A viral video online shows a strange algorithm being employed by phone networks to censor messages alleging election fraud. The video shows an Apple and a Google device, the woman puts two phones side by side and tries to send an article from the Android device to the Apple device. The article is regarding Trump actually winning the election campaign but doing being elected due to voter fraud. The article appears to be delivered but does not actually appear on the other phone. Apparently, phone networks are censoring links to Trump-related content. Several people have questioned the legality of this censorship.
Video: Phone networks censoring links
The user wrote a follow-up statement after posting the video, “BREAKING: Messages about election fraud are being censored via text message. Here is 100% proof! Google or Verizon or all are the culprit. More testing is needed to figure out which company(s) is censoring text messages about the fraud! We have hit peak level censorship!”
The video caused massive hysteria on social media. One user tweeted, Imagine if the phone company could just end your call because of the content of your conversation! Or if they could remove links because of th….oh…shit.” This is large scale censorship being carried out. The right to information is a fundamental right guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution. Phone networks by censoring these links are complicit in this crime.
Either G?gle or ? are censoring links to Trump related content!! pic.twitter.com/BIoXcIhwAC
— Teresa (@atma_shanti) November 13, 2020
As the world has progressed and technology has seeped into every aspect of human life. Technological platforms have become huge tools for perpetuating the mainstream narrative, states have employed these platforms to perpetuate propaganda. Social platforms are an integral part of our lives, regardless of age, all people around the world have access to some form of media, be it news channels, newspapers, or phone networks. By controlling these mediums, the state effectively controls our minds. We are what we consume.
Prisoners of our own minds?
Censorship is among the greatest evils of our society. This tool has been used for decades to produce conformity, and to eliminate any questions or challenges that citizens might pose. It unconsciously shapes our words, thoughts, and actions.
The messages showing election fraud are a testament to Foucault’s theory regarding the power states hold. According to Foucault, the ones who control what is normal hold all power. This “normal” extends to beliefs, practices, and ideologies. The messages committing election fraud are just one example, the state could be controlling every information available to us – by doing so the state controls what is normal. By deciding the norm, states produce conformity. They ensure that people do not break from the invisible shackles that confine them and limit their abilities. The state ensures that despite being physically free, our minds are trapped.
