“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.” – Benjamin Franklin
The fourth reason I’ve parted ways with social media[1] is one I contemplated for quite a while before I made my final decision. And that is this:
(Most) Social Media is Anti-Freedom
Before I go on, I want to highlight the above parenthetical by stating that there do exist social media platforms, I am told, that not only tolerate, but encourage, freedom of speech.[2] However, the platforms I was most active on, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, have become increasingly intolerant of views and opinions that don’t align with their own.
You might have heard the recent news story in which Facebook whistleblowers provided exclusive documents and interviews to the Project Veritas organization that showed how Facebook is using an algorithm to target users who post content that runs counter to the company’s political ideology. Even if what the users post is true, their content will be “demoted” if it’s deemed “VH,” which stands for “vaccine hesitancy.”
The purpose of the algorithm is to “drastically reduce user exposure” to VH comments, and also to cause a “decrease in other engagement of VH comments including create, likes, reports [and] replies.”[3]
One whistleblower told the Project Veritas founder that Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, wants to “build a community where everyone complies – not where people can have an open discourse and dialogue about the most personal and private and intimate decisions.”
Over the last six months or so, I’ve watched many Instagram accounts get temporarily disabled (mine included) or altogether deleted for posting “false” and/or “harmful” information that is actually neither of those things. Rather, what Instagram deems false is anything that challenges the narratives they support, and what they label “harmful” is anything that challenges others to question those narratives.
While I’ve long opposed Facebook and Instagram’s severe, truth-suppressing censorship policies, I questioned whether it would be best stay active in an effort to “fight the good fight.” After all, while having your account deleted is inconvenient, it’s relatively easy to start a new one and pick up right where you left off. But in the end, after several weeks of thought and prayer, I began to feel convicted that to remain on these platforms was to show my support for them. If I value and respect the United States Constitution and the republic it aims to protect, why would I spend one second of my time posting on a social media network that promotes ideologies that are antithetical to freedom?
While the argument can still be made that one can be a positive influence on these platforms, I would rather do my part, however small, to make these platforms obsolete. As long as moral, peaceable, freedom-loving people download and utilize apps that are owned and operated by people who are, well, the opposite of those things, the apps will continue to grow in popularity, and so too will their influence.
Conversely, the more we can support emerging platforms, such as Brighteon, Rumble, Gab, and Frank (if we must be on social media ;-)), that uphold constitutional values like liberty, popular sovereignty, checks and balances, and individual rights, the brighter our future will be, and our children’s after us.
I’ll be back soon with Part IV. Until then, I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether the beliefs and functions of the leading social media giants have influenced your decision to use their platforms. Email me at diana.tyler86@gmail.com!
“Freedom lies in being bold.”
― Robert Frost
[1] I still have an Instagram account (@authordianatyler) that I use to follow mostly health- and parenting-related accounts, but I don’t interact on it. I also use Pinterest (@dandersontyler) to collect recipes, remedies, workouts, etc., most of which I never use ;-).
[2] https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/first_amendment
[3] https://www.projectveritas.com/news/breaking-facebook-whistleblowers-expose-leaked-internal-docs-detailing-new/