Ever since November, I’ve told everyone who would listen that continuing to use Twitter helps Fascism.
Certain people said that statement was “extremist and alienating”.
But now it turns out that Twitter is deliberately amplifying Russian propaganda. And Russia is, in fact, a Fascist regime.
It’s time you all realize the stakes of your social media use.
https://weaponizedspaces.substack.com/p/kremlin-twitter-accounts-get-a-boost
I know that Twitter is where your friends are and you’ve spent 15 years building your social graph on that service.
But is that a good reason to aid and abet the spread of Russian propaganda?
Even if you believe Russia is a far off concern, this isn’t true—it’s patently obvious that Russia is influencing domestic Fascism as well.
The likes of Candace Owens don’t appear in a vacuum. They are clearly influenced by the Kremlin.
“But I’m mocking all the Fascism on Twitter, or blocking it whenever I see it!”
Doesn’t matter. Elon Musk controls the algorithm. As we’ve already seen, he dictates what is seen and unseen.
Anyone who speaks out against his agenda can find themselves talking to a proverbial wall. Or at least brought out as a punching bag when the need arises.
And your blocks don’t matter if Elon really wants to force Twitter to see something.
Your continued presence on Twitter helps no one.
Honestly, my gut is that it's *exactly* hard-headed hardliners like you that make this place so unappealing to black folks.
Again, people like me have ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS had to work within systems that oppress us. We've almost never had the *luxury* to nope out of places on principle.
So when you suggest that it's impossible to be at twitter without supporting Nazis or whatnot, it betrays a very weird level of digital privilege.
Cut it out.
@jrm4 @atomicpoet @BlackAzizAnansi
It seems to me that everyone upthread is correct, and the obvious combination of the perspectives here is the correct one:
Getting people off Twitter is good for the world, and the solution is not to chide individuals into changing individual behavior, but to work even harder to create better alternatives and make them truly welcoming.
(See also individual vs systemic solutions to climate change; many similar lines of thought.)