Said When Belle Ives, "a freelance photographer in Los Angeles who uses they and them pronouns," quoted in "Sorry you went viral TikTok’s explosive stardom has created a new kind of celebrity. But nothing goes viral like rage" (WaPo).
Ives had videos taken down by TikTok. One showed 2 women kissing, which supposedly broke a rule against "predatory or grooming behavior." Another called a Pride Month cake "gayke," which TikTok deemed "hate speech."
Ives assumed these were simple mistakes. Then, in June, Ives posted a video showing police officers shoving protesters at an abortion rights rally, and TikTok not only removed the clip for “violent or graphic” content, it denied an appeal and threatened a permanent ban. Ives, who has 50,000 TikTok followers and sees the app as a career necessity, believed she had few options but to comply.
I don't want to seem to be part of the overall censoriousness, but, WaPo, you took the trouble to tell us Ives "uses they and them pronouns," and here you are saying Ives "believed she had few options." Either don't go out of your way to tell us about people's pronouns OR tell us and then demonstrate how easy it is to get it right by never getting it wrong. Ridiculous! Right when you want us shaking our heads about social media, you're squandering your legacy and screwing up.
Anyway... I bemoan the censorship on TikTok, and I'm interested in the theory that the censorship is motivated by a desire to make the app feel as though it's all about "joyous, silly, content."* When I scroll in TikTok, I see many different moods, some dark or sad. But I do see the problem with letting violent images just pop up as the next thing in line. I'm sitting around relaxing, getting things fed to me, and I don't expect a political activist to suddenly insert indelible ugliness into my head. If that's how TikTok worked, I wouldn't watch.
________________
* I think that's supposed to be "joyous, silly content" — another editing problem. Oh, legacy media! I'm so disappointed in you!
Posts
26 comments:
India banned TikTok and many other apps of Chonese origin on the basis that they are threats to the country. Is that ban still in effect? Asking for a friend in Taiwan who is ethnic Chinese, but who doesn't want to meet any PLA in the near future.
i've never really cared whether or not my apps were content with their lot.
Leftist is censored on Chinese run platform.
Conservative Twitter user says..
"Welcome to the party pal."
It all comes to a personal choice. Yes, you can judge a book or blogspot by it's cover. Maybe if Tikker Tokker had categories that you could click into and let unspool... Happiness category, animals, politics, stupidity, genius, etc. We should have the right to choose our own brand of hemlock.
The beauty of Tik-Tok is that it will morph into a good way for the government to control these people. Once the banks and other institutions start using Social Welfare modeling and begin, like PayPal, to just steal your money if you say the wrong thing (like "gayke"), these people will snap into line.
Early on, twitter was a force for political movements (ex., young people participating in the green revolution in Iran used twitter to spread news about their activates and record abuses). To a lesser degree, this happened in Egypt too. But twitter can't reliably be used that way today because it's too ready to censor.
One of my favorite parts of the show Silicon Valley was how it portrayed the tech titans. They were mostly scheming mediocre douchebags who cared only about money and power. They were constantly going on about empowering people to make the world a better place, but it was just marketing. They didn't care at all.
* I think that's supposed to be "joyous, silly content" — another editing problem. Oh, legacy media! I'm so disappointed in you!
When I read the headline, I naturally paused between "silly" and "content". I have no problem with a comma being there. It also seems to emphasize that the content is joyous AND silly, not joyously silly.
The question is whether "content" is supposed to be a noun or an adjective. If a noun, the comma is just plain wrong.
It "content" is supposed to be an adjective, then it modifies "app." I doubt that Ives meant to call TikTok a "content app" — the app is satisfied with itself.
I think she meant "content app" to be a noun phrase, referring to a type of app.
It makes sense to say that an app is "joyous" and "silly."
To write "joyous, silly, content app" is like writing "large, angry, grisly bear." No, it would be a "large, angry grisly bear."
I don't get the "they/Them" pronouns.Not here, not anywhere.
If you need a pronoun to speak to me, the only one you need is "you" (singular) You only need other pronouns if you are speaking about me. In that case, what difference does it make?
This whole pronoun business is just a way of sexing me. You want to know whether I have a prick or a pussy? Or whether I am pretending to have a prick or a pussy?
Screw you, it is none of your business.
Back in the days of the internet, before the Web, when it was Usenet and other stuff, it was considered extremely bad form to MorF someone, even intentionally. People took this "On the internet nobody knows if you are a dog" seriously. It was nobody's business.
My pronoun is "you". Need more? OK, how about "Fuck You"?
John Stop fascism vote republican Henry
A thirds possibility on the pronouns, Ann:
The write is as sick of this pronoun BS as anyone else and chose this construction as a way of showing it.
"She wants to be called they/them. Screw this silliness. Just because she wants it doesn't give me cause to murder the English language. I'm gonna call a spade a spade."
And the layers and layers of editors and fact checkers never noticed.
(But you did)
John Stop fascism, vote republican Henry
People, this is why we can't have nice, silly, joyous, things.
Everything has to be ideological, so everything divides people.
A search for "Belle Ives" brings up prints by Currier and Ives?
Were they the 19th century TikTok?
No, it would be a "large, angry grisly bear."
Actually no. But I don't want to be any more pedantic than I have to be.
Their platform their rules.
Isn't that supposed to be how it works?
I hope Musk bans all content that glorifies mutilating kids, drag-queen anything, etc.
Also, if you have a Ukraine flag in your profile and you're not actually Ukrainian.
Should have been "bad form to MorF someone even unintentionally"
Are we talking about grisly grizzly bears?
PS...the next R president (fat chance these days) should flat-out ban Tik Tok.
It is a national security threat, if for no other reason than data-scraping aside, it puts billions of dollars in the pockets of a country that wants to destroy us.
Since at least high school I've been running across people whose sex was ambiguous. Some may have been cross dressers, some were like "Pat" from SNL.
It was never a problem because about 95% of the time it doesn't matter. Just treat them like any other person.
Now they want to shove it down my throat and I don't like it.
John Henry
Tik Tok was created and is run from China, therefore it has to conform to the standards of the Chinese Government. The Chinese Government is not down with the homosexuals.
For some reason this pops into my head.
I prefer the filters over questionable content, so that you don't have to view it. We can debate what may be questionable content, but at least I'm allowed to make the choice and go ahead and view it or scroll past without seeing it.
What I would really like from these platforms is an option to opt out of content recommendation. That is, I only want to see content from providers I seek. I understand why the platforms do not provide this option (because I and others would spend a lot less time on the platforms), but it is a simple remedy of allowing people to self-censor what they see in advance.
“To write "joyous, silly, content app" is like writing "large, angry, grisly bear." No, it would be a "large, angry grisly bear."
Perhaps it’s a misunderstood Oxford comma.
You folks are hot boxing estrogen big-time. How can overly sensitive people be such a threat otherwise?
Roadhouse Blues or Give it Away are good songs to get the man juice flowing.
I want to be silly on Tik Tok. But I'm a grown man with a job and I don't know if that will fly.
grisly/grizzly
Sorry. And right when I was expressing outraged at a mistake.
Ha ha.
Pride month, properly understood, is a celebration of a parade of lions, lionesses, and their unPlanned cubs playing in gay revelry.
That said, merry, gay, and a TikTok commodity.
Post a Comment