AntiFash Gordon

1/ How stochastic terrorism works, and how Twitter is helping: 1.) Leaders push a message to as many people as possible, demonizing a minority, usually Muslims or Jews. 2.) One of their followers receives the message and attacks a synagogue or mosque.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twitter-white-nationalist-problem_n_5cec4d28e4b00e036573311d …

2/ As @lukeobrien notes, @Twitter is still platforming white nationalists. Stochastic terrorism only works if the ideologues have a mass audience for their conspiracy theories. This means they need platforms with a mass audience. Platforms like Twitter.https://www.huffpost.com/entry/twitter-white-nationalist-problem_n_5cec4d28e4b00e036573311d …

3/ Last month, Twitter admitted that they couldn't deplatform white nationalists using the same algorithms they used on ISIS accounts. Why? Republican politicians' accounts would get blocked. Because they espouse white nationalist views, too.https://splinternews.com/twitter-reportedly-worried-banning-nazis-would-mean-ban-1834308816 …

4/ In fact, now @jack and @vijaya are saying that "counter-speech and conversation are a force for good, and they can act as a basis for de-radicalization, and we've seen that happen on other platforms, anecdotally."https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/ywy5nx/twitter-researching-white-supremacism-nationalism-ban-deplatform …