When an immunologist whose work was instrumental to the development of Covid vaccines (Dr Robert Malone) cannot say his piece without getting kicked off Twitter, you know that one of the world’s leading information-sharing platforms has become an engine of shallow ideology and politics rather than a forum for vibrant public debate.
If Twitter was a small-time operator, people could easily hop over to another platform, but because it now exerts a near monopoly over public debate, along with Facebook and Youtube, it is not quite so simple. If Joe Rogan goes over to GETTR (one of Twitter’s rivals), he automatically brings over with him 8 million followers. If David Thunder goes over to GETTR, he goes from 25,000 to a few hundred overnight.
Therein lies the rub: if you leave Twitter, it’s hard to preserve your audience. Twitter has become so dominant that leaving it has become “unthinkable” for many people, and this stunts the growth of alternative platforms like GETTR and GAB. Most of us are on Twitter to either get informed, or get our message out there, or both. If we move to another platform, we want to preserve these two benefits.
I have no doubt that tens of thousands, and probably millions, of Twitter users are disgusted with the level of paternalism and censorship Twitter is exercising over its platform. As someone who has been a target of this censorship myself, I can vouch for its arbitrary and opaque character. The accusations of misinformation that spark permanent suspension are not formulated in reference to specific statements, just a vague, hand-waving mention of “repeat violations.”
Hundreds of thousands, and possibly millions, of Twitter users are probably just itching to move to a genuine free speech platform. I have been removed involuntarily from Twitter, but even if I was reinstated, I would still be unsatisfied with communicating with a despotical censor breathing down my neck.
So what can we do to loosen the strangle-hold Twitter now has over the public sphere? Here are a few ideas:
FIRST, get on a rival platform, as soon as you can. You are one person. But if enough of us “vote with our feet” by boosting rival platforms, it sends a message that we are not happy with the dominant platforms. It doesn’t need to be a radical, all-or-nothing move. You can keep your Twitter account and hedge your bets, in the hopes that the other platform will grow big enough to eventually make Twitter redundant. I have just opened an account on GETTR, a platform explicitly devoted to free speech, with most of the same functionality as Twitter.
SECOND, find censored individuals on other platforms and follow them there. Don’t let Twitter deprive you of perspectives that enrich and inform you. You can now find me on Substack, GETTR, Youtube, Telegram, Rumble, and Spotify.
THIRD, kick up hell on Twitter about their dreadful treatment of their users. It is tempting to believe it is futile to make a fuss as Twitter really doesn’t care, but they do care about their public image, and they need to be held accountable before public opinion. Furthermore, even if Twitter doesn’t react to our accusations, our accusations can raise public awareness of the problem, and prime people to seek out a free speech platform.
You can use hashtags like #ReinstateFreeSpeech, #ReinstateDavidThunder, and #ReinstateRobertMalone, in your tweets on censorship.
Here is a 2 minute video of mine on Twitter censorship that I’ve managed to get bouncing around on Twitter courtesy of my wife. It has already gotten over 25,000 views and 450 RTs. You can give it a boost on Twitter or share it via Youtube or Rumble.
FOURTH, invite friends and colleagues, especially people who are tired of mass media monotony, to follow individuals who have provided you with useful insights or information. My personal list of individuals worth following on any platform you can find them, because of the quality and honesty of the information and arguments they share (whether you agree with them or not) includes:
Martin Kulldorff, Jay Bhattacharya, Sunetra Gupta, Pierre Korey, Robert Malone, Joel Smalley, Mark Changizi, Freddie Sayers, Ivor Cummins, Dan Astin, Abir Ballan, Vinay Prasad, Nick Hudson, and David Paton. There are plenty more of course!
Thanks for reading!
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It's a tiny drop in the bucket, but I am one of your new Gettr followers. Thank you for your thoughtful posts.
As Jack said, a million followers starts with the first one!
People cannot complain about being dissed by the bird and yet beg to return - like Berenson.
There is only well-known way to get the attention of any business or service provider: leave!