I taught high school civics many moons ago and with out sounding too grandiose, it was one of the best parts of my professional life. Kids come in with a notion of our freedoms that is inspiring, but you have to help them pump the brakes and learn the rules. This is especially true with the freedom of speech.
Freedom of speech is back in the headlines after the high profile murder of Charlie Kirk. With the Trump administration on high alert, they have taken aim at journalists and network news. People on both sides are fired up and making every attempt to blame the other. If I'm being honest, both sides share blame for the direction of political discourse in our country. The cynic in me would like to point out that politicians are part of a larger brand (Democrat or Republican) and not service oriented as we elect them to be. This is why we see them voting party lines, even at the local level. They have to maintain the brand so they can keep base voters. To keep base voters, they must rely on their coverage in the media and what kind of engagement they get online just as if they were selling a product.
This I where I want to jump in. Our lives online have gotten out of control. Professor Scott Galloway recently said that sex no longer sells. Rage is now how you get engagement with a brand. A great micro example is the Sydney Sweeney controversy with her jeans ad. The ads were not revealing by today's standards, but revealing that she is a Republican was troubling for many for some strange reason. The play book is that if you can gin up enough outrage, people will follow you. The problem with this is that we re hurting ourselves and each other because of it.
How many of you have heard of Section 230 of the Communications Act? It may not be important to you, but it is wildly important to social media companies. The law and subsequent court decisions holds that the social media company is not liable for content that is published by its users. It only says they have to make good faith effort to moderate. As we know, moderation is often left to the users and this is not a workable system for those who lack self control.
When I left Twitter, their in-app moderation tools were failing and I was continually getting hateful content that I was trying to eliminate from my feed. I leave and move to Treads where I was inundated right away with content about how bad teachers are and why everyone should be homeschooled. Rage does indeed sell. The engagement on these posts was astonishing. I have never really been able to produce that kind of engagement on my own by sending positive vibes.
If we want to make a difference for ourselves and our children in the area of free speech, we have to take a bigger look at Section 230 and why it needs to go away. While politicians are pointing fingers to protect their voting base, a young man is being radicalized online and planning a violent act against someone or themselves. This is what we have learned from recent mass shootings and high profile murders. The shooters political ideologies are not solid, but they were all radicalized against their targets on social media or in the gaming world. Why would we not eliminate Section 230 and spare ourselves from this?
This also requires effort on our part. If rage sells, we have to stop participating. The social media companies make money hand over fist because we allow it. This is why 230 has no chance of going away. The ad money they make from us goes to lobbyists to protect the company's interest. We have a part to play to protect ourselves and the mental health of our children. What is stopping us?
There's a saying that your rights end where the next man's nose begins. When it comes to free speech, the next man's nose is very bloody right now and no one should not be okay with it. Take a look at your own behavior, the content your kids are consuming, and be vocal about the things that matter most. Not the protection of your feelings, but the hate we let in as we mindlessly scroll social media. We have to take control over this. Eliminating 230 is only a start, we have to do the rest.
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