Shocking News: Communication Tools Don't Discriminate

from the who-knew? dept

Tue, Nov 18th 2008 7:14pm — Mike Masnick

In response to an article about how "Web 2.0 gives new tools to hate groups" I was tempted to write an entire post, mimicking the original, except changing every instance of "hate" to something positive. Yes, blogs and social networks can and are being used by hate groups. But they're also being used to combat ignorance and hate. They're just communication tools, and the fact that hate groups use them (as well as anti-ignorance groups) is hardly surprising. But rather than creating some moral panic about hate groups using these tools, why not encourage more people to use such tools to combat ignorance and hate? Instead, we get a bunch of supposed "experts" talking about how these uses need to be shut down. That does nothing productive. It just makes the hate group members feel even more angry and persecuted, which just fuels the hate. The solution is to educate -- and (oh, look at that!) web 2.0 provides some pretty good tools for spreading knowledge and fighting ignorance.

Filed Under: communications, hate groups, web 2.0

11 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 18 Nov 2008 @ 7:51pm

I hate Web 2.0
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Nov 2008 @ 8:28pm

Technology, by its very nature, is neutral.

The hammer and chisel Michelangelo used to create The David could also be used to destroy it.
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jonnyq, 18 Nov 2008 @ 8:51pm

Re:
I'm fairly sure commenting on a blog is the worst plce to say that.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Nov 2008 @ 12:32am

heh, this reminds me of something Riley Freeman (Boondocks) said: "If you were a parent concerned with violence, who would you pick on? Some guy with a warehouse full of guns or a some nerd making computer games?"
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PaulT (profile), 19 Nov 2008 @ 1:11am

Something that constantly amuses me about watching America is the way that people always misinterpret "freedom of speech". True freedom means that the pedophile and neo-Nazi has the same right to speech as you do. No exceptions. That doesn't mean they have freedom from consequences of said speech, but that they should not be censored from saying it.

True, we in Europe are no better, but we don't spend our time worshipping a 1st amendment then try to violate it because our feelings were hurt.
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Chronno S. Trigger, 19 Nov 2008 @ 6:04am

The next step
If we are going to ban new web 2.0 tools because it "gives new tools to hate groups" then we need to ban things like bullhorns.

I seem to remember those old videos where the guy in the wight robe and hood was yelling into a bullhorn to try and convince some people that other people were inferior.
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Known coward, 19 Nov 2008 @ 6:04am

Piece Love and understanding,
I’m sure we all agree that we ought to love one another and I know there are people in The world that do not love their fellow human beings and I hate people like that.

On a serious note we only need to disable information dissemination tools if it protects the children.
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nasch, 19 Nov 2008 @ 9:06am

Re: Piece Love and understanding,
On a serious note we only need to disable information dissemination tools if it protects the children.

Please tell me you're still kidding.
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r. decline, 19 Nov 2008 @ 10:33am

i'm still sticking with what my friend said about web 2.0.
hate speech, peace speech, its mostly over run with just plain crap.

"Web 2.0 - We have allowed you to generate the content and this is what you have produced. We are going back to Web 1.0."
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Bill Johnson, 20 Nov 2008 @ 2:16pm

Used for hatespeech
Well, on that basis, we'll all be out cellphones, computers, walkie-talkies.....we might even have to start cutting out tongues upon birth, so as not to allow any wrong thoughts to escape into the wild where they might replicate...

Riiiigggghhhhttt.
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sassy tom, 23 Mar 2009 @ 4:00pm

hate em niggs
niggs suck!
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