RioVida Networks

We bring celebrities, causes, and companies together for mutual benefit.

Tag: Freedom of Speech

  • Are Facebook and Twitter becoming a bit more conscious and aware? Maybe!

    Facebook in their media relations page claimed this:

    “Over the past few months, we have taken action against fake accounts in France, Germany, and other countries, and we recently stated that we will no longer allow Pages that repeatedly share false news to advertise on Facebook.”

    I rejoice since I think at last the manipulations of nefarious activities manipulating the public, whether it is Russians getting conservatives hyped up into a mob mentality against the LGBT community, or having an unqualified real estate maven,  who seemed surprised  that he was chosen to be president, or providing a platform for hate speech for German Nazi’s, which happened to be against the law.

    I followed the development of the extreme right groups who are often sponsored and supported by Russia – take hold in Western Europe and I was surprised since it used to be against the law to even whisper the word “Nazi”  in Germany.   The punishment in the 1980s was severe – over $1000 in fines or 2 weeks in prison.

    How the world has changed since the Reagan era when we become “one world.”  Germans seem to have forgotten their history and now Neo Nazis are running around demonstrating and promoting their hate freely in public, protected by the free speech laws.  Erdogan’s dictator supporting Turkish soldiers are running around Germany turning in ex-soldiers, if they practice German free speech, and Erdogan tried to shut up a, perhaps a bit tasteless, German comedian.  He launched lawsuits in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerlands.  Only in Germany he received an audience by politicians who pushed for silencing their own citizens in support of the dictator.

    Facebook and Twitter helped these trends, there is no doubt about it.  No matter how much they wanted to deny it or ignore it initially.  They forbade pictures of classic Greek statues and paintings from the Renaissance if they offended some religious desire – but hate speech,  even illegal hate speech was entirely ok to them.  We now know that it was because they made good money with it.  The bot factories paid precious advertising dollars.  Art lovers who shared a beautiful Botticelli painting could not compete with the foreign dictators’ budgets. People who portrayed rape scenes were okay, women’s nipples were not.  When questioned in Germany, they arrogantly proclaimed that the Facebook police were run out of India, thus not subject to German law. Only when Merkel got so frustrated by the public furor that she promised to shut the site down altogether,  was she able to get Zuckerberg’s attention.

    Now in Germany they are working on a “Facebook-Gesetz” – a law that is targeting social media companies. the law is meant to stop social media companies from spreading illegal hate speech.  The German press is concerned that while there is an attempt to create such a law, it is far from certain that there will be such a law. Political infighting points that in Germany freedom of speech and the fight against hate speech vs. mob rule attitudes are literally at odds.

    While politicians are discussing the pros and cons of the formulation it is up to Facebook to keep order “voluntarily.”  In German fashion, they don’t seem to care if they tacitly allow hate speech free reign while they fight about the way the law is worded.

    Thankfully, there definitely have been some improvements as the top management of Facebook finally is starting to become aware that they may be destroying Western Civilization by allowing “free speech” to extremists, while being responsive to complaints by extremists whose goal is quite literally to abolish the Freedoms of  Western Culture as we know it.

    Facebook informs us:  “We are also experimenting with changes to help us more efficiently detect and stop inauthentic accounts at the time they are being created.”  

    Hopefully this is a priority and completed before the next elections.  Trump fans are right that Western Civilization is under attack, mostly by ourselves.  Business leaders will ultimately decide whether democracy will survive. Business leaders are pro democracy and those who are against democracy will decide our future as they deploy artificial intelligence who write programs which determine how we will be able perceive our world now and in the future.

  • Misinformation … CNN has long been accused as a “cross-dressing” Media company

    Jane Fonda with Ted Turner
    Jane Fonda with Ted Turner

    CNN wrote in an article covering that the Trump/Putin joint effort to influence the US election was normal. We agree with the fact that every country always wants to influence as many other countries as possible.  Of course to keep a country safe and for its economic advantage politicians in the foreign office promote the countries values.  However CNN provides examples that are factually incorrect or at minimum slanted and actually seem to spread misinformation.  Full Article

    For example the article claims that UK intelligence “spread rumors” about Charles Lindbergh. However, in fact the rumors were factually correct as the actual Autobiography of Charles Lindbergh shows.

    Hermann Göring presents Nazi Medal to Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Hitler
    Hermann Göring presents Nazi Medal to Charles Lindbergh on behalf of Hitler

    The US government was not correctly informed about the rise of Hitler by Charles Lindbergh.  The UK government did not spread rumors it corrected the point of view that was based on false information, by Hitler fans, Charles Lindbergh and his Nazi admiring wife.  Here is a quote from a PBS article :

    Charles Lindbergh was convinced that no other power in Europe could stand up to Germany in the event of war. "The organized vitality of Germany was what most impressed me: the unceasing activity of the people, and the convinced dictatorial direction to create the new factories, airfields, and research laboratories...," Lindbergh recalled in "Autobiography of Values." His wife drew similar conclusions. "...I have never in my life been so conscious of such a directed force. It is thrilling when seen manifested in the energy, pride, and morale of the people--especially the young people," she wrote in "The Flower and the Nettle." By 1938, the Lindberghs were making plans to move to Berlin.

    The public’s cry for authenticity shows that there is a world wide trend of people being tired of being misled. While it is natural that every person wants to present their best possible public image, as they should, ideally people’s expressions and assertions are backed up by facts.

    Particularly in the “new GOP” the Trump led GOP in contrast of the previous economically conservative GOP, the concept of facts being replaced by feelings that have nothing to do with facts is widely used and accepted.

    Media, particularly the most prominent media companies, should return to fact based reporting. CNN has more people watching than any other media company. CNN recently hired Corey Lewandowski despite his rather questionable behavior toward women to tap deeper into the Fox TV audience. People who like history know that CNN was started by the successful advertising executive, Ted Turner in 1980. His business philosophy was so flexible it was aptly described by Eric Guthey (2001). Ted Turner’s Corporate Cross-Dressing and the Shifting Images of American Business Leadership. Enterprise and Society, 2, pp 111-142. doi:10.1093/es/2.1.111.  Until media companies like CNN who hold the largest audiences and therefore influence the majority of the people returns to seeking truths and spreading fact. We each need to take responsibility of getting out of the emotionally based echo chambers that erode out grasp on reality.

    Today when even the top media companies are using feelings and opinions inter changeable with facts every intelligent person is required to fact check before choosing to be influenced.  Let’s to keep civilization alive.