CNN’s Don Lemon was completely incapable of airing truth and facts on his own program; but during Tuesday’s handoff with Prime Time host Chris “Fredo” Cuomo, he was demanding that social media companies like Facebook regulate peoples’ opinions because they might not “based in fact” according to him. He also wanted them to regulate what’s “true” and to show him where his critics lived. Meanwhile, Cuomo was calling for social media to upend a cornerstone of the internet and out their users.
After going at Facebook over their internal research showing how their service can be harmful to teens and questioning how their algorithm works (plus, once again suggesting Fox News didn’t report the truth), Cuomo decried how Lemon was using the word “regulation” because it would “trigger” people to be resistant.
“This isn't about restricting your rights. It's about making sure that people do what they do right,” he proclaimed. Lemon wasn’t comfortable with that notion and suggested that “What is put on your platform, at the very least, should be true. Let's start there.”
But Cuomo pushed back with the obvious point that opinions didn’t fall into that flawed framework for regulation. Lemon’s solution was to regulate those too:
CUOMO: What if it's an opinion?
LEMON: And then we go -- it should be true.
CUOMO: An opinion is not always true.
LEMON: You can have opinions based in fact. Okay? So, at the very least, it should be true. And it should be based in some sort of fact. Beyond that -- let's start at that base level, that baseline right there. And then we can go on with the rest of it.
Anyone with any form of sense understands that this is a problem because the liberals who run social media platforms can’t be trusted to even allow the truth.
Last fall, for instance, Twitter aggressively tried to censor reporting and conversations regarding the Hunter Biden’s laptop scandal just as the liberal media falsely claimed it was “Russian disinformation.” Meanwhile, the story was 100 percent true and was confirmed by Politico just last month.
Twitter also has a habit of banning first and asking questions later (which was what happened to me after I called out Lemon’s terrible drinking problem).
Further on the notion of dictating what social media companies should do, Cuomo demanded that they have the ability to out their users as his “baseline.” “And somebody should be making a social media platform where everybody who's on it says who they are,” he said. “In fact, I would like if people use their own names.”
Lemon agreed and took things to a disturbing level by suggesting that he should be able to know where his critics live: “And you should know who is responding to you and who's putting it out there as well. So, if someone says something about me I should know it's Joe Smith who lives in Wisconsin and it shouldn't just be a bot.”
Only later did Cuomo take into account that people need anonymity of the internet for privacy and security concerns. “I get that people can come after you for what you do. So, you've got to figure out the right way to do it and the right place, but we can do a hell of a lot better than we're doing now,” he said.
(I have also been on the receiving end of a failed SWATing attempt while in college, so I understand how the internet can be weaponized.)
Don Lemon’s dangerous demands were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Sling TV and ClearChoice. Their contact information is linked so you can tell them about the biased news they fund.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
CNN’s Don Lemon Tonight
October 5, 2021
10:06:46 p.m. Eastern(…)
CHRIS CUOMO: This isn't about restricting your rights. It's about making sure that people do what they do right.
DON LEMON: I'll end with this.
CUOMO: Go ahead.
LEMON: And this is a start. For the social media companies. What is put on your platform, at the very least, should be true. Let's start there.
CUOMO: What if it's an opinion?
LEMON: And then we go -- it should be true.
CUOMO: An opinion is not always true.
LEMON: You can have opinions based in fact. Okay? So, at the very least, it should be true. And it should be based in some sort of fact. Beyond that -- let's start at that base level, that baseline right there. And then we can go on with the rest of it.
CUOMO: I think the baseline should be that you should know who uses your product.
LEMON: That's true.
CUOMO: That should be the first step.
LEMON: I agree. And you should know who is responding to you and who's putting it out there as well. So, if someone says something about me I should know it's Joe Smith who lives in Wisconsin and it shouldn't just be a bot.
CUOMO: And somebody should be making a social media platform where everybody who's on it says who they are. You can have a different screen name. But that everybody's registered so that they have to own it. In fact, I would like if people use their own names.
Now, I get the chilling effect. I get that people can come after you for what you do. So, you've got to figure out the right way to do it and the right place, but we can do a hell of a lot better than we're doing now.
(…)
