August 2017

New Outcry as President Trump Rebukes Charlottesville Racists 2 Days Later

The crisis in Charlottesville presented President Donald Trump with a choice between adopting the unifying tone of a traditional president or doubling down on the go-it-alone approach that got him elected in 2016. On August 14, President Trump offered a glimpse of a more calming and conventional president, but he ended the day with a flurry of angry tweets that left little doubt he intended to govern on his own terms. President Trump, after two days of issuing equivocal statements, bowed to overwhelming pressure that he personally condemn white supremacists who incited bloody weekend demonstrations in Charlottesville. But before and after his conciliatory statement — which called for “love,” “joy” and “justice” — President Trump issued classically caustic Twitter attacks.

President Trump retweets far-right activist after condemning hate groups

Submitted by benton on Tue, 08/15/2017 - 06:50

Editorial: Trump’s first response to Charlottesville was tepid and mealy mouthed. His second was too late

Submitted by benton on Tue, 08/15/2017 - 06:50

White supremacist rally could be tipping point for tech's tolerance for hate speech

A rise in domestic hate groups — whose vitriol spilled from online forums to the streets of Charlottesville during a violent weekend protest by white supremacists — is intensifying pressure on GoDaddy, Twitter, Google and others to put a lid on US extremist sites.

Civil libertarians and religious leaders say the deadly Charlottesville protest could be a tipping point for technology services to bow to consumer outrage and boot white nationalist and neo-Nazi sites that violate terms of service. If this happens, it will be a change that's slow in coming. Many Internet providers and platforms include policies that allow them to drop customers and users for a variety of reasons, including incitement of violence and hate speech. But they also have cast themselves as forums for the free-wheeling debate that's been a hallmark of the Internet, a role that makes them loathe to police the content their users share.