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The simultaneous decisions by Facebook, Apple, YouTube and Spotify to ban controversial right-wing commentator Alex Jones has sparked a furious debate about free speech and overreach by social media giants.<\/p>\n
But despite the fact that some on the left are celebrating Jones\u2019 demise, banning people from the platforms outright is\u00a0\u201cbad policy\u201d<\/em>\u00a0regardless of what they are saying, conservative columnist and radio host Gina Loudon told RT.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether or not you agree with Alex Jones, I would be just the same amount of adamant that I think it\u2019s bad policy to ban people no matter what, really, no matter what,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0Loudon said.<\/p>\n Loudon said that while the likes of Facebook and Apple are private companies and can\u00a0\u201cdo whatever they want\u201d<\/em>\u00a0to do, in the long run, silencing conservative voices will not serve them well.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not saying they shouldn\u2019t be able to do this, and I\u2019m certainly not saying that government should regulate whether or not private companies can make decisions like this, but I am saying I think it\u2019s a bad decision and I think that in the long run it will not pay off for these companies,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n We don’t have to imagine the slippery slope argument w\/ Alex Jones \/ Infowars because Twitter has already banned and suspended countless conservatives for mainstream views. Yes, he’s awful, this we all know. But it doesn’t mean they’re not coming for you, b\/c they already have.<\/p>\n \u2014 Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) August 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Loudon called the collective banning a\u00a0\u201cslippery slope\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and said that it was likely that some new\u00a0\u201cconservative entity\u201d<\/em>\u00a0might step up with competitive platforms if the current ones continue to be\u00a0\u201cone-sided\u201d<\/em>\u00a0when it comes to political speech. If that happens, a new platform could even relegate the likes of Facebook to\u00a0\u201crelative obscurity,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0she said.<\/p>\n The ban against Jones has reinvigorated the debate around whether the major social media platforms treat voices on the political left and right equally.<\/p>\n Some high profile conservatives, including members of Congress, have also complained in recent weeks that they had been\u00a0\u201cshadowbanned\u201d<\/em>\u00a0by Twitter, a process whereby the company can make a person\u2019s account and tweets more difficult to find.<\/p>\n Their suspicions were confirmed by reporting from Vice News which found that the so-called\u00a0\u201cshadowbanning\u201d<\/em>\u00a0was not affecting liberals and Democrats in the same way it was affecting those on the right.<\/p>\n Since Jones\u2019 ban, some conservative commentators have pointed to the New York Times\u2019 recent decision to hire controversial writer Sarah Jeong who has a long\u00a0history<\/a>\u00a0of posting derogatory tweets about white people, including comments like\u00a0\u201cwhite men are b*llshit\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and referring to\u00a0\u201cdumbass f*cking white people\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n Facebook, Apple, and YouTube censored @RealAlexJones<\/a> citing \u201chate speech\u201d<\/p>\n Do they know who the NY Times just hired?<\/p>\n \u2014 Jack Posobiec 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 7, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Racist Sarah Jeong gets a position at the highest eschelons of journalistic power, while Alex Jones is banned. He may be all sorts of crazy, but she’s the damn racist. She actively called for violence against a race.<\/p>\n \u2014 Bobo Z. (@LeninsBarber) August 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Others have suggested while Jones was banned for\u00a0\u201chate speech\u201d<\/em>\u00a0on the platforms, prominent liberals often face no repercussions for extreme speech, including Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-California) who conservatives accused of inciting\u00a0\u201cmob violence\u201d<\/a><\/em>\u00a0when she encouraged her supporters to harass members of the Trump administration in public.<\/p>\n Why won\u2019t Democrat leaders denounce these ANTIFA thugs? <\/p>\n This is the new base of the Democrat party. <\/p>\n They hate America and will go to violent measures to attack conservatives<\/p>\n This is @RepMaxineWaters<\/a> America – she called for these sort of attacks <\/p>\n See the hatred yourself pic.twitter.com\/rnVWH8tOt5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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