I give Amendment 230 three “F’s”
When comparing three statements about Civil Rights and Amendment 230, it becomes clear that freedom of speech without censorship is the foundation of independent thinking. The Fourth Estate, journalism, has the power to shape social norms and its reach has become limitless with the internet. When internet platforms’ hosts are biased and censor content to shape social norms, a recipe for socialism is easily devised and that is why President Trump signed an Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship on May 28, 2020. The three statements are relative to the riots, protests, and quests for social justice from the 1960’s through today.
1. During a recent interview with a Black Lives Matter peaceful caravan protest organizer, the following statement was made to me, “We need equality, break down systems of racial injustice and discrimination,” Sherilla Horton said, “Same fight from Civil Rights.”
2. On Twitter, this statement was made, by Jakoff (2020), “So it’s whites causing black people to kill each other in their own neighborhoods? Right wing fascists? These are left wing run cities burning and have been run by the left wingers for years. Was it not LBJ that said he’ll have these “xxxxxxx” voting Democrat for 200 years?”
3. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson (2020) said, “I’ll have them xxxxxxx voting Democratic for the next two hundred years. [Said to two governors regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the then- Air Force Once steward Robert MacMillan.]”
Amendment 230 protects the platform’s host from which these statements were made and are shared in social media from liability, thusly protecting free speech. The statement made to me will soon be shared on an online news outlet, which may be viewed as social media because it has a Facebook page where consumers share comments. Twitter is a social media site and Goodreads also allows comments. Each host has the ability to censor.
Concerning statement number one, the protest was organized by a cumulation of organizations including members from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), The Black Panthers, Cancel the Rents.org, and local civic groups which carry large percentages of Democrats.
In a Zoom meeting with the caravan protest organizers, men angrily complained of police presence being solicited by the female organizers. The females said the police would protect them during the caravan protest. One male remarked that the protest was about them (the police) and did not want them around and a female replied that she wanted the protest to be about change. This type of conflict was carried throughout the Zoom meeting. When the men were assured that they would get to play their music loudly and holler whatever they wanted from their vehicles even in the wealthy area of Pinehurst, the conflict ceased. This example of the environment of the organization serves to show the mixed ideas within the organization while it reveals their goal of freedom of speech even when they do not share the same ideas.
If the Zoom meeting had been Facebook posts and comments dialogue and had been censored by Facebook dictators to reveal only one side of their members’ ideas, then it would be wrong under Amendment 230 and the host would face losing its license.
Concerning statement number two, the majority of cities under terrorist attacks from protestors are Democratic. The upheaval serves to create more upheaval and disrupt voting in person, just like the COVID-19 quarantine does.
Concerning statement number three, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 enticed Democrat votes and still does largely because hiring policies guarantee hiring based on color, not on qualifications alone.
Amendment 230 will protect each of these media sites from liability and that will embolden free speech because if the host site censors free speech the host site will lose its operating license.
For example, L.B. Johnson’s quote has been disputed by Snopes, (a Canadian based company) and despite plagiarism charges over his biography, the quote stands because it was witnessed.
Snopes is often used to check for accuracy, and it is important to know that Snopes is guilty of using a “wilderness of mirrors” to confound media consumers (Leetaru, 2016).
Therefore, it may be concluded that Amendment 230 may free Americans from the media’s censorship, but thorough researching is still the most effective way to make intelligent decisions. Just like the 28 million missing mailed-in ballots being disputed by Snopes, the underlying fact of the dispute revealed that the integrity of mailed-in ballots is lacking (Mikkleson, 2020). Regrettably, people who have not thoroughly researched mail-in voting believe it is a good idea when their voice as a vote has a strong potential for being unheard.
If people continue to be sheep-chickens, that means following the crowd because they are too weak to stand up for what they believe is true and because they have been too lazy to research the facts to learn that they have been manipulated by the Democratic party, they stand a good chance of being corralled into a communistic pen. And America will continue to deal with ANTIFA’s terrorism and the Civil War I spoke about in a news writing class last semester will come to fruition and may be announced by the media as “Democrats get their war!”
Amendment 230 is a positive addition when weighed under our Constitution because it further frees free speech.
Cheers!
Stephanie M. Sellers
References
Jakoff, Ivan. (2020, June 2). “So it’s whites causing black people to kill each other in their own neighborhoods? Right wing facists? These are left wing [Tweet]. Pinochet Riot Control. https://twitter.com/IvanJakoff
Johnson, L.B. (1964). Lyndon B. Johnson Quotes. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15769.Lyndon_B_Johnson?page=2
Leetaru, L. (2016, December 22). The Daily Mail Snopes Story And Fact Checking the Fact Checkers. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2016/12/22/the-daily-mail-snopes-story-and-fact-checking-the-fact-checkers/#461c715227f8
Mikkelson, D. (2020, May 21). Did 28 Million Mail-In Ballots Go ‘Missing’ in Last Four Elections? Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/mail-in-ballots-missing/
“It’s increasingly controversial and frequently misinterpreted, however. Critics argue that its broad protections let powerful companies ignore real harm to users. On the other hand, some lawmakers incorrectly claim that it only protects “neutral platforms” — a term that’s irrelevant to the law.”https://www.theverge.com/21273768/section-230-explained-internet-speech-law-definition-guide-free-moderation
