Do you care if a social media companies' employees lean almost entirely to one side politically?

[Josie]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

 

[ApersonLIKEallOFyou]

No, as long as their potential bias doesn’t impact how they maintain their platform.

So, “no, I don’t care” but with that caveat.

 

[nota bene]

I don't care in which direction anybody leans; what I care about is the suppression of free speech.

 

[Josie]

I don't care in which direction anybody leans; what I care about is the suppression of free speech.

Same. I'm fine with it as long as they are fair in their moderation.

 

[PoS]

Depends on how invested I am to their service.

 

[TheParser]

No.

So long as they do not let their views prevent a full expression of various viewpoints.

 

[coyote505]

I care because I have yet to see an institution where all the members lean strongly one way which in fact operates neutrally. In theory, it may be possible, but in human psychology, it is NOT. Witness the press, the public schools, etc.

 

[nota bene]

Depends on how invested I am to their service.

Point taken, but although I don't use FB (full disclosure: I have access to my kid's old account, I have never posted) or Twitter, the suppression of free speech should be of grave concern for all Americans.

 

[Spunkylama]

I'd rather know that way I will simply go elsewhere if it's a joke of a platform.

 

[Mycroft]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

Nope...as long as their actions at work don't conflict with the goals and policies of their employer, they can lean wherever they want.

But your question reminds me of something I read this morning...

Twitter Inc. locked down changes to its social networking platform through Friday after accepting a $44 billion bid from billionaire Elon Musk, making it harder for employees to make unauthorized changes, according to people familiar with the matter.

For now, Twitter won’t allow product updates unless they’re business-critical, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the situation is private. The company accepted a $54.20-a-share bid from Musk after a whirlwind courtship that began with the Tesla Inc. magnate disclosing a 9% stake in Twitter earlier this month.

Product changes will require approval from a vice president, the people said. Twitter imposed the temporary ban to keep employees who may be miffed about the deal from “going rogue,” according to one of the people.

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

It appears Twitter is concerned about the lean of their employees and what they might do to the company.

 

[Josie]

I'd rather know that way I will simply go elsewhere if it's a joke of a platform.

What would make it a "joke of a platform"?

 

[Goshin]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

Yes. Social media has become our "public forum" of the modern era, and it is important that speech remain free and diverse.

Since people have a very hard time putting their own bias aside in their work, it matters.

 

[Spunkylama]

What would make it a "joke of a platform"?

one run by extremists that push conspiracy theories

 

[antiquity]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

When they can control the out come of elections by censuring opposing opinions, that to help one candidate over another yes...but being on the outside since I don't do Twitter or Facebook I really don't have a dog in that fight.
When Musk has complete control I may consider Twitter to express my opinion. Maybe.

 

[antiquity]

one run by extremists that push conspiracy theories

You mean like the Hunter Biden laptop, Alternatives Covid cures, spying on the Trump WH or the Border conspiracies that social media has censured for political purposes?

 

[MamboDervish]

Social media companies are private business operations and, as such, have every right to determine the type of speech they want to distribute. It can range anywhere across the political spectrum from one extreme to the other, and it has the right to exclude any persons or ideas from participation. Our engagement in it is certainly not a guarantee protected by the 1st Amendment, and anyone's banishment from it cannot be construed as a violation of our rights.

Here on DP is a perfect case in point. Those who operate this site, and oversee the content, have every right to set and interpret whatever rules they wish, and suspend or banish anyone who violates them. We all play here at their behest, and nobody's "rights" are violated if we get kicked off.

 

[ApersonLIKEallOFyou]

You mean like the Hunter Biden laptop, Alternatives Covid cures, spying on the Trump WH or the Border conspiracies that social media has censured for political purposes?

Specifically regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story that was initially blocked by Twitter, what part of it is a conspiracy theory?

 

[Indydave]

I do not care.....as free men they are entitled to whatever they want to believe......however I will not accept as worthy of my time any commentary that is biased to any extreme or as just plain ignorant

 

[tacomancer]

I don’t care as long as it doesn’t get so bad that they try to overthrow the government like happened in Jan 6 or use an AI to influence people at the subconscious level.

Their platform, their moderation rules, nobody has to use it. I don’t see it as a free speech issue since it’s a business.

 

[Captain Adverse]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

Yes, and it doesn't matter which "side" the lean is, I would avoid it.

1. In the first case I don't need "ideological reinforcement," which is all that happens when you live in a echo chamber of agreement.

2. In the second case, I prefer to hear all sides of an issue to have an informed foundation so as to engage/improve my own response skills at research and critical thinking.

 

[molten_dragon]

I don't care if it doesn't impact how they run their platform. And I don't care if their platform is small. When their platform becomes large enough that it becomes a critical part of how people communicate and their political bias affects how they run the platform, then I care.

 

[trixare4kids]

I don't care in which direction anybody leans; what I care about is the suppression of free speech.

And yet so many aren't. Isn't that just pathetic?

 

[phoenix2020]

You mean like the Hunter Biden laptop, Alternatives Covid cures, spying on the Trump WH or the Border conspiracies that social media has censured for political purposes?

Yes precisely! I would want to know if they believe in nutty conspiracy theories about Hunter's laptop, injecting UV light and drinking bleach and the like. You see, if they buy into these kinds of stupid conspiracy theories instead of working with facts and in reality, then I know that as a whole they are incapable of dealing with real-world, fact-based topics that demand transparency, like cybersecurity, and I'm going to avoid them so that my information doesn't leak.

There's a reason right-wing, conspiracy-theory-friendly social media efforts invariably get hacked, and badly. It's because if you have a culture that values conspiracies, stories and soundbites over critical and rational thought, what you're not getting is a place where bad news is something you have to listen to and react to. And that's how you get hacked.

 

[Captain Adverse]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

Yes, because if they all lean one direction politically, this tends to create a mental gestalt around that view which will be expressed in how they operate and how they deal with "customers."

IMO in the case of Twitter, Facebook, and to a certain extent Google's holdings as examples, that gestalt is/was "woke" intolerance.

 

[NolanVoyd]

Do you care if a social media company had employees that were almost entirely on the right or left politically? Please vote and discuss!

Are you suggesting social media companies should employ affirmative action for conservatives?

I thought you guys hated affirmative action?