Send us your letters on Freedom of Speech, Trump, and social media
By Brandi Makuski
We’re living in truly unprecedented times, and we want to hear how you feel about it.
We want your open letters on what’s happened in America since Jan. 6. In the wake of President Trump being banned from numerous social media platforms, the Parler platform getting booted from various servers, the ongoing “Fake News” memes, accusations of censorship on social media, and the violent mob that attacked the Capitol last week, we’d like to explore the First Amendment, personal accountability, private space versus public space, and censorship, and what they mean to our lives today.
For possibly the first time ever, many people are now being forced to consider First Amendment issues as they relate to social media—a forum never even imagined when the First Amendment was ratified in 1791.
We’re putting together a special section for our Jan. 24 edition looking at these issues. We hope that finally, we can put a greater context behind these issues and engage in a community conversation actually worth having.
We welcome your thoughts on what’s happened, and what’s continuing to happen, in our country. Do you believe that speech is unfairly censored on social media, and why? Do you believe speech on social media should have consequences, and if so, what kind, and who administers them? Have “big tech” firms like Twitter and Facebook become too large and powerful, and if so, what effects do you see? Has social media taken over our lives, and is that good or bad? Are “fake news” memes on social media harmful? Do you take offense at someone else’s free speech, or do you engage in conversation to understand them better?
All questions we have been asking ourselves in the past week, and hope you’re asking yourselves, too.
Send your letters, along with your first and last name, and city/village/town of residence, to [email protected]. Submissions are due by noon on Jan. 23.