05-21-2020, 01:12 PM
In the hypothetical where huckters and hoaxsters are asking Youtube to publish their videos to the world for personal gain, it is entirely appropriate for Youtube to deny access to that platform whether as a company or as a collection of individuals who have decided that such videos run counter to the values of the company or those of the collection of individuals. It is not censorship, just as a business asking a newspaper to run ads for free and being denied is not censorship in that the business did not meet the newspaper's standard for publication (monetary), and these videos did not meet Youtube's standard for publication (safe, not malicious, not dangerous, does not cause harm).
It is precisely because others cannot tell whether these videos are false that Youtube should not give these publishers access to their platform.
I agree that the prevalence of botnet accounts on Youtube is a pernicious aspect of the social media platform. Too often, people are easily exploited via confirmation bias into retweeting or publishing tweets that seem authoritative by virtue of mass presence in a vicious positive feedforward effect.
It is precisely because others cannot tell whether these videos are false that Youtube should not give these publishers access to their platform.
I agree that the prevalence of botnet accounts on Youtube is a pernicious aspect of the social media platform. Too often, people are easily exploited via confirmation bias into retweeting or publishing tweets that seem authoritative by virtue of mass presence in a vicious positive feedforward effect.