posting. They're arguing that this is caused by the lack of moderation and that any platform that doesn't want this to happen has to engage in strict(er) moderation. They also explicitly called upon advertisers to pull from Twitter, that's about as blatant as you can get.

What part of the tweet you linked is a "mafia-like threat"?

Its entirety: «Whatever happens to @Twitter, new social platforms need to center trust and safety from the outset, or risk being subject to the same fate. In the meantime, **@elonmusk has put Twitter on deathwatch. It didn’t have to be this way.**»

I suppose there is some plausible deniability here, but when Twitter is «dying» because they coerce advertisers to leave it... It is a threat. Or rather, an admission of hostility.

in which they claim they've documented a rise in anti-semitic posting

Have they ever reported a decline in anti-semitic posting? Antisemitism works like Shepard tone. And there have been so many false reports from ADL and their affiliates about increases in... right-wing extremism, attacks on trans people, anti-semitism, whatever, I have little interest to check again.

In any case, the very premise is illegitimate. Even if expectations of reduced censorship under Musk lead to more unhinged posting, this does not justify their actions.

No, I dispute this interpretation entirely. When the ADL says that new platforms risk being subject to the same fate, it's pretty obvious they're referring to what they perceive as a rise in anti-semitic posts. The only way you can dispute this is if you ignore the chain of tweets that one is situated in.

Whatever problems you may have with the ADL and their actions, the example tweet you chose does a very poor job of making your point.

  • -15

what does deathwatch mean idgi

Maybe it's a death con 3 reference?