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Comment by malkia | Hacker News Reader

This is the first time I'm reading (and "hearing") the phrase "bothsiderism" :) I love it! Definitely bothsidering to use it from now on!

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bothsiderism is essentially the outcome of what is in my mind the most infamous vendor lock-in move of all: the FCC's equal time rule. By requiring broadcasters give equal time to both sides, the ruling American parties (Democrat and Republican) effectively granted themselves a duopolony on mass media in the US and excluded all competing views. This is also the kernel of truth at the origin of the highly manipulable term "mainstream media".

What you describe doesn't sound like "bothsiderism", just a two-party system. I don't see how the equal-time rule would be connected to bothsiderism.

As I understand it "bothsiderism" is the practice of not taking a stance for either side of an argument and saying "both sides have valid arguments"/"both sides are equaly wrong", and in the process ignoring that one side is much more right/wrong than the other.

> I think there's blame on both sides, you look at, you look at both sides, I think there's blame on both side, and I have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either.

- Donald Trump after violence at the Charlottesville rally

I'm just reading the wiki, but it sounds like the equal time rule applies to any candidate who wants to buy air time, not just a major party one. Am I misreading it?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-time_rule

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