## The Manufacturing of Consent in the Social Media Era --- ### Old Dog <img src="https://i.imgur.com/38Qp1o5.jpg" style="max-height: 500px"></img> --- ### New Tricks  --- ## What This Covers - Catalog phenomenon - Analyze causes, propose theories, ask questions - Make predictions, propose actions - Asides and stories as desired --- ## Unprecedented Censorship of 2020-21 --- ### Aside: It Is Censorship - Censorship is not just from the government. - Censorship can be consistent with property rights. - Censorship is the restriction of speech for political or ideological reasons.  --- ## COVID Censorship Coronavirus related content was banned from every major social media site, even from the accredited and prestigious.  --- ### COVID: Bakersfield Doctor Video News interview from ABC with doctors Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi is deleted from YouTube and other social media.  --- ### COVID: Scott Atlas Dr. Scott Atlas is a fellow at Stanford and was a formal advisor to the President when he was censored.  --- ### COVID: Lab Leak Hypothesis   --- ### COVID: Tom Woods   --- ### COVID: Senate Testimony Footage from testimony given from licensed physician Dr. Pierre Kory to the U.S. Senate was scrubbed from YouTube.  --- ### COVID Censorship: Other Examples - America's Frontline Doctors - Ron Paul - Plandemic / Hold Up - Many, many more --- ### Aside: Censorship Is Anti-Science - Science is the open debate of competing ideas and theories. - Ideas widely considered false sometimes end up correct. - Conspiracy theories are typically false but sometimes true.  --- ### Censorship of Trump Trump was banned from every single major social media site within a few days for "inciting violence".  --- ### Trump Inciting Violence <iframe id="lbry-iframe" width="560" height="315" src="https://odysee.com/$/embed/Trump-Telling-Protestors-To-Go-Home-In-Peace/d1653e742eff7b44a6b9724daa357ae2213b4e31?r=9wKhJPioiNxTBjT6Zoqaf7LNDJcauUjg" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- ### Mainstream Political Speech <iframe id="lbry-iframe" width="560" height="315" src="https://odysee.com/$/embed/Maxine-Waters-Incites-Riots/2b6ae68fea64888bb14a0985df46630e2efb5e01?r=9wKhJPioiNxTBjT6Zoqaf7LNDJcauUjg&t=63" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- ### Aside: Semiotics are Complex (1) "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" -- Henry II, preceding the death of Thomas Becket  --- ### Aside: Semiotics are Complex (2)  --- ### Trump Ban Extended To Footage... Journalist Ford Fischer has been unable to upload documentary footage of January 6th and his accounts have been restricted.  --- ### ...To Entire Platforms Could there be any troubling incentives, here?  --- ### And They Made Up Rules To Do It With Trump and coronavirus, there was little attempt to even be consistent with past statements or promises.  --- ## The Machine is Bigger Than Bigtech --- ### Media Sets and Supports the Narrative  --- ### (And It's Not A Secret)  --- ### NGOs, Universities, and Institutions Legitimize It (1) The non-profit that produced the report used to deplatform Tom Woods.  --- ### NGOs, Universities, and Institutions Legitimize It (2) WHO changed the definition of herd immunity, allowing the previous definition to be policed as fake.  --- ### NGOs, Universities, and Institutions Legitimize It (3) Dictionaries updated the sentiment of "sexual preference" in real time.  --- ## Analysis --- ### Conspiracy vs. Prospiracy Some behavior is coordinated (e.g. takedowns). But the dynamic may be more _propspiracy_ than conspiracy: perceived as conspiracies, but lacking central coordination. <small>Erik. S. Raymond: "The members don’t necessarily know they are members, nor are they fully conscious of what binds them together. Prospiracies are not created through oaths sworn by guttering torchlight, but by shared ideology or institutional culture."</small> --- ### Why We Believe Things We believe many things for reasons other than being accurate or correct.  (Read Robin Hanson) --- ### Cultural Homogeneity Liberal to conservative ratios - Google - 13:1 - Facebook - 8:1 - Apple - 20:1 - Media ("mainstream") - 8-20:1 - Universities - 10+:1, 100+:1 in many fields <small>https://observer.com/2020/11/big-tech-2020-presidential-election-donation-breakdown-ranking/</small> <small>https://publicintegrity.org/politics/journalists-shower-hillary-clinton-with-campaign-cash/</small> --- ### Two-Movie Reality Increased politicization drives wildly different interpretations of the same events (Adams' Two-Movie Reality).   --- ### Revolt of the Public Martin Gurri theorizes that social media is driving reduced control from elites, as well as confidence and trust in them, resulting in civil disorder.  --- ### One Ring Phenomenon Revealing a source of power creates a fight to control it.  --- ## What's next? --- ### It's Not Over  --- ### Enlighten Others - More people are becoming aware than ever - Show primary sources, disparities - Use visceral or relevant examples - Use comedy - Make credible predictions  --- ### Use Alternatives The internet cannot be stopped. The soft totalitarianism of past eras cannot be repeated. - Odysee.com (LBRY) - Minds.com - Gab or Mastodon - Signal / Telegram --- ### Use Cryptocurrency You don't have to buy a lot, but buy some. At least become comfortable with using it. Payment rails are one of the central points of control. Escaping the financial system will make more things possible. --- ### We're Actually Winning