The Briefing Room
State Chapters => California => Topic started by: PeteS in CA on March 02, 2021, 12:52:27 am
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California Democrat asks Twitter, Facebook to ban Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine posts
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article249557493.html (https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article249557493.html)
California state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, is calling on Twitter and Facebook to ban high-profile anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from their platforms as part of a national campaign to encourage vaccination against COVID-19.
Pan told supporters of his Ready to Vaccinate campaign in a Wednesday email that Kennedy should be stripped of his accounts for using them to “spread lies about COVID-19 vaccines and trying to drive fear in communities of color.â€
“Sadly, COVID-19 isn’t the only disease we’re fighting,†Pan wrote in the email inviting subscribers to sign a petition for Kennedy’s social media removal. “We’re also up against the disease of misinformation, perpetuated by high-profile anti-vaxxers like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.â€
IMO:
* RFK Jr. is scum who would tell any lie and make any ridiculously false claim he thought would persuade someone to his POV;
* FB and Twitter are private companies; since banning RFK Jr., AFAIK, violates no anti-discrimination law, they are free to ban or not ban him, whichever they feel is right for their companies;
* IMO, FB and Twitter should not ban RFK Jr., but let their members expose his lies and shred his false claims with facts; banning him would give him the patina of a martyr.
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On a platform where most rational disagreement falls on the level of "You're a poopyhead" why bother?
I have engaged in rhetorical attempts at discourse there, only to have links to scientific journals and cogent arguments splattered with spew and no factual discourse.
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I'm not that kind of Twit, but FB's format sucks for almost anything like discussion. And the population of people who believe what conforms to their biases in the face of contrary facts seems significantly higher than I see in discussion forums like TBR.
I tend to be selective and a hole-puncher. When a FB Friend posts CT-grade nonsense, I either post facts that punch significant holes in the CT or point out lies that impeach the CT-author's credibility. Much beyond that depends on how the FB Friend responds and my mood.