{"id":414860,"date":"2022-03-11T22:51:40","date_gmt":"2022-03-11T19:51:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/ukraine-invasion-proves-big-tech-cant-be-arbiter-of-truth\/"},"modified":"2022-03-11T22:51:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-11T19:51:40","slug":"ukraine-invasion-proves-big-tech-cant-be-arbiter-of-truth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ukraine-invasion-proves-big-tech-cant-be-arbiter-of-truth\/","title":{"rendered":"#Ukraine invasion proves Big Tech can&#8217;t be arbiter of &#8216;truth&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c6304f7fb\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a40c6304f7fb\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/ukraine-invasion-proves-big-tech-cant-be-arbiter-of-truth\/#%E2%80%9CUkraine_invasion_proves_Big_Tech_cant_be_arbiter_of_%E2%80%98truth%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Ukraine invasion proves Big Tech can&#8217;t be arbiter of &#8216;truth&#8217;&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1>&#8220;Ukraine invasion proves Big Tech can&#8217;t be arbiter of &#8216;truth'&#8221;<\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--columnist inline-module--author\">\n<div class=\"inline-module--author__img\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"76\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/kyle-smith3.png?w=76&amp;h=69&amp;crop=1\" class=\"attachment-nyp_columnist size-nyp_columnist\" alt=\"Kyle Smith\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/kyle-smith3.png 76w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2013\/08\/kyle-smith3.png?w=38 38w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 76px) 100vw, 76px\"\/>        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>People can be forgiven for missing this point when artillery shells are flying, but a lesser-noticed detail emerging from the fog of the Ukraine war is that the info-policing policies of Silicon Valley are a total failure: They\u2019re unworkable, have no consistent thinking behind them, and are subject to sudden reversals driven by the heat of political passions rather than principle.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>, for instance, has a policy against death threats. Or at least it used to: Now there\u2019s an exception for Vladimir Putin. Call for his assassination, and as of this week, that\u2019s okay with Mark Zuckerberg. Also, it\u2019s fine to use Facebook to call for violence against Russian soldiers, even the ones who are wondering what the hell they\u2019re doing trampling on a sister country and would love to find a way to put down their weapons without getting shot for desertion. <\/p>\n<p>Putin is indeed a bad actor, but once you replace the question, \u201cWhat neutral principles do we stand for?\u201d with \u201cWhich side are we on?,\u201d things can get complicated rather quickly. Facebook has just unbanned a fringe, fascist Ukrainian group called the Azov Battalion because they\u2019re \u201con the right side\u201d when it comes to fighting Putin, albeit very much on the wrong side when it comes to most everything else, considering their ranks contain neo-Nazis and their emblems have a Nazi-ish tinge.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/azov-batallion.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Azov batallion\" class=\"wp-image-21498907\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/azov-batallion.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/azov-batallion.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/azov-batallion.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Facebook has unbanned the neo-Nazi group Azov Batallion. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">NurPhoto<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/kyiv-insetmap-march10-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Ukraine war map\" class=\"wp-image-21499023\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/kyiv-insetmap-march10-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/kyiv-insetmap-march10-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/kyiv-insetmap-march10-3.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Map of Russian attacks in Ukraine as of March 11, 2022. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Especially in wartime, all sorts of false claims get made, and those claims were widely disseminated on giant tech platforms. The \u201cGhost of Kyiv\u201d story sent out by Ukraine\u2019s official social media channels about a brave Ukrainian pilot supposedly shooting down 10 Russian jets last month logged millions of shares on Twitter and Facebook, even though it\u2019s obviously fake, having been built around stock images, a sequence from a video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> and a Photoshopped headshot of a lawyer from Buenos Aires. <\/p>\n<p>On the other side, Google\u2019s brother YouTube hosted Russian propaganda videos claiming the terrified Ukrainians were begging Mother Russia to come and save them. One researcher estimated 115,000 sock puppets were spreading propaganda about Russia on Twitter and Facebook, and the number of such accounts skyrocketed 11,000% in mid-February as Putin prepared the invasion.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n<p><strong>Get the latest<\/strong> <strong>updates<\/strong> <strong>in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post\u2019s live coverage.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n<p>When you set out to determine what is true and false for billions of eyeballs, you might as well try to control the wind. And it is supreme arrogance for the censors and algorithm-fiddlers of Google, Facebook and Twitter to decide that they and their armies of 24-year-old content managers are graced with the wisdom to sort out what\u2019s accurate, especially when perceptions of truth so often depend on the question, \u201cWhich side are you on?\u201d <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/vladimir-putin-13.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Vladimir Putin\" class=\"wp-image-21498938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/vladimir-putin-13.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/vladimir-putin-13.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/vladimir-putin-13.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Facebook has amended its hate speech policy to allow for death threats against Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Alexei Nikolsky<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Nailing down truth is now and always will be a central source of human conflict, and no centralized Ministry of Information can hope to settle the question. Ultimately truth is settled by letting people slug it out in the Thunderdome of ideas. Facebook should have no more involvement in what people are saying using its service than Verizon or UPS does.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, Silicon Valley seems to make decisions based on whoever is yelling the loudest. Facebook and Twitter suppressed The Post\u2019s true and accurate reporting on Hunter Biden\u2019s laptop, then instead promoted an outright fiction promulgated by Trump-hating ex-intelligence officials and many major media outlets that the laptop story was \u201cRussian disinformation.\u201d Silicon Valley put \u201cWhich side are we on?\u201d before the facts. Twitter even banned The Post\u2019s other, unrelated stories for more than two weeks. Its CEO Jack Dorsey later said \u201cOops\u201d about all of this. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/ukraine-war-01-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Ukraine war\" class=\"wp-image-21499009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/ukraine-war-01-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/ukraine-war-01-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/ukraine-war-01-2.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Google and YouTube hosted thousands of Russian propaganda videos prior to the invasion. <\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Anastasia Vlasova<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>What he and the other hand-wringers in the Valley should be saying is, \u201cWe\u2019re a digital public square. We can\u2019t be the arbiters of truth. You figure out what to believe.\u201d But then again, taking such a stance would require transparency, bravery, and the quality that is most lacking in Silicon Valley: humility.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/03\/11\/ukraine-invasion-proves-big-tech-cant-be-arbiter-of-truth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Ukraine invasion proves Big Tech can&#8217;t be arbiter of &#8216;truth&#8217;&#8221; People can be forgiven for missing this point when artillery shells are flying, but a lesser-noticed detail emerging from the fog of the Ukraine war is that the info-policing policies of Silicon Valley are a total failure: They\u2019re unworkable, have no consistent thinking behind them,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":414861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/03\/google-youtube.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[126635,4974,5077,100685,33355,4976,126128,73234],"class_list":["post-414860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-3-11-22","tag-facebook","tag-mark-zuckerberg","tag-russians","tag-silicon-valley","tag-social-media","tag-ukraine-war","tag-vladimir-putin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}