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Can Free Speech
Survive The Social
Media Mob?
Scott Berkun
@berkun / scottberkun.com
#SMSCSEA, at Seattle City Hall, 1/22/14

Thursday, January 23, 14

Image from The Virgin Queen, BBC 2005, Part 1

"...an immoral union, an uneven yoking of
the clean ox to the unclean ass, a thing
forbidden in the law."
- John Stubbs
From his pamphlet titled:
The Discovery of a Gaping Gulf whereunto England is like to be
swallowed by another French Marriage, if the Lord forbid not the banns,
by letting her Majesty see the sin and punishment thereof (1579).


Q: Can Free Speech
Survive The Social
Media Mob?


If you are willing to pay the
price no one can stop you
from speaking or acting freely


Writers in Exile / Anonymous
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Thomas Paine, (Common Sense) A
John Adams, Henry Adams, Benjamin Franklin A
Hemingway (Sun Also Rises) E
Voltaire (Various) E
Einstein, (Manhattan Project Letter) E
Oscar Wilde, (Importance of Being Ernest) E
Victor Hugo, (Les Miserables) E
Dante (The Divine Comedy) E

6 questions
1. How has new media changed access to expression?
2. How has this made things better?
3. How has this made things worse?
4. What new challenges are we facing? (and what can we
learn from how we adjusted to previous media
innovations?)
5. What implications does all this have for individuals?
6. What implications does all this have for leaders,
corporations and governments?


First Amendment
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.
(45 / ~5000 words in entire Constitution)


Who is in charge?
WE ARE!


Then why does it suck?
Because WE’RE CRAZY.


Examples of human failings
•
•
•
•
•

We behave emotionally but judge others rationally

•

Religious factionalism, double standards, memories of
convenience, egoism

•
•

We are lazy as most of you probably skipped down here

We complain about trash media, but are addicted to it
We mostly preach about practicing what we preach
Are easily offended yet surprised by outrage of others
We have dain bramage: cognitive biases, memory is a hack, the
amygdala runs the show

Columbus was an asshole (why does he still have a holiday?)


Romanticized history of human
nature: U.S. 1800 election

• Jefferson's camp accused President Adams
of having a "hideous hermaphroditical
character, which has neither the force and
ﬁrmness of a man, nor the gentleness and
sensibility of a woman."

• Adams' men called Vice President Jefferson
"a mean-spirited, low-lived fellow, the son
of a half-breed Indian squaw, sired by a
Virginia mulatto father."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoﬂife/08/22/mf.campaign.slurs.slogans/

YELLOW
JOURNALISM
a type of journalism that presents little or no
legitimate well-researched news and instead uses
eye-catching headlines to sell more newspapers.
Techniques may include exaggerations of news
events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism
[Source:Wikipedia]


YELLOW
TWEETING
a type of social media that presents little or no
legitimate well-researched news and instead uses
eye-catching headlines to gain more trafﬁc:
techniques may include exaggerations of news
events, scandal-mongering, or sensationalism


Misinformation lives on forever,
fueled by our desire for efﬁciency


We rarely check sources, provide
references, or verify facts, a
fundamental process of protecting
against misinformation


Be the change you wish to see in the world.
– Gandhi (?)


“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”
– Misattributed Oscar Wilde
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
– Misattributed to Mahatma Gandhi

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
– Misattributed Dr. Seuss


Advocacy & Confirmation Bias
Story that fits agenda
Story that fits?


“is there a way to tell a
the story or omit facts
so that it does fit?”

Challenge our own biases:
How might I be
getting this wrong?


To say “RT is not an endorsement”
means you don’t understand what
the word endorsement means


Levels of endorsement
•
•

“I read it and think it is good”

•

“This is horrible and disgusting but important for you
to see anyway”

•

“I’m guessing it’s worthy by the title even though I
know titles are generally misleading but I’m sharing it
with you anyway” (WTF?)

•

“I’m not spreading this” (This is the only one that’s
not an endorsement of any kind)

“I read it and ﬁnd it interesting in some fashion even if I
disagree with some or all of it”


More accurate proﬁle
disclaimers
“I RT things I have not read”
“I RT some things I don’t agree with”
“I am an attention manwhore who shares
any trash that will get me more followers”


Case Studies


AIDS joke
Text
Text
Text
Text


Donglegate


Newtown shootings

http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/errors-in-newtown-shootings-coverage-reﬂect-growing-pressures/

Zimmerman / Martin case


Boston marathon Bombing

http://blog.reddit.com/2013/04/reﬂections-on-recent-boston-crisis.html

“Around 7pm on Thursday night, social media
sites like Twitter and Reddit lit up with a
sensational rumor: that Sunil Tripathi, a
student who had vanished weeks ago, was
one of the suspects accused of bombing the
Boston Marathon... Sunil's sister Sangeeta
Tripathi said in an interview yesterday.
"Those night hours were horrible.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/boston-marathon-bombings-how-twitter-and-reddit-got-it-wrong-8581167.html


#amazonfail

http://www.shirky.com/weblog/2009/04/the-failure-of-amazonfail/

Post on personal FB page


Fire Lyndsey Stone FB page


There is long history of attack
cartooning of public ﬁgures


What’s new is ordinary citizens who
publish sometimes enter the public
sphere unintentionally


Quick summary of case studies*
Example

Poster

Initial Target

AIDS joke

Threatened, apologized, ﬁred

N/A

Donglegate

Threatened, site hacked, ﬁred

Fired (1/2) & Apologized

Boston

Correction

wrongly harassed

Newtown

Correction

wrongly harassed

Spike Lee

Apologized

wrongly harassed

#amazonfail

Apologized

Apologized

Silence & Respect

Apologized, Fired

N/A

*Each of these cases is complex and this chart only serves as a brief introduction

1. How has new media
changed access?
•

Unprecedented speed and access = fast, free
publishing of anything from anywhere

•
•
•

An idealist’s dream: we can see everyone!


