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A review by kumquatlemon
Antisocial: Online Extremists, Techno-Utopians, and the Hijacking of the American Conversation by Andrew Marantz
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Nothing I've read in the book was seriously surprising in that I didn't expect it, but to see it all laid out, with descriptions from the perpetrators themselves, really puts into perspective the severity of lack of censure within internet communities.
There were quite a few times where I had to take a break from reading because of the amount of cynicism this caused me to feel about the general state of the world. Though it does call into question the role of techno business capitalists in this spread of viral hate, but reflecting on the past two years since "Antisocial" was published, especially after the events of January 6th, 2021 there doesn't seem to be lasting effects in how the world treats issues of this magnitude, only treating symptoms and not causes.
This is less of a review than a general inquiry, and I'd especially appreciate a discussion on this from other community members who are interested in this topic, but does this phenomena arise the need for policy reform especially as we continue to discuss political and social affairs on social media? This book is a very America-centric viewpoint and fails to account for the different cultures things like Facebook and Twitter affects. There are policy restriction on communication that are already enacted throughout the world that promotes political censorship of minorities under authoritarian rule. How might we account from how social media affects different countries?
Might be be useful to break up these companies to small subcategories? But that might also promote the censorship of citizens in a way that prevents them from enacting meaningful, positive political change. It's a much broader topic than just the removal of Nazi's (which should happen, of course). But if we have to beg these companies to remove these voices of racism and violence, can we really trust them in leading discussions that affect us culturally and politically?
There were quite a few times where I had to take a break from reading because of the amount of cynicism this caused me to feel about the general state of the world. Though it does call into question the role of techno business capitalists in this spread of viral hate, but reflecting on the past two years since "Antisocial" was published, especially after the events of January 6th, 2021 there doesn't seem to be lasting effects in how the world treats issues of this magnitude, only treating symptoms and not causes.
This is less of a review than a general inquiry, and I'd especially appreciate a discussion on this from other community members who are interested in this topic, but does this phenomena arise the need for policy reform especially as we continue to discuss political and social affairs on social media? This book is a very America-centric viewpoint and fails to account for the different cultures things like Facebook and Twitter affects. There are policy restriction on communication that are already enacted throughout the world that promotes political censorship of minorities under authoritarian rule. How might we account from how social media affects different countries?
Might be be useful to break up these companies to small subcategories? But that might also promote the censorship of citizens in a way that prevents them from enacting meaningful, positive political change. It's a much broader topic than just the removal of Nazi's (which should happen, of course). But if we have to beg these companies to remove these voices of racism and violence, can we really trust them in leading discussions that affect us culturally and politically?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
Minor: Body shaming and Gore
Please be wary that these are deep examinations of internet cultures. Marantz provides descriptions of these cultures and their talking points to help educate the viewer though it may be triggering for some.
The gore described is in reference to the attack on antifacist protestors in Charlottesville. There is a brief description of the gore experienced.