Wrongthink not allowed at BlueSky
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Bluesky at a crossroads as users petition to ban Jesse Singal over anti-trans views, harassment
Now with 25 million users, Bluesky is facing a test that will determine whether or not its platform will still be seen as a safe space and place of refuge from the toxicity of X. In recent days, a large number of users on Bluesky have been urging the company to ban one newcomer for his opinions and works shared both on and off the platform.
Writer and podcast host Jesse Singal joined Bluesky 12 days ago to the horror of much of the Bluesky community. Singal has been cataloged by GLAAD’s Accountability Project for his writings on transgender issues and other matters. The GLAAD project “catalogs anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and discriminatory actions of politicians, commentators, organization heads, religious leaders, and legal figures, who have used their platforms, influence, and power to spread misinformation and harm LGBTQ people.”
He is now the most blocked user on the social network, and user outrage over his participation on the platform is growing. People are demanding that Bluesky take a stand: It’s either a place that promises it won’t host bad actors, or it’s a place that promises not to inflate the reach of bad actors thanks to its various moderation tools.It cannot be both.
In Bluesky’s earlier days, trans users, like many other marginalized groups, and Black and queer users, flocked to the social network from Twitter (now called X) after Elon Musk bought it and began to promote more right-wing and conservative views. Bluesky has many custom tools that allow people to control their own social networking experience, including block lists, layered moderation, custom feeds, custom algorithms, labeling services, and more. This allows users to do things like block groups of users they may not want to interact with — like MAGA supporters, for instance, who can be found on a dedicated block list.
Many in the community who escaped Twitter now feel their Bluesky experience is at risk because of Singal’s joining. As a high-profile user, he brings a network of followers with him, which could lead to increased harassment, they say.
Users can point to a wide number of Singal’s writings and opinions as points of reference for his bad reputation, but for Bluesky to ban him, he would have to have violated its terms of service and guidelines specifically.
Some Bluesky users say he has done so: He has already engaged in targeted harassment on the platform and has a long history of harassing trans folks, they say, and has shared private medical information without patients’ consent — a charge Singal disputes.A new Change.org petition is circulating arguing Bluesky should simply ban Singal.
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Plus he’s totally rational and basically correct.
He’s interpersonally polite, except with writers who lie about him. But vis-à-vis the trans community, he’s not calling them names, misgendering them, or even saying true but provocactive generalities like ‘transwomen are men’.
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FFS, he’s a slightly left of center traditional liberal. His articles on trans issues weren’t very controversial, exploring both arguments for and against. He wrote for The frigging Atlantic and NY Magazine, for crying out loud…
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This is trending on bluesky right now. I guess from the looks of it, it originated on X, but all my mind slaves on bluesky think it's perfect! Maybe jon will like it too. Jon, you're welcome!
@Horace said in Wrongthink not allowed at BlueSky:
This is trending on bluesky right now. I guess from the looks of it, it originated on X, but all my mind slaves on bluesky think it's perfect! Maybe jon will like it too. Jon, you're welcome!
I thought Bluesky is supposed to be a judgement free zone where insults aren’t allowed?
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