A cynics nightmare: we can see everyone!
Anyone who publishes can become a media
target

Freedom of speech works both ways.
If you publish you will possibly be
criticized by people who:

• Know nothing about you
• Have an opposing agenda
• Will take your work out of context
• Are not very smart
• Are not very nice
• And make unfair arguments

Welcome to
your species!


2./3. How is it better
and worse?


Technology is amoral: no tool
cares what you use it for


More people can share
more ___ things faster
(good, bad, mean, friendly, genuine,
helpful, offensive, safe, provocative...)


“Mob mentality” or
community?
•
•
•

When part of a group people lose self-awareness.

•

People feel anonymous within a large group,
defusing natural sense of responsibility and
accountability


Being in a group heightens emotional states
Behaviors normally believed to be unacceptable
become acceptable when within a group
performing them

The line is crossed
when...
• Threats are made (violence)
• Efforts are made to suppress the free speech
of others (Donglegate)

• It’s unamerican to want to take away another
American’s right to speak


Advocacy & Confirmation Bias
Story that fits?


“is there a way to tell
the story or omit facts
so that it does fit?”

4. What new challenges
are we facing?
•
•
•
•


They’re old challenges rediscovered
More of us are exposed to them
Children have more tech savvy than their parents
It’s not a technological problem (will we ever learn
this?)

4. What new challenges
are we facing?
• We can be exposed to threats from people
we’ve never met

• Public ﬁgures have always had hate mail, but now
ordinary citizens are exposed

• Most people don’t realize threats are exceptions
to free speech:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
United_States_free_speech_exceptions

5. Implications for you
•
•
•
•
•
•

Read what you RT / Share
Ask “what is the source?”
Don’t tweet and run
No drunk tweeting
Prepare to be taken out of context
The law always trails society (by design!)

We are empowered but
unaware of the consequences

• Being taken out of context (This comes

with the territory if you publish anything
anywhere)

• Skimming / Blind RT contributes to poor
context (Arguably Twitter itself too)

• Casual vs. Formal: publishing has different
implications when consumed by public at
large


6. Implications for
organizations
•

It’d be nice, for once, for a company to stand
behind an employee

•

But organizations are not obligated to
protect free speech

•

Deﬁne clear policy on distinguishing the
personal from the professional (enforcing is
another matter)


References, pt 1
•

The Next Civil Rights Issue: Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet - Paciﬁc Standard: The Science of
Society

•
•
•

U.S. court says 'Liking' something on Facebook is free speech - CNN.com

•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Natasha Leggero's Stunning 'Not Sorry' Response Over Controversial Pearl Harbor Joke

•
•

Fired Over Facebook: 13 Posts That Got People CANNED


The War Over Free Speech, Harassment, and Trolls Hits Another Social-Media Site | Mother Jones
Be careful what you post: Social media and freedom of speech | | Campbell Law ObserverCampbell Law
Observer
Don't Ignore the Trolls. Feed Them Until They Explode.
Bill Keller's Column on Cancer: A Reaction : The New Yorker
Guardian Deletes Column About a Cancer Patient - NYTimes.com
Dear Bill Keller: I Have Cancer. Is That OK?
The problem with retweets & how journalists can solve it | Poynter.
Lindsey Stone: Woman Fired For Posting Facebook Photo of Her Flipping off Tomb of Unknown Soldier |
BostInno
Fired Over Twitter: 13 Tweets That Got People CANNED

References, pt 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/12a0286p-06.pdf

•

Judge: Prosecution of Online Critic Under Anti-Stalking Law Is Unconstitutional | Electronic Frontier
Foundation

•

Court Finds Juvenile Delinquent Based on Allegedly Offensive Instant Messages — In re Alex C. | Technology
& Marketing Law Blog

•
•
•

Washington State 'Cyberstalking' Case Based on Unconstitutional Law | Electronic Frontier Foundation


Carpet Bombing: How One Business Is Trying to Get Rid of Bad Reviews - NYTimes.com
Teen in jail for months over 'sarcastic' Facebook threat - CNN.com
Threats, abuse part of ‘online life’ for women | Toronto Star
Twitter harassment case lands in Toronto court - Toronto - CBC News
Woman testiﬁes at alleged Twitter harasser’s trial | 680News
Dennis Markuze - RationalWiki
Facebook Posting That Someone Has Herpes Is Criminal Harassment–Pennsylvania v. Cox | Technology &
Marketing Law Blog

People still don't understand social media behavior affects jobs | Digital Trends
Free Speech Does Not Include The Right to Be Free of Criticism | Popehat

Image credits / References
•

Graffiti wall (title slide), http://www.flickr.com/photos/shankbone/
4955978850/

•

Stubb’s hand, http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Stubbs-Has-His-Hand-CutOff-1521-Posters_i7686190_.htm

•
•
•

Finger in pond / ripples, http://www.flickr.com/photos/adge/526869934/

•

Paint the Town Red, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%22I
%27ll_paint_the_town_red%22,_political_cartoon,_1885.jpg

•

King Arthur sword, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/
The_Boy_s_King_Arthur-74.jpg

•

Mob behavior explained: http://healthpsychologyconsultancy.wordpress.com/
2011/08/09/the-psychology-of-the-mob-mentality/


Lyin‘ King http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blclintonlyinking.htm
Join or Die http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benjamin_Franklin__Join_or_Die.jpg

Thank You.
Questions?
Scott Berkun
@berkun / scottberkun.com


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