by IBM on 10/28/18, 6:25 PM with 25 comments
by nostromo on 10/28/18, 7:12 PM
We've seen this argument a million times before with the boogeyman du jour. For example: heavy metal and video games caused Columbine.
The problem is that violent crime has dropped as internet use has gone up. And violent crime has also dropped since social media first became a thing. So even if this is "a thing" -- it's not a widespread trend.
Personally I don't think the medium matters. If Columbine or Ruby Ridge or Waco or Oklahoma City or 9/11 happened today, I'm sure all of these people would have some sort of social media trail for us to look at and say, "a ha, this is why this person was radicalized!" followed by, "Twitter and Facebook and Google need to do a better job censoring their platforms."
by olivermarks on 10/28/18, 7:35 PM
Free speech and investigative reporting and writing is essential in a functioning democracy. This is the former but just an inflammatory opinion piece. ('Why toxic online behavior is spilling into the streets').
by empath75 on 10/28/18, 7:14 PM
It’ll only take throwing a few obnoxious kids into big boy prison for making terroristic threats before the ‘pranksters’ stop doing it and we’re left with the real crazies.
by colordrops on 10/28/18, 7:22 PM
by lez on 10/28/18, 7:24 PM
by tychomaz on 10/28/18, 8:04 PM
by fzeroracer on 10/28/18, 7:23 PM
We see these charlatans spreading vile bigotry and hatred, often directly resulting in the harm of innocent people. People spreading narratives that school shootings don't actually exist. The overall audience these people can reach has grown dramatically and the problem is that it's similar to cult behavior. You can't actually beat them with facts or through arguments. At a certain point we're going to need to face this problem head on and treat it as a proper cult.