129
‘Harmful’ content should not be promoted via social media algorithms, peers say
(www.nationalworld.com)
this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2023
129 points (95.1% liked)
Technology
58303 readers
11 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each another!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Approved Bots
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Every topic could be considered "harmful" to someone, somewhere on this planet.
Like someone else mentioned, content involving alcohol could be harmful to alcoholics. Content involving drugs could be harmful to addicts. Content discussing SA/Rape could be harmful to survivors.
Discussions on controversial topics will always be harmful to someone. Just a few posts up from this one was a discussion about Quran burning. That's harmful to devout and fundamentalist muslims, should that be banned?
Then let's not even get into the subject of humour. What one person considers banter could be considered harmful by another. Ironic communities suddenly become harmful as soon as the irony is lost on a single person (RIP 2balkan4u).
Harmful means something different to everyone. Trying to apply a blanket definition to it will just stifle all discussion, or turn your community into a pure hugbox.
We can start by distinguishing between harmful and offensive.
we previously had the examples like “your right to swing your arms stops at my face” or “can’t yell FIRE in a crowded theater” where words or actions were prohibited because they directly harm others
burning the Bible/Torah/Quran/flag is offensive, NOT harmful. The relevant group you’re trying to piss off has a right to be pissed off, and you’re not immune from the consequences of your words, but no actual harm
spreading falsehoods about vaccination leading to people avoiding vaccination causes actual disease and death. You’re indirectly harming others
So you can make the argument that we’re just making the same type of limits that we always had but adjusted for modern realities.
I just had to look up that Balkan4u incident, I must have been out of the loop.
Wow. Reddit admins are a dumpster fire.