When a nerdy kid that could code and hack like few on planet earth decided to create a space where friends could meet, he probably never imagined that his creation would become the communicative center of the universe. But why would he? After all (as the story goes), he started it out of his impulsive, sophomoric desires to compare “hot women” to one another. This lead to the all important ‘relationship status’ as the centerpiece of his virtual school dance forum of social interaction.
That’s why many of us more buttoned-down members of society were surprised how easily we got suckered into being willing participants in Mark Zuckerberg’s worldwide social experiment known as Facebook. But we didn’t join to compare hotness or even know relationship status, though we may have had curiosities about such.
Like many of my friends here, I joined Facebook because I wanted to reconnect with old friends or acquaintances that I had lost touch with for one reason or another. It was mind-blowing! Suddenly, I found a directory of past friends and current loved ones that shared just enough information to get reconnected, and go from there. It was the coolest thing since the transistor radio, indoor plumbing, and Taco Tuesday.
It was such an alluring portal that had opened in our everyday lives. Once, where we went about our days full of menial tasks hoping to get a chance to “Facebook” someone. Now we were Facebooking all day, trying to squeeze those menial tasks in between. We were now moving from connecting with old friends to making new friends. And then friends of friends. For some, it was almost like a competition to see how many “friends” you could attain. Or possibly, an affirmation deep in our insecure nature that affirmed we have lots of friends.
This lead us to the inevitable problem of mankind. Too much of a good thing is bad for you. Soon, we began to realize that there were dangers to knowing certain people, or perhaps the realization that “friend” was just a term loosely defined on Facebook as either a nice, well-adjusted person or troll lurking beneath the bridge ahead. Water eventually finds it’s level. And so did many of us on Facebook after the crashing waves of this large ocean of humanity settled down.
So like anything in civilization, there needed to be rules and guidelines established in order to keep the peace, and keep people from other potential hazards to their lives. Go figure. Us humans sure know how to mess up a good thing!
And so do these gifted inventors of social media, search engines, and visual platforms of social interaction. This is where we find ourselves at this moment in the world most commonly known as Big Tech. The overlords cleaned up many problems users created amongst themselves by enhancing community standards. But they also realized the power they had to influence the world. Thus, they used these updated guidelines as a way to wield a sword against those that challenged that power. And, as any pseudo-god (what I often refer to as elitist) does, they eventually figure out a way to control the serfs so they stay submissive and inline with the ruling class. But there’s trouble brewing in their mighty kingdom. The opposing gods of the real world are rising up and challenging elitist Big Tech rule.
Though it had begun long before the 2016 presidential election, the rationalization for Big Tech overlords to calibrate the type of information being shared was a result of what happened (or maybe what didn’t happen) in that election cycle. When Donald J.Trump pulled off the political upset of the century, U.S. leaders that objected to this outcome called out the so-called ‘Russian interference’ on Zuckerberg’s Facebook. Zuckerberg began to implement changes that would supposedly prevent such interference from happening again.
As it turns out, the Russian interference narrative was a smokescreen for another type of interference created by a group loyal to the previous president. Like most things this year, the narrative continually changes as the facts are uncovered. And so goes the reasoning behind the changes of community standards. For we know that these changes were not only happening long before the 2016 election, but the changes are a cover for a much more nefarious plan. The suppression of truth by those that stand ideologically opposed to Big Tech overlords.
Never were these tactics of suppression more evident than was witnessed during the COVID-19 Era. Suppression of stories we now know to be true were crushed by the overlords. From world-renowned immunologists to effective treatments for the pandemic to the science of mitigation of spreading the virus.
Then there was the summer of rioting. Monuments being toppled. And domestic terror cells lauded as heroes of justice! Soon after came the homestretch to the 2020 presidential election. This was the event that Big Tech elitists could not allow to slip through the cracks of their precious creation. They could not afford a repeat of 2016 no matter the cost. From August to October, we witnessed story after story be fact-checked or censored into oblivion. The mainstream news outlets in America had long become complicit in their drive to prevent a certain ideology or worldview to enter the spotlight. Now, we saw the architects of any and every social media platform conspire together to suppress these views as well.
Up to this point in time, they have been able to justify this behavior under the guise of community standards, that code of conduct that has been put in place to protect the serfs, as well as the company, from reckless behavior and lawsuits that could destroy what they had created. But 2020 is different. Where we’ve been able to look the other way on issues or roll our eyes at the suppression, 2020 has forced us to take up sides and make choices that we may have been uncomfortable with in years past. Enough is enough. The suppression of truth must stop! And these elitists must be held accountable.
Enter the New York Post with the political story of the year. The shocking and revealing dirty dealings of Hunter Biden, son of democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. There were so many moving parts to this story. Many of these parts were tied to Hunter’s famous father. This was a straw that broke the camel’s back, or you might say Dorsey and Zuckerberg’s back. Powerful people have cried foul over the suppression of this story on all social media platforms. Namely, Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz.
Now the overlords have been subpoenaed to testify once again on Capital Hill. And this time they may not get a simple slap on the wrist. Come back in a few days and we will share why this could usher in a new era of truth and freedom of speech on these iconic platforms and how their immunity to do as they please could be removed permanently.
(Chris Gaines is an author and editor for patriotgaines.com)
photo credits: The Epoch Times, Facebook, New York Post & humansarefree.com
Patriot Gaines 