All Proverbs Have a Basis in Fact!

One of the wisest people I've ever met told me something quite compelling years ago: He said the secret to America's success is our freedom! "You have freedom of speech," he said. "You have freedom of enterprise!" That's the reason why the USA's economy skyrocketed to the world's greatest, despite being far from the largest country in the world by population.

Unfortunately, that freedom is under attack, from multiple vectors. One remarkable threat comes in the form of censorship, sometimes referenced with the euphismism of "content moderation" on social media platforms. I've felt the sting of censorship a few times over the past decade, and have thus moderated my own content sharing to avoid penalties. This is called self-censorship.

As you might imagine, self-censorship is bad for any culture. When people are afraid to speak their opinions freely, frustration accrues. I believe that a healthy culture should encourage everyone to speak their minds without recrimination. And that's a message I'll share at the #DataUniverse Conference in NYC tomorrow and Thursday! https://bit.ly/43ZcZHR

So, what inspired this particular post? Well, just the other day, I got slapped by the #Facebook #Censors, and thought to myself: "Huh?! I haven't posted anything political in ages. WTF?!" And when I saw the apparently offensive post, I almost wet myself. They censored a meme! of a proverb!! I kid you not. The Facebook apparatchik smacked me for sharing a proverb, saying it had "no basis in fact."

Let me state this unequivicolly: Every proverb has a basis in fact!! That's why it became a proverb! Proverbs are what Dr. Robin Bloor onced called: "The wisdom they couldn't kill!" And when society's censors start cracking down on proverbs, you can rest assured that your culture is in disarray.

So, what was the proverbial meme they shot down? You can (hopefully) see the graphic with this post, but just in case, it said: "The person who says it cannot be done should not disturb the person doing it." The meme cited this as a Chinese proverb, which it may well be. Some quick ex post facto research revealed as much. So, what was the problem?

At least the Facebook Censorship Regime was kind enough to share that information. Turns out, my crime was that I shared something which was shared by someone else, someone who apparently should not be trusted, a priori. That person is the daughter of a certain politician.

Mind you, I had no idea this person had shared that meme. I got it in an email newsletter called the Starfire Codes, which often provides great nuggets of wisdom and encouragement for me. And I'm all in favor of everyone finding their sources for inspiration in this wild and wooly world. I'm also in favor of people being able to safely and securely enjoy their papers as they see fit.

As a reminder, here's the text of the Fourth Amendement in our Bill of Rights:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Yes, it's true that social media platforms are owned by corporations, and that means technically, they can enforce most any rule they want. But let's be honest with each other: Clearly, social media platforms are claiming to be the Marketplace of Ideas, where free speech is encouraged.

And yes, it's true that some people say nasty things, but that's not by any means exclusionary of any particular political group. Luckily, most social media platforms allow you to block people who are bothering you, so that's the remedy. Censorship is never the remedy.

I'll discuss this issue in one of 30 slides I've put together for my 30-minute talk at Data Universe tomorrow, entitled: The Death of 'Journalism' which takes place at the Javitz Center in NYC! I'll talk about the future of 'journalism' which will rely heavily on AI for ideation, creation, delivery and consumption. And I look forward to a world where we can all share our ideas freely, without fear.

And just for kicks, here's that all-important 1st Amendment, and may it stand like a beacon for freedom, forever:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Finally, consider the vast number of people who decided to use Facebook as their de facto rolodeck and means for communicating with friends and family. Imagine their shock as they were suddenly reprimanded by this censorship regime, which, as a reminder, kicked into high gear during the early days of the pandemic. As you may recall, even suggesting that Covid came from a lab earned you a slap.

That's no longer a policy at Zuckerberg's social powerhouse. I wonder why.