Social media is necessarily going to have racism, idiocy, profanity, conspiracy theories and everything else. If you start having editorial standards, it's not social media anymore.
Is Coca-Cola genuinely worried that their ads might appear alongside a rant about immigrants from your right-wing uncle? I think there is an ulterior motive but I'm not sure I can figure it out. Perhaps they sense that controlling the "woke" narrative works in their interests as long as it prevents people from going toward genuine radical and leftist, anti-corporation ideas that might question how Coca-Cola is addicting people to sugar and causing diabetes, how it treats trade unionists in Latin America, and things like that. So Black Lives Matter, as long as they drink coke, and we want to make sure they die of diabetes and not by police abuse.
There is so much wrong with capitalism. I am only just beginning to become truly disillusioned with it fundamentally as a system.
I am a small capitalist. Small business owner. But it's clear we have to speak up against these fundamental abuses that capitalism and capitalists are perpetrating, at the very least.
I'm starting to think that socialism is more naturally aligned with what's good about our tribal nature than capitalism is.
Yes. It is a notable cause, however, when companies stop trying to make the best product they can and instead, try to change the world .. it is a little too much. There is more to this story, companies could care less about any of that emotional stuff, they are essentially psychopaths/sociopaths.
I wanted to share this Verge article from a different angle than its main theme of standing against racism, which I totally agree with.
I often fall prey to my own 'bad timing' in pointing things out in front of 'comment mobs' - I fail to 'read the room' - and I get eaten alive. But HN seems to be more open-minded, analytical, and caring of many issues at all times, no matter the moment, compared to other comment communities. So here I am.
The alarming words I want to bring to HN readers' attention is what appears to be now deleted text from the Coca-Cola media statement page, but the Verge still quotes it as the original words:
> “We will take this time to reassess our advertising standards and policies to determine whether revisions are needed internally, and what more we should expect of our social media partners to rid the platforms of hate, violence and inappropriate content. We will let them know we expect greater accountability, action and transparency from them.”
What alarms me, as an advocate for free speech in the age of digital tribalism and censorship, is their original words, "rid the platforms of ... inappropriate content", strong-arming Facebook from a money point of view.
To use such sweeping, broad words from the house of the world's largest brand is a gross attempt to abuse capitalism to stifle free speech and diversity of expression, which IMO needs to be spoken out against.
It may have just been badly worded (far too broad), but it was irresponsible to say such words and it's no wonder that version is not on the website now. Too late - the words are out.
Moments like this of reacting against genuine bad things can result in throwing babies out with the bathwater. Privacy, free speech, freedom of diversity.
> and if you're against free speech, fuck you too.
Free speech advocates keep talking about the need for diversity of opinion, but they don't realise that they're so toxic they drive considerable numbers of people away, creating the very echo chambers they claim to dislike.
This act is a tight slap on the big brand who are willing to make money by playing people's feeling.