Online Censorship As We Approach Multiple National Elections

[Freija]

Do you think there's a problem with people posting misinfo/disinfo online, to the point that we have to censor them?

Perhaps better education and awareness of how to spot mis/disinfo would be more effective? This is a multi-faceted question – yes, I think people posting  mis/disinfo online is a problem and not necessarily about politics or elections (said as part of a demographic frequently subject to such bullshit) but censoring/cancelling and silencing are only band-aids. However, with how stupid people are today, some handholding might be necessary and appropriate?

Or is posting misinfo/disinfo (during election years, or not) a fundamental right?

Having a fundamental right to lie seems to be a given as everyday people, so-called journalists, talking heads and politicians do it freely and often without repercussion or remorse hoping they won’t be fact checked or debunked. I don’t see any way around this but when it comes to identified state sponsored blatant mis/disinfo and ludicrous online lies, I think authorities should have a right to intervene when necessary.

Maybe not specifically through censorship as pointing out such actions and actors might be enough but with today's ever growing consumption of bias confirming sources, who knows?

Sometimes opinions are full of misinfo/disinfo, therefore, battling misinfo/disinfo means battling opinion, doesn't it?

It absolutely does.

Have you noticed an uptick in censorship recently?

I don’t get out much so not really.