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Just a reminder that no one called for the Dixie Chicks to be censored, and they weren't. Here's George Bush on the topic: "The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind...That's the great thing about America."
Their distribution on country music stations was cut off. That's textbook deplatforming and goes against the cultural value of free expression if not the legal construct of free speech.
Their tour continued, their CDs continued to be sold (though many customers stopped buying) and plenty of radio stations did continue playing them. Their record label also published their next CD which was "Not Ready to Make Nice". When they decided they wanted to speak up about what happened, they were given this platform. Not that bigtech was a gatekeeper at the time, but iTunes kept carrying their music.
Deplatforming isn't when you make your customers mad, but elites still love you and help you get your message out.
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That is bad, though still not quite as bad as what happened to PWR BTTM, who got their discography straight-up deleted.
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