![]() The “connection” we were promised is not so different from a broadcast: I make up a character and play it for ratings. My self-deprecating commentary-“nothing more embarrassing than being complimented on your Twitter thread”-never quite manages to ironize itself out of what it is: a plea for attention among infinite other pleas for attention. If people “engage” I can’t stop checking back to see who and how many if they don’t, I feel like I’ve made some grave error of judgment that will soon trickle down into my professional and social prospects. I suspect the main thing for most people is that it (tweeting) makes them feel, briefly, like they’re helping, but beyond politics, it usually makes me feel worse. Are we all supposed to be that guy? That’s sort of the message I get. ![]() The movement to abolish ICE was supplemented in no small part by the diligent tweets of one guy, but I am not that guy. Whereas Google has positioned itself as a champion of the #MeToo movement, it will be required to censor that and related hashtags in China, denying survivors of sexual assault and abuse a desperately needed voice. ![]() Other topics certain to be off-limits include the rights of other ethnic minorities the mistreatment and premature deaths of Chinese political prisoners politically motivated charges and show trials of activists, human rights lawyers, and independent scholars and extrajudicial renderings of Chinese and foreign citizens throughout Asia. Articles or posts questioning China’s frequent use of forced confessions will be banned, helping to shield this brutal practice from scrutiny. Those who use Google to search for information on human rights violations-including the pervasive, forced detainment of hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority residents of China’s Xinjiang region-will find only whitewashed accounts that provide cover for the government’s abusive campaigns. Beyond those three top taboo topics, Google may be required to deny its users vital information about health and safety threats when such information casts a negative light on the state, including vaccinations, pollution, and disease controls. Discussion of the Tiananmen Square protests, Taiwan’s independence, and the rights of Tibetans is forbidden, and those who violate the strictures face harsh punishment. ![]() Chinese government organs are estimated to issue thousands of separate censorship directives annually, charging all companies with compliance under threat of severe sanction or shutdown. Google’s compliance with Chinese censorship directives will also have an unavoidable, distorting impact on online discourse in the world’s most populous country, obscuring the truth, reifying government-sanctioned orthodoxies, denying history, and furthering the repression of persecuted groups. ![]()
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