{"id":30170,"date":"2024-08-30T20:45:13","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T23:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/?p=30170"},"modified":"2024-08-30T20:45:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T23:45:13","slug":"ms-natalie-elgrably-meta-admits-to-practicing-censorship-meta-avoue-pratiquer-la-censure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bambisafkar.ca\/index.php\/2024\/08\/30\/ms-natalie-elgrably-meta-admits-to-practicing-censorship-meta-avoue-pratiquer-la-censure\/","title":{"rendered":"Ms. Natalie Elgrably: Meta admits to practicing censorship [“Meta avoue pratiquer la censure”]"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bambi is happy that her blog is not linked to social media. Indeed, she manages it herself and no third parties are able to impose their guidelines on it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This being said, despite her shock, she is not surprised to read Ms. Natalie Elgrably’s thoughtful article in the Journal de Montr\u00e9al<\/em> about censorship by Meta<\/em> (https:\/\/shorturl.at\/wWm9b<\/a>). Thanks to Ms. Elgrably for addressing the important topic to many users of social media platforms around the world, not just in North America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a reminder, Meta <\/em>is the company that owns\/operates Facebook<\/em> as well as Instagra<\/em>m, Threads<\/em>, and WhatsApp<\/em> (https:\/\/shorturl.at\/vS39o<\/a>). Below, Bambi will translate Ms. Elgrably’s article, from French to English, with the assistance of her online faithful friend, Mr. Google Translate<\/em>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, publicly admitted what many already suspected, namely that he practiced censorship at the request of the US government. In this case, it censored certain content related to COVID-19, including humorous and satirical posts, as well as posts relating to a New York Post article on allegations of corruption involving the Biden family.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The motivations behind this admission remain unclear. Only Zuckerberg knows whether this is an act of sincere contrition or a strategic maneuver to regain the trust of disillusioned users in the face of algorithms clearly complicit in an imposed discourse. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

QUESTIONS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing is certain, far from clarifying the situation, Zuckerberg’s confession opened a Pandora’s box, releasing a whirlwind of troubling questions. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Washington asked Meta to censor, is this the tip of the iceberg of a larger and more systematic influence? To which other media, social or traditional, did it address the same request? Who submitted to the government yoke to transform a tool for freeing speech into a weapon of massive repression?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also wonder what is the value of a social media platform that agrees to be a vulgar transmission belt for state-sanctioned speech. What confidence should we place in a vector of government propaganda which stifles any dissenting voice in order to better impose the doxa?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if the American government has taken such an initiative, what about the Canadian and Qu\u00e9bec governments? Are they guilty of the same authoritarian excesses?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CRISIS <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By confirming that censorship has infiltrated our democracies, Zuckerberg has legitimized the crisis of confidence from which several platforms are suffering. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fixing this crisis will require more confessions and, ideally, an independent investigation into the extent of state interference. Above all, the platforms will need to understand that censorship, and therefore betraying user trust, is not a viable business model in the long term!”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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