newYou can now listen to Fox News articles.
For a variety of reasons, most of us have lost trust in mainstream social media giants, including their moderation decisions. How do we know if our posts are truly reaching our friends and followers? Or are our political/ideological beliefs and backgrounds suppressing the reach of our posts? Is there one?
In the early days of the web (often referred to as “Web1”) in the late 1990s, moderation wasn't a big deal. The web was founded with a utopian perspective, and at the time it was generally more polite online. Most of the time, we were interacting with people we know in real life or like-minded online communities and enthusiasts. There were no government-funded armies of bots and trolls behind the curtain stirring up chaos. There were no politicians, pundits, or mob agitators hurling digital daggers and arrows at our prows. How have times changed?
Today, in what is commonly known as “Web2,” our newsfeeds are ablaze with anger. Prejudice, bigotry, offensive words, images, and videos walk right in front of our eyes.
When it comes to political debate, Web2 is a mess. According to a 2023 Pew Research survey, “nearly 80% of Americans believe that social media has made people more divided politically,” and about 70% say the platforms have made them more divided. “The way people speak has become less polite,” he said. Politics. ”
Newsom signs ban on election 'deepfakes'; Musk applauds Kamala Harris' AI-altered video re-sharing
There is no rest for the upcoming version of the web (known as “Web3”) built on blockchain technology. Its tokenized moderation scheme results in an even darker echo chamber.
But despite these dangers, we must have the freedom to express ourselves without having our tongues clamped down by Big Brother's high-handed muzzle. How can we solve this puzzle in a way that satisfies all sides?
Upholding the principles of free speech and civil debate is essential to strengthening our republic. Open discussion facilitates the democratic process. As I often say, disagreement is fundamental to a well-functioning democracy. As American abolitionist and politician Frederick Douglass said in 1860, “It is a double wrong to suppress free speech; it violates not only the rights of the speaker but also the rights of the hearers.” do.”
Restoration Networking strives to protect civility and solve core content moderation issues while supporting the principles of free speech. Imagine us all breathing a collective sigh of relief when this is accomplished.
For more FOX News opinions, click here
This is the dilemma we want to solve. First, sites that completely abandon moderation in the name of free speech absolutism are dysfunctional on arrival. These are inevitably filled with spam, pornography, hate speech, bullying, harassment, identity theft, and incitement to violence. This environment is not only dangerous; It also makes these sites unusable for most people.
This has already happened with “anything goes” sites like 8Chan, which was shut down and later relaunched as 8kun. Another site, Secret, was shut down by its founder who was disgusted by its content. Secret's investors got their money back.
Second, the moderation provided by Meta, TikTok, Twitter/X, and other mainstream giants remains flawed and biased, despite ongoing Band-Aids to fix it. and is unreliable. A 2024 poll by Pew Research found that 83% of Americans, including a majority of conservatives and liberals, believe social media giants “censor political views they disagree with.” It turned out that there was.
Restoration Networking opens up a clear new path to supporting authentic civil debate, a critical sweet spot for a well-functioning democracy. There are some simple rules for us as users that are enforced by the site's trust and safety team. Inciting violence, bullying, harassment, spam, leaking personal information, and harassing posts are prohibited. The last rule is clearly and narrowly defined by the site's user advisory board in a way that parties on both sides of the political spectrum can agree on.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
These rules allow people from all walks of life to have passionate conversations about politics, health issues, diet, science, and lifestyle. To take a (perhaps controversial) example, what this means is that you can always have a lively conversation about the benefits of vaccines. It also means that we always have the freedom to harshly criticize governments and political leaders. Chinese web and social media companies provide a great example of where we don't want to go. These companies have completely banned all images and references to Winnie the Pooh. This is because some Chinese people have humorously used the honey-loving bear to mock President Xi. Jinpin.
The approach we are taking is neither conservative nor liberal. This is American and the foundation of Restoration Networking in the spirit of civil discussion.
Excerpted from “Restoring Our Sanity Online: A Revolutionary Social Framework” by Mark Weinstein, with permission of publisher Wiley. Copyright © 2025 by Mark Weinstein. Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited. This book is available wherever books and e-books are sold.
