Unlike some commentators, whose views and opinions are to use an old phrase, ‘go up and down like a whore’s drawers’, depending on what subject is popular at the time, in order to maximise their audience and therefore their income, Douglas Murray has consistently been on the side of free speech and liberty as well as a staunch defender of Western values.
In a recent article in the Daily Mail in the UK he takes aim at the power of social media companies and big tech along with the baleful influence of former Obama staffers and washed up British Liberal Democrat members, such as Sir Nick Clegg over at Facebook, on social media. He also points out that social media uses its customers far more than the customers use social media.
Here’s a short excerpt from Mr Murray’s excellent piece:
After the Democrats lost the 2016 election to Trump, the Big Tech companies employed swathes of men and women formerly employed by the Obama administration. And they duly brought their predictable prejudices to Silicon Valley, embedding biases that didn’t need much more reinforcing.
It was the same in the UK. When former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg lost his seat at the 2017 Election, where did he find people willing to pay him top dollar?
Why Silicon Valley, of course, where the Liberal Democrat leader became Facebook’s ‘head of global policy and communications’.
Like his American counterparts, Clegg dragged large numbers of otherwise unemployable Liberal Democrats into Silicon Valley in his lucrative wake. All earning top dollar to dictate what you and I and everybody else can know.
Mr Murray added:
And when they did attempt to clean up their act, they moved too late and in dubious directions.
For example, while Twitter started removing certain ‘Right-wing’ provocateurs such as Katie Hopkins from their platform, they continued to allow the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (who carried out the 2008 Mumbai massacre, among other atrocities) to operate an account in plain sight.
The most powerful platforms in the world seemed to be run by the slowest kids in the class.
In fact, these companies are way out of their depth. And it is not just ignorance that they display.
Despite Google’s famous early slogan, what they and other Big Tech companies have done throughout their history really is distinctly, deeply, evil.
This is a piece by Mr Murray, like nearly all his stuff, that is well worth reading.
Good piece. On a similar note
Sociology Professor Frank Furedi has written a long read for Spiked-Online defending the important role of scepticism at a time when it is increasingly considered a threat.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/01/08/we-need-scepticism-more-than-ever/
Douglas Murray has made a similar argument in a piece for UnHerd called “Don’t censor the lockdown sceptics“.
https://unherd.com/2021/01/dont-censor-the-lockdown-sceptics/
OT FYI
I’ll check out the Furedi article later. I read his book ‘Licensed to Hug’ about the overreach of the vetting and barring system and its negative effect on children’s voluntary activities and was impressed. It’s linked here: http://www.civitas.org.uk/pdf/LicensedToHug2ndEd18Aug10.pdf
Thanks for the video of the Hassidic Shabbat dinner. Looks very joyful. Being non-Orthodox our Shabbat’s are not as strict as those of the Hassadim but we don’t light the fire and I do not write on Shabbat. I once knew of a Hassidic man who stood there and watched as his factory burn as he was not allowed to call the fire brigade on Shabbat as using a phone is one of the 39 classes of prohibited work that can’t be done on the Sabbath. Thankfully a passing non-Jew phoned the brigade and the vast majority of his property was saved. Personally I believe that this guy went a little too far especially as the Sabbath rules can be broken if it is to save a life.
I see no link to Douglas Murray’s article – have you been “Zuckered” ?
(Same thing when trying to watch an article on Youtube yesterday re the pro-Democracy protests at the Capitol – each time the commentator introduced a piece of footage such as the police removing the barriers to allow the protesters in / or of the police taking selfies with protesters / or the protesters appearing to be far more like Antifa in their appearance, equipment, and behaviour in scaling the building, then – Zap ! – no footage…..)
No that was a problem between keyboard and chair at this end. Made link error.
That’s a great piece.
Douglas Murray’s stuff is nearly always excellent. Even when I do not come to the same conclusions on a subject as he does he’s still worth reading.
I guess Jews are like Christians – different sects with some more devout/extreme eg Prod vs RC. Within Prod: CoE vs Lutheran vs Presbyterian vs Methodist vs Baptists vs…… However, we’re both OK with the others and don’t try to annihilate each other
RC: do they have sects too?
We Jews don’t try to annihilate each other, we just refuse to attend the ‘offending’ synagogue 🙂 Here’s a good joke. Jewish guy gets washed up a desert island. He’s eventually rescued and his rescuer is amazed to find that the stranded man has built a house a farm and two synagogues. When asked ‘why two synagogues? the formerly stranded man replies ‘well I attend that synagogue but the other one is the one I wouldn’t be seen dead in’.
I believe there are sects in RC but I dont’ believe that they are that antagonistic with one another as they all recognise the authority of the Pope.
It is not just “Big Tech” which seeks to shutdown debate. The UK’s very own OfCom is deciding what can and cannot be broadcast …. (I am thinking particularly of their recent attempt to close down debate on transgenderism, but there is probably worse out there)
@FH
Oops ‘both’ is both religions – Christian & Jew – don’t try to annihilate other sects or religions. Nor do Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs….
Goof joke. I’ve only been at a service in RC church once – a funeral, it was weird and I felt like an interloper. Having said that, if I felt a need to be in a church to pray privately I’d use any Judaeo-Christian one