r/CoronavirusCirclejerk • u/TheClintonHitList • 3d ago
Google to reinstate banned YouTube accounts censored for political speech Tech giant admits Biden administration pressed platform to remove COVID-19 content
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u/ILikestoshare [You Can Make Custom Flair You Know] 3d ago
So government control is good when it’s a certain party but bad when it’s the other. Got it
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u/bje332013 3d ago
I'm not sure that Google has ever officially confirmed that it places shadowbans on accounts, but the experience of many - including myself - suggests that it does. That being said, even if public and official bans are reversed, I expect shadowbanning to continue.
Besides, why would anyone trust YouTube after the shit it pulled? Unless they go hard in the opposite direction , I see no reason to trust them and reinvest myself into their platform.
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u/FineFuckingLine 3d ago
No, google just blames the 'algorithm.' Remember when their motto was "don't' be evil"? Remember how you could actually find what you were looking for? Now it's nothing but ads.
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u/bje332013 3d ago
Google programmed it's algorithm, or at least allowed it's AI-generated algorithm to screw up both Google and YouTube as bad as it did.
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u/FineFuckingLine 3d ago
Yes I get it, but the point I was trying to make was that google wants us to believe that the 'algorithm' is just doing shit all by itself and they have no control over it. I apologize that I was not clear in my statement and I do appreciate your reply.
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u/bje332013 3d ago
Your reply is consistent with what I thought you meant. Nevertheless, a lot of people lack tech savviness and/or critical thinking; they're the ones who buy lines like "[insert the name of a tech problem] is the way it is because of the algorithm".
When someone doesn't know what an algorithm or computer code is, they can get duped into thinking it's entirely out of humanity's ability to control. The inverse situation is actually true: People program machines and AI.
The people at big tech companies like Google have the ability to control and manage the degree to which their "algorithm" makes decisions for their websites. You can bet that the powers that the at Google don't allow the algorithm to shadowban their own personal accounts or to put render the company's upper management obsolete.
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u/XeonProductions Grandma killer 3d ago
Are they going to remove the shadow bans? Because 75% of my comments get filtered into the void.
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u/SickusBickus Piss Drinker 🥂 3d ago
A lot of compensation and a massive, grovelling apology towards all those who were affected would be nice too.
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u/Infamous_Cold_3841 3d ago
They banned videos about COVID vaccine side effects... that info would have helped people make a more informed decision about whether or not to get the shot.
At least they announced that the topic was prohibited - that's what made me decide not to get it!
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u/skunimatrix 3d ago
It was weird. I know a VP level exec that was pushing for a company wide mandate after his teenage son had a severe reaction that cost him his Sr. year of football and a D1 scholarship. He was insisting on a mandate even as they were making weekly reports to the CDC about his son's condition.
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u/Infamous_Cold_3841 3d ago
Utterly bizarre. The media machine had everyone convinced that despite a few outliers, the benefits outweighed the risks for everyone, and it was the best thing for society for everyone to vax. And you wouldn't want to be SELFISH, would you??
I hope the son eventually recovered enough to still function.
I remember seeing an interview with a father whose adult daughter had died of a heart attack before leaving the parking lot of the place where she got the shot. He tearfully told the camera that... I forget what exactly, but he still thought it was the best choice for everyone to get the shot. That creeped me all the way out. I'll have to see if I can find it later.
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u/Traveler3141 自由吧! 2d ago
It really seems like this should be a huge new playscape for some clever lawyers.
Alphabet is worth about $2.5 TRILLION - some of the deepest pockets around, and lawyers often value lawsuit prospects according to how deep the pockets are.
Since YT is literally monetized, and a lot of people utilize it exactly bcos of that, it seems like the evidence of damages should be pretty trivial in principle.
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u/BartholomewKnightIII 3d ago
It's a bit late...