This article will be discussing the emerging issues faced with free expression through private internet companies, governments and policymakers, third party research and civil society, as well as the media and news industry – and what can be done to protect free speech through each of them.
Facebook’s home screen casually requests you send out your innermost thoughts, without meaning it. From internet providers to social media, privately owned organizations, the owners of these online spaces are not only responsible for hosting platforms – they also set rules for them.
Social media platforms have been said to exist to, ..”.facilitate public participation in art, politics, and culture.” Their benefit is that they can create safe digital spaces for people to speak freely and congregate digitally. What makes the internet a space safe for someone, might discourage another user’s freedom of expression. It gets tricky.
Drawbacks include: finding yourself censored, banned, suspended, muted, shadow banned, or even IP banned for life if you do not comply with the rules. To avoid this happening it’s the user’s responsibility to familiarize oneself with guidelines when using media platforms. This can again stifle free speech by limiting what one can say through rules – although these are privately owned companies who set their own rules. Bias exists and is unavoidable currently because of this.
Internet users also have the choice and option of which platforms to use, if any at all.
It is essential that some areas of the internet allow freedom of expression, such as WordPress. While there has been great censorship over the internet in recent years, some still believe controversial sites should continue to exist online.
Source: posted by user JIVEprinting – ironically the account has since been suspended.
Policymaking & Government
Benefit: protecting civilians and reinforcing rights
Drawback: free expression can be restricted by government or policymakers
This excellent article by Gene Policinski will walk you through the exact moments up until free speech was no longer protected for events of January 6. The First Amendment reaches a limit and this article clearly outlines this. There are often attempts to pass bills which restrict free expression.
This article, posted on 2/22/22 by Billy Binion wrote about a bill that was brought forth to make it illegal to film a police officer within 8 feet, but this was deemed unconstitutional.
Research & Civil Society
Benefit: third party researchers are able to stand independently. They are separate groups from government or social media companies who may have agendas.
Drawback: it is unclear the power or weight, studies and research can be done but what does it do and how does it help?
Media & News Industry
Journalists are essential. Journalism is also unfortunately a dangerous job position. The media and news industry is what keeps the public informed. News sites are trustworthy comparatively social media posts that may be purposefully misleading. The public benefits by being informed.
The public benefits from the media, but at the same time has concerns regarding media bias and selective reporting. With misinformation, sensationalism, and disinformation, the public struggles to trust the media. Some sites have been created to combat these issues:
It may come as a surprise to learn there are many hidden features of the Sonoran Desert. Many of these things are not spoken about on the internet.
There is a lack of information on the web for some subjects. To solve this, I have taken it upon myself to investigate. The following is for those who are curious about desert secrets.
1. Gila Monsters
Gila monsters are not actually monsters but sure