Now Zuckerberg’s ‘free speech’ decision makes sense!
He doesn’t think Meta’s content moderators have been too politically-biased – he’s trying to dodge the indefinite prison sentence Donald Trump threatened on him if he opposed Trump’s attempt to be re-elected to the US Presidency last year.
That threat was only if Zuckerberg did anything “illegal” – but we all know how politicians can make us appear to have done things that were wrong. It isn’t hard to ‘trump’ up a charge.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
So Trump has, in effect, bought free speech in America – and may as well have bought democracy as well, because 53 per cent of Americans get their news and political opinions from Facebook or Instagram these days.
As Owen Jones states in his video clip, below, it is reminiscent of the way Viktor Orban bought democracy in Hungary, simply by buying the media outlets, or having them bought by people who were sympathetic to his cause:
So there it is. I’m right not to expect matters to get any better for Vox Political or any other lefty social media site – the clampdown against us is still on.
Owen mentions the way Facebook clamped down on pro-Palestine sources on its platforms after October 7, 2023, and questions whether anybody honestly believes Meta’s new pro-Trump masters are going to change that. Of course they won’t; anti-genocide voices may likewise remain silenced.
He reminds us how X, owned by Elon Musk, was already heavily rigged in favour of far-right-wing accounts, even before he declared support for Trump in July last year. That trend massively accelerated subsequently.
Trump and Musk are threatening to sue media organisations; Trump says he wants to “straighten out the press”, but doesn’t it seem more likely he’s trying to bend it to his way? Organisations that previously declared support for particular candidates turned neutral this year, in what’s widely believed to be fear of “Trumpian retribution”.
This is about an autocratic politician forcing the owners of media organisations to do as he tells them under threat of life imprisonment, and not about the return of free speech at all.
And where’s the fuss in the UK media? That would be expecting too much!
Our own media seem happy to sit back and let it happen so they don’t draw attention to themselves.
Although… wouldn’t a long drawn-out legal battle between Trump and Rupert Murdoch be fun to watch?
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Cruel Britannia is available
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The Livingstone Presumption is available
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
NOW Zuckerberg’s ‘free speech’ decision makes sense!
Now Zuckerberg’s ‘free speech’ decision makes sense!
He doesn’t think Meta’s content moderators have been too politically-biased – he’s trying to dodge the indefinite prison sentence Donald Trump threatened on him if he opposed Trump’s attempt to be re-elected to the US Presidency last year.
That threat was only if Zuckerberg did anything “illegal” – but we all know how politicians can make us appear to have done things that were wrong. It isn’t hard to ‘trump’ up a charge.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
So Trump has, in effect, bought free speech in America – and may as well have bought democracy as well, because 53 per cent of Americans get their news and political opinions from Facebook or Instagram these days.
As Owen Jones states in his video clip, below, it is reminiscent of the way Viktor Orban bought democracy in Hungary, simply by buying the media outlets, or having them bought by people who were sympathetic to his cause:
So there it is. I’m right not to expect matters to get any better for Vox Political or any other lefty social media site – the clampdown against us is still on.
Owen mentions the way Facebook clamped down on pro-Palestine sources on its platforms after October 7, 2023, and questions whether anybody honestly believes Meta’s new pro-Trump masters are going to change that. Of course they won’t; anti-genocide voices may likewise remain silenced.
He reminds us how X, owned by Elon Musk, was already heavily rigged in favour of far-right-wing accounts, even before he declared support for Trump in July last year. That trend massively accelerated subsequently.
Trump and Musk are threatening to sue media organisations; Trump says he wants to “straighten out the press”, but doesn’t it seem more likely he’s trying to bend it to his way? Organisations that previously declared support for particular candidates turned neutral this year, in what’s widely believed to be fear of “Trumpian retribution”.
This is about an autocratic politician forcing the owners of media organisations to do as he tells them under threat of life imprisonment, and not about the return of free speech at all.
And where’s the fuss in the UK media? That would be expecting too much!
Our own media seem happy to sit back and let it happen so they don’t draw attention to themselves.
Although… wouldn’t a long drawn-out legal battle between Trump and Rupert Murdoch be fun to watch?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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