[Air-L] Elon Musk & free speech

Tue Dec 6 15:10:19 PST 2022

With some trepidation, I'm going to build on what Morten is saying to add
that "free speech", and the US Constitution, are not the only frameworks
that we might use to think through these ideas. Avoiding state repression
is important, but if all attempts to shape the spaces where we discuss and
deliberate are positioned as being somewhere along the line between
"censorship" and "free speech", we miss other important considerations.

There are important questions that are not always best answered within this
framework, including:
* Who gets to speak, and who gets listened to?
* Who is safe speaking?
* Do the structures we build support constructive (or transformative, or
generative) dialogue, or conflict?
* What kinds of ideas and emotions spread through different systems we
build?

These questions are worth asking not just about Twitter but also about
alternatives we're exploring, and I hope that we'll consider other
frameworks of thought beyond the liberal free speech framework.

I've written more about this here:
https://adanewmedia.org/2016/10/issue10-croeser/

And there's also a comic version! Available to print out at home and turn
into a booklet if you need a fun stocking stuffer!*
https://medium.com/@nicolemarieburton/a-new-comic-that-challenges-us-to-reframe-our-notions-of-freedom-of-speech-and-freedom-in-84e1ecd1d1af

*I'm joking please don't shout at me but please feel free to ask for a
printable version

On Wed, 7 Dec 2022 at 6:44 am, Paul Levinson via Air-L <
air-l at listserv.aoir.org> wrote:

> Thanks for that, Morten.  I do make precisely that point -- the difference
> between government censorship and private organization content moderation
> -- in my Op-Ed.
>
> -- Paul
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 6, 2022 at 5:11 PM Morten Bay via Air-L <
> air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> wrote:
>
> > Before this discussion goes any further (or off the rails), I have a
> small
> > request on behalf of those of us on the sidelines trying to learn from
> > people smarter than us:
> >
> > When we discuss these matters, can we please distinguish between
> > state-enforced censorship and oppression of free speech versus the
> > also-constitutionally protected rights to content moderation and
> editorial
> > decisions in privately-held media? Can we please also distinguish between
> > coercion and persuasion as expressions of power?
> >
> > I think that will generate a more nuanced and less polarized discussion
> to
> > everyone’s benefit.
> >
> > Thanks.
> >
> > Morten
> >
> > From: Air-L <air-l-bounces at listserv.aoir.org> on behalf of
> > andrew.lowenthal--- via Air-L <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> > Date: Tuesday, December 6, 2022 at 12:23 PM
> > To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org <air-l at listserv.aoir.org>
> > Subject: Re: [Air-L] Elon Musk & free speech
> > It is truly breathtaking that the default position now in 'academia' is
> > one of free speech suppression...
> >
> > "Do we tolerate too much?" is asked... perhaps ask someone in Indonesia
> > who as of today can face jail criticising the president... anti-free
> > speech 'liberals' embolden authoritarians around the world.
> >
> > The fact that people are going in to bat for Big Tech for suppressing a
> > story about the Biden family dealings in Ukraine and China (to say
> > nothing of Hunter's predilections for cocaine and sex workers) is
> > astounding... how much lower can 'academia' sink?
> >
> > Interest in the actual truth is long gone, and liberals are just as
> > partisan as conservatives. Intellectuals who care nothing for party
> > tribalism are all but extinct (or at least very quiet).
> >
> > If you are interested in a different take you might like to try this...
> >
> >
> >
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/punching-down-how-the-anti-disinformation__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!pLw_tKTFjSSAtxATGWxuanoQRIYKVvbyLD3P8_3RIcPjNZ0n-w4tEZXzSg5l0_6urdJCF3ZqcEi1AcJ6Fg$
> > <
> >
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/disinformationchronicle.substack.com/p/punching-down-how-the-anti-disinformation__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!pLw_tKTFjSSAtxATGWxuanoQRIYKVvbyLD3P8_3RIcPjNZ0n-w4tEZXzSg5l0_6urdJCF3ZqcEi1AcJ6Fg$
> > >
> >
> > Best,
> > Andrew
> >
> >
> > On 12/6/22 20:51, Paul Levinson via Air-L wrote:
> > > just up on NBC News Think: my op-ed about Elon Musk and free speech
> > > <
> >
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/elon-musks-twitter-files-trump-tweets-complicate-free-speech-rcna60322__;!!LIr3w8kk_Xxm!pLw_tKTFjSSAtxATGWxuanoQRIYKVvbyLD3P8_3RIcPjNZ0n-w4tEZXzSg5l0_6urdJCF3ZqcEgnQAbu9Q$
> > >
> > >
> > > -- PL
> > > _______________________________________________
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