#toXic
“A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu”… In 1871, Arthur Rimbaud forever associated vowels with bright, positive colors.
In 2022, Mr. Putin linked the letter Z with the putrid smell of lies, corruption, and brutality. In 2023, Mr. Musk decided to join the challenge, associating the letter X with a nauseating brown mix of rage, manipulation, and stupidity, now with a touch of anti-Semitism.
I have never been a fan of Twitter. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the US National Constitution Center, put it best when discussing the First Amendment: “This founding faith [in free speech] in reason is being questioned in our polarized age of social media. Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms are based on a business model that’s now being called “enrage to engage.” They have accelerated public discourse to warp speed, creating virtual versions of the mob. Inflammatory posts based on passion travel farther and faster than arguments based on reason. Rather than encouraging deliberation, mass media undermine it by creating bubbles and echo chambers in which citizens see only those opinions they already embrace.”
Is everything published on Twitter or Facebook really free speech? There's a nuance: while anything published on your personal page by yourself is free speech and published under your own responsibility, I would argue that in our age of AI, algorithms take the role that editors had in newspapers. Therefore, anything pushed to me is under the responsibility of the editor, just like an editor is responsible for ads and sponsored content in a newspaper. In 2006, Amnesty International stated about content offensive to Muslims: “The right to freedom of opinion and expression should be one of the cornerstones of any society. This right includes “the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19). For more than forty years, Amnesty International (AI) has defended this right against attempts by governments across the globe to stifle religious dissent, political opposition and artistic creativity. However, the right to freedom of expression is not absolute — neither for the creators of material nor their critics. It carries responsibilities and it may, therefore, be subject to restrictions in the name of safeguarding the rights of others. In particular, any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence cannot be considered legitimate exercise of freedom of expression. Under international standards, such “hate speech” should be prohibited by law.”
The algorithms of X or Facebook, far from being as sophisticated as often touted, are simply based on the cynical principle of maximum engagement to keep their audience hooked to the platform, thereby maximizing revenue through ad exposure. Unfortunately, it is well known that "enraging" content creates maximum engagement.
One should not rely on the management of these platforms for self-control. It is now crystal clear that Twitter, managed by a white supremacist, and Facebook, with a CEO going against the recommendation of its own management to protect youth, are cynics. I even think there is a darker motivation than money, particularly in the case of X. I never published anything on X, so I can’t receive any "targeted" messaging. Still, I am inundated by hate content from hundreds of accounts, mostly from Africa, obviously manipulated to relay extreme right or even Russian messaging straight from Wagner content factories.
It is totally unacceptable to let our societies and particularly our youth be undermined from the inside by too rich, irresponsibly powerful individuals. I am glad to see the EU, through Commissioner Thierry Breton, finally go after these cynical organizations and do hope massive fines will bring a painful reminder that free speech and manipulation are different things.
Sorry, this is a long article of 643 words, I couldn’t make it fit in 280 characters.