Episode 11 is out now! Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts and more.
Was Twitter right to ban Trump?
On this week’s show we welcome two guests - Forbes columnist Peter Suciu and Big Technology’s Alex Kantrowitz. We asked them whether Twitter’s move was morally justified. Was the timing significant? And is this censorship of the government?
In the wake of the events at Capitol Hill on 6 January, Twitter and Facebook responded by banning (now ex-President) Trump from their platforms. In Twitter’s case, Trump was given a lifetime ban. Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s CEO, described this moment as “a failure… to promote healthy conversation online”.
Social media has evolved into a force that significantly shapes our political discourse. Fake news may feel like a modern phenomenon, but it isn’t. Lies have been told for political gain as far back in history as you care to look. In this episode, you will hear why Peter thinks social media can’t be held to account the same way that traditional media is. You’ll also hear Alex’s challenge to Jack Dorsey about how Twitter could fix the problem of fake news… if they sincerely cared about it.
Along the way, we tackle the question of free speech. Freedom of speech and access to platforms are two different things - the latter being Facebook/Twitter’s prerogative. However, the ban on Trump sets down a moral marker that, until now, they have been keen to avoid. Does this usher in a new era of content moderation and “censorship”, or is there a better way for them to fix the problems of toxicity they have created?
Send us your comments. Do you think Twitter was right to ban Trump?
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