Sacha Baron Cohen: “Freedom Of Speech Is Not Freedom Of Reach”
Недавно Саша Барон Коэн выступил с практически программной речью [видео, транскрипт], где призвал интернет-гиганты и социальные сети к ответу за ложь и пропаганду, которая свободно распространяется через их платформы.
Несколько цитат:
Today around the world, demagogues appeal to our worst instincts. Conspiracy theories once confined to the fringe are going mainstream. It’s as if the Age of Reason - the era of evidential argument - is ending, and now knowledge is de-legitimized and scientific consensus is dismissed. Democracy, which depends on shared truths, is in retreat, and autocracy, which depends on shared lies, is on the march.
What do all these dangerous trends have in common? […] one thing is pretty clear to me. All this hate and violence is being facilitated by a handful of internet companies that amount to the greatest propaganda machine in history.
Think about it. Facebook, YouTube and Google, Twitter and others - they reach billions of people. The algorithms these platforms depend on deliberately amplify the type of content that keeps users engaged - stories that appeal to our baser instincts and trigger outrage and fear. It’s why YouTube recommended videos by the conspiracist Alex Jones billions of times. It’s why fake news outperforms real news, because studies show that lies spread faster than truth.
… British voters will go to the polls while online conspiracists promote the despicable theory of “great replacement” - that white Christians are being deliberately replaced by Muslim immigrants. Americans will vote for president, while trolls and bots perpetuate the disgusting lie of a “Hispanic invasion.” And after years of YouTube videos calling climate change a “hoax,” the United States is on track, a year from now, to formally withdraw from the Paris Accords.
… Zuckerberg seemed to equate regulation of companies like his to the actions of “the most repressive societies.” Incredible. This, from one of the six people who decide what information so much of the world sees. Zuckerberg at Facebook, Sundar Pichai at Google, at its parent company Alphabet, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Brin’s ex-sister-in-law, Susan Wojcicki at YouTube and Jack Dorsey at Twitter.
The Silicon Six - all billionaires, all Americans - who care more about boosting their share price than about protecting democracy. This is ideological imperialism - six unelected individuals in Silicon Valley imposing their vision on the rest of the world, unaccountable to any government and acting like they’re above the reach of law.
… There is such a thing as objective truth. Facts do exist. And if these internet companies really want to make a difference, they should hire enough monitors to actually monitor, work closely with groups like the ADL, insist on facts and purge these lies and conspiracies from their platforms.
… The truth is, these companies won’t fundamentally change because their entire business model relies on generating more engagement, and nothing generates more engagement than lies, fear and outrage.
Выскажу очень кратко своё мнение. С одной стороны, упрёки в адрес YouTube, FB, Twitter безусловно справедливы и можно даже сказать, банальны. Люди приходят на эти сайты не для того, чтобы узнать что-то для себя новое, а для того, чтобы получить дополнительное подтверждение тому, что они и так уже «знают», и платформы охотно им в этом помогают. С другой стороны, популярная идея заставить социальные сети так или иначе цензурировать распространение недостоверной информации чем-то напоминает предложение обложить миллиардеров 90%-м налогом: оно может само по себе и и неплохо, но это настолько грубое упрощение реальной проблемы, что скорее мешает, чем помогает.
See copy at dreamwidth for more comments; currently it has
.