What The Alt-Right’s Alt-Internet Means For Your Free Speech
The 1st Amendment: it's America's most cherished and well-defended constitutional freedom that's not that gun one. Either way, we're used to living in a country where free speech has few limits, and only really runs into trouble when it can get people killed. But what happens when that free speech lobbies for white supremacist ideas that have historically caused violence and death? What happens when that speech comes in the form of text on websites, days after an awful tragedy? And what happens when a couple of random tech bros hold the power to boot that speech off the Internet on a (morally defensible) whim?
On this week's episode of The Cracked Podcast, Alex Schmidt is joined by NPR's Sam Sanders for a fun look at the strangest phenomenon of the past few months. Drawing on legal experts, tech thinkers, and one hard-to-stomach interview, they'll explore how a few people now hold the keys to our entire public square. And even though you're (probably) not a creepy jerk hiding out on EvilFrogTwitter.biz, get ready to consider whether the Internet freedom you love has ever existed at all.
Footnotes:
It's Been a Minute with Sam Sanders
Charlottesville Attack timeline (The Washington Post)
Gab Is the Alt-Right Social Network Racists Are Moving to (Vice UK)
The far-right's favorite social network is facing its own censorship controversy (The Verge)
The Alt-Right Created a Parallel Internet. It's an Unholy Mess. (The New York Times)
Cloudflare CEO on Terminating Service to Neo-Nazi Site: 'The Daily Stormer Are Assholes' (Gizmodo)
White supremacists' favorite fundraising site may be imploding (Think Progress)
SPLC Lists WeSearchR As A White Nationalist Hate Group
Reddit users flee to Swiss copy Voat after harassment clampdown (The Guardian)
How America Gets WWII History Wrong (And Why That Matters) -- The Cracked Podcast
7 Reasons The World Is Full Of Hate Groups And Cults (Cracked)
YouTube's Crackdown Goes Beyond Alex Jones (Rolling Stone)
CNN Took Trump's 'Animals' Remark About Immigrants 'Out of Context,' Network Admits (The Wrap)
OPINION: Meet the Renegades of the Intellectual Dark Web
Join us for our next LIVE Cracked Podcast! It's happening Saturday, June 9th at 7pm at UCB Sunset Theatre in Los Angeles. Alex Schmidt is joined by comedians Dan Hopper, Molly Lambert, and Dani Fernandez for tales of amazing performances by actors who weren't acting. Tickets are $7 and available here.
