Facebook reverses ban on posts claiming Covid-19 was man-made

Should not have banned the posts in the first place.

Blunt instruments cause more grief than they resolve. And, no matter where you are on the target info, you can expect to see those instruments used in ways you find toxic.

The answer to free speech we don't like is more free speech.

[And yes, I know all about the Internet being a peer system, speech carried when it has value, private entities, the whole nine.

But, we now find ourselves in a very unhealthy position. Big media is not doing investigative journalism, and it very clearly does not want the competition brought by others who are doing investigative work.

They are getting caught up in the blunt attempts to marginalize misinformation. It is not hard to notice how convenient that is right now. Big media gets fact checked and responds how?

They did not up their game, instead went after their competition under the cloak of misinformation.]

Having these big companies implement and exercise editorial control makes them the police and it puts them in position of great power without an appropriate level of accountability.

In some cases, there is some process. In others, not so much.

Right now, quality indie journalists with a far better record than the usual major media entities are being suppressed in favor of "authoritative" sources, and it appears wealth, size and an inclination to avoid challenging official narratives makes one "authoritative."

The made in a lab speculation was a perfectly valid avenue to explore. Did we not see the likes of CNN attacking people doing that only to then see The Wall Street Journal suggest it a short while later?

I did.

And make no mistake, I am not defending misinformation here. Not at all.

I am definitely making the argument misinformation is being misused and abused as a means to shape public opinion in ways powerful people find favorable.

It is not being used in an attempt to get a better, more lucid look at the reality of things.

This is a mistake.

We should work toward due process somehow. "Community moderation" rules just do not scale and are not appropriate for what has become a defacto public square holding very significant influence.

The current dynamics are just not contributing to a healthy body politic.

Facebook is doubling down on its mistake after admitting it: https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/26/22455076/facebook-misinfo...

It's sad the old days of the internet are long gone. It was the one time in history where anybody could say anything they wanted. Show anything they wanted (more or less). It's also concerning to see how people with power enable control over people whom they don't consider "vetted." Makes me thing of the Roman Republic and how only the nobles can participate while the plebs wallow in pity alone.

I don’t think many people even use Facebook any more.