• Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Shadow banning is definitely too much imo. It’s simply unethical no matter how you look at it.

    First, it doesn’t do anything to prevent bots. It takes less than a second for a bot to check whether they are shadow banned. It’s simply a tool to bully and gaslight people - just block them. Why these abusive games?

    • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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      6 months ago

      IDK, I think it can be an effective tool against trolls because it wastes the time they’d otherwise spend harassing people.

      But that’s not what RFK is, he’s a legitimate candidate for president and should be given the same consideration other candidates are, not shadowbanned because someone doesn’t like his message.

      • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        Effectiveness is irrelevant here. Breaking troll’s kneecaps would be very effective too.

        This mental manipulation and gaslighting has no place in our society. We’re literally suffering the consequences of this right now.

              • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

                You don’t see how opaque manipulation fuels conspiracies and paranoia? Come on dude.

                • kn98@feddit.nl
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                  6 months ago

                  It seems to me that’s it’s often the conspiracy-theorists that get shadowbanned.

                  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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                    6 months ago

                    You have real stats to back that claim? Because leaving this up to benevolent dictators is kinda silly.

            • Jestzer@lemmy.world
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              6 months ago

              So, you’re suggesting that shadow banning has caused the rise of the alt-right and their conspiracy theories, which implies that they wouldn’t exist without shadow bans.

              Or they already exist and are in such a fragile state that even an explicit ban makes them upset (which it does.)

                • Jestzer@lemmy.world
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                  6 months ago

                  Again, if you’re already that far down the rabbit hole, anything that tells you, “No, you’re wrong” is going to upset you. That includes a shadow ban, explicit ban, or somebody just telling you that you’re wrong.

                  If you think I’m wrong and you think shadow bans especially push people towards being alt-right and believing conspiracy theories, then I’d love to see a study that says so because that’s what would likely convince me.

                  • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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                    6 months ago

                    Nah man it’s completely different when society regulates itself through transparent rules vs opaque ones. It’s more organized and self balancing.

        • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works
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          6 months ago

          Like any tool, it’s bad when used improperly. Shadowbanning should be used to waste trolls’ time; it’s especially effective for cheaters in MMOs (lump the cheaters together so they don’t bother anyone). Shadowbanning shouldn’t be used to control the discussion, like silencing an unpopular or undesirable (to the platform) individual.

          I think we’re doing too much of the latter, but that doesn’t mean shadowbanning as a tool is morally bankrupt.

          • Dr. Moose@lemmy.world
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            6 months ago

            It’s definitely morally bankrupt imo and we can agree to disagree here as I don’t think this topic can be expanded further.