TimoMalum.com

Pictured above is a screenshot of the message I received from the power-mad moderators on Mastodon.social, one of the largest servers in the Mastodon social media network. Less than two days after I joined, I got my first strike against my account for merely reposting someone else's content. The original post stayed up, but my repost was taken down. The reason given? "Content violates the following community guidelines: Do not share information widely-known to be false and misleading." 

Here's the post:

The original post by Lesley Carhart said, "I am not sure that people outside the US who have not had to deal with a similar party leader understand when we say, 'cult', we mean an actual, completely brainwashed cult. Not just racists. Not just people who like strong men or fascism, as exists globally today. An actual cult, where the members are willing to abandon their families and long-time friends, give away their belongings, and even resort to violence. Nothing, no matter how vile or rational, will get through to them except careful deprogramming. We have to contend with that. It can happen to you. Please be careful out there."

At first I thought she had to be talking about the Marxist Democratic Party, since all the things she describes are what I see every day among the brainwashed leftists. But then I saw her hashtags, which all point to "blue" targets. It was then I realized she was talking about Republicans and probably anyone who supports Donald Trump. 

I could go point by point and destroy Carhart's post, but my concern isn't so much with her as it is with the moderators at Mastodon. Why was my repost considered a violation of community standards? Was it what Carhart said, or how I replied? My reply to the post said, "Members of a radical leftist cult think YOU'RE in a cult, and must be "deprogrammed". 

My reply was true, because that's clearly what Carhart said should happen to Republicans. Is pointing out the truth a violation of community standards, or is the act of criticizing a leftist my real violation? To be clear, Carhart's post originally appeared on Infosec.exchange, another Mastodon server, but was then made visible on Mastodon.social, where my account is. (If you're not familiar with the Mastodon "Fediverse", this probably seems confusing.) It's possible the original post met the standards on Infosec.exchange, but not Mastodon.social, and by reposting it and adding a comment, I brought it to the attention of the Mastodon.social moderators who might have been okay with my comment but not the original post. Unfortunately, I will never know. I appealed the strike, asking how the repost and comment were "widely-known to be false and misleading". Within a few minutes, I got a reply: Appeal Denied. I wasn't given the courtesy of an explanation.

I really wasn't surprised. The same thing happened to me on Twitter/X, only worse: a permanent suspension with no reason given, and no response to my appeal. This seems to be the standard operating procedure for social media sites now that the stench of authoritarianism has begun spreading around the world.

But what makes it so ironic is that the majority of the posts on Mastodon are from Democrats and other Marxists who constantly whine about the dangers of MAGA fascism. Can one of them explain how censorship from the left, often in cooperation with the government and big tech companies, is anything but fascism?

Worse than I've ever seen in my life, people are radically divided by their political ideologies. We all have more common ground than we realize, but the powerful people in the establishment and the media hacks they employ work day and night to drive wedges between us. In many cases, each side believes outright lies about the other, fueled by propaganda and other deliberate efforts to keep us fighting. It's a situation that works very well for the establishment.

Social media promised to bring us together and usher in a new era of communication and understanding. But if power-mad, intolerant moderators abuse their positions and censor things they disagree with, they end up doing harm to society even if they think they're doing something noble.

Mastodon.social has disappointed me in less than two days. They should do better. They HAVE to do better. They, and every other social media site, have a vital responsibility to the public.

They must begin to understand: there is no place for censorship in a free society. But we must begin to understand: many on the left don't want us to be free.