A reminder to all DUers reposting content from social media: Check your sources

[CC27]

EarlG (23,588 posts)

A reminder to all DUers reposting content from social media: Check your sources

Given the situation in the Middle East, it's understandable that people want to bring the most up-to-date information they can find to DU. In principle, I'm absolutely not opposed to that. In practice, however, it means that some of the content now being brought to DU is being reposted from sources which are not appropriate for our community.

I am talking about social media sources which traffic in right-wing content, racist content, homophobic content, antisemitic content, and conspiracy content, including anti-vax conspiracy theories. Or, more often than not, all of the above.

I will note that DU's "Don't peddle right-wing talking points, smears, or sources" rule does carve out an exception for such sources:


Do not post right-wing talking points or smears. Do not post content sourced from right-wing publications, authors, or pundits. Exceptions are permitted if you provide a clear reason for doing so that is consistent with the values of this website.

Note that if you want to use a source which would typically be considered inappropriate for DU, you need to to give a clear reason for why you're doing it. If the purpose is to point out that MAGA media is turning against Trump, or if you want to highlight the awfulness of a particular X post by some right-wing public figure, then you need to give a clear explanation that that is your intent.

But simply reposting content from neo-Nazi or other extremist social media accounts, just because they've criticized Trump or other Republicans, or because they've posted an update about the war with Iran, does NOT count under the rule exception.

As you know, DU relies on the community to police itself via the Jury system. Of course, not all members serving on Juries are aware of whether certain X accounts are inappropriate, and people are often not likely to bother to check. This can make it easy for inappropriate sources to slip through. If Jury members see a post bashing Trump or Republicans, they are probably likely to think it's okay, and will be unlikely to click through to the X account only to find that it is selling white supremacist T-shirts.

So:

1) To DU members who are reposting content from social media: Please check your sources before posting to make sure that the source is appropriate for DU.

2) To DU members who are serving on Juries for the "Don't peddle right-wing talking points, smears, or sources" rule: Please don't just assume that a social media source is okay if it is bashing Trump -- actually check the source to make sure that it is appropriate for DU. If you do not wish to click through to a social media site to check the source, it is perfectly okay to cancel out of the Jury and let someone else take a look.

Thanks for reading, and for being part of the effort to keep DU clear of bigoted sources and content.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100221091629

So this means, no Maga or right wing sources? Business as usual. Keeping the DUmp an echo chamber.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Could he/she/it have written "check your sources" more in that blathering nonsensical post?

That was coded language and a dog whistle to the left to not believe any site that even veers to the right side of Democrat approved talking points.

[Old n Grumpy]

No reichwing material shall soil the purity of the dump!

[FlaGator]

No truth or potential truth shall be posted from a source deemed center or right of center.

[SVPete]

Could he/she/it have written "check your sources" more in that blathering nonsensical post?

That was coded language and a dog whistle to the left to not believe any site that even veers to the right side of Democrat approved talking points.

That post certainly went way beyond my notable tendency toward verbosity. Somehow EarlG could not simply tell DU-folk that Iran and its sympathizers are posting absurd fauxto-AIs* and not to post those or other silly AI memes.


* My favorite absurd AI purported to be the one purporting to be of the torpedoing of the Iranian frigate, showing the torpedo hitting the ship several feet above the waterline. First, that's not how torpedoes work. Second, the Mark 48 torpedo is designed to explode under the target ship, breaking the target's keel. This can be seen in the publicly released periscope video in which the stern of the frigate is blown out of the water and the ship is broken into two or three large sections.