Twitter Says Edited Biden Clip Implying White Nationalism Doesn't Violate Terms of Service

The future is trash. At least thatโ€™s the message 2020 is sending me so far between the warmongering, violent racism and now blatant misinformation. Suggested Reading The Root 100 – 2021 The Root 100 – 2022 The Root 100 – 2023 Video will return here when scrolled back into view Stefon Diggs and Cardi B…

The future is trash. At least thatโ€™s the message 2020 is sending me so far between the warmongering, violent racism and now blatant misinformation.

Video will return here when scrolled back into view
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach
Stefon Diggs and Cardi B Viral Boat Video Prompts Response from Patriots Coach

The Hill reports that Twitter is refusing to delete a misleading clip of Democratic candidate Joe Biden at a town hall. The initial clip has Biden talking about changing domestic and sexual abuse in American culture, tying it to the countryโ€™s European roots. He states:

โ€œFolks, this is about changing the culture. Our culture. Our culture. Itโ€™s not imported from some African nation or some Asian nation. Itโ€™s our English jurisprudential culture. Our European culture. That says itโ€™s all right.โ€

The version of the clip that went viral removed the initial context and was framed to imply that American culture was distinctly European.

https://twitter.com/HeerJeet/status/1212565412082307072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

That video was viewed over 1.8 million times. Twitter told The Hill that it is not in violation of the Twitter Rules but that they are drafting new policies that limit the reach of videos that have been altered so much as to be misleading.

I really, truly donโ€™t understand why this is such a struggle for tech companies. I mean, I do. Theyโ€™re multi-national corporations and to put a limit on misinformation would wind up directly hurting the politicians responsible for legislating their bank accounts. Capitalists are always going to be capitalists. Iโ€™d like to think there would be some limit though, some fiscal incentive to create a baseline of truth. Half of the problems we face today stem from the fact that there is no factual baseline, people will believe what they want to believe. This isnโ€™t helped by the fact itโ€™s easier than ever to build a platform where you tell people what they want to hear, facts be damned.

You would think that a conspiracy about a pizza place leading to gunfire and Russia successfully using social media to meddle in an election would have been enough to get these companies to crack down on misinformation. Twitter can ban as many political ads as it wants to but if doesnโ€™t crack down on the outright lies, what really is the point?

Straight From The Root

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