Shadow banning is definitely too much imo. It's simply unethical no matter how you look at it.
First, it doesn't do anything to prevent bots. It takes less than a second for a bot to check whether they are shadow banned. It's simply a tool to bully and gaslight people - just block them. Why these abusive games?
IDK, I think it can be an effective tool against trolls because it wastes the time they'd otherwise spend harassing people.
But that's not what RFK is, he's a legitimate candidate for president and should be given the same consideration other candidates are, not shadowbanned because someone doesn't like his message.
That's fine. But he shouldn't be silenced. If he gets some traction, debate him to show voters what's wrong with his ideas, that really shouldn't be hard.
I don't know, I guess we'll need to see how the lawsuit turns out. I'm sure RFK Jr. will bring some evidence that'll help us understand what Meta may or may not have done.
No stats at all, I just got that impression. It’s silly, but it’s often argued that social media are private platforms, that can decide themselves what content they allow. Do you suggest laws against shadowbanning should be a thing? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.
It's unrelated to the current topic but yes. Terms of service should be both ways. We already do that for user data through GDPR and similar laws and inevitably all users will have more rights including right to transparency.
I find it kinda funny that you argue against this on a platform that was founded because reddit was extremely opaque. We even have a transparent mod log here. So you really need more examples that transparency is good?
So, you’re suggesting that shadow banning has caused the rise of the alt-right and their conspiracy theories, which implies that they wouldn’t exist without shadow bans.
Or they already exist and are in such a fragile state that even an explicit ban makes them upset (which it does.)
Again, if you’re already that far down the rabbit hole, anything that tells you, “No, you’re wrong” is going to upset you. That includes a shadow ban, explicit ban, or somebody just telling you that you’re wrong.
If you think I’m wrong and you think shadow bans especially push people towards being alt-right and believing conspiracy theories, then I’d love to see a study that says so because that’s what would likely convince me.
Like any tool, it's bad when used improperly. Shadowbanning should be used to waste trolls' time; it's especially effective for cheaters in MMOs (lump the cheaters together so they don't bother anyone). Shadowbanning shouldn't be used to control the discussion, like silencing an unpopular or undesirable (to the platform) individual.
I think we're doing too much of the latter, but that doesn't mean shadowbanning as a tool is morally bankrupt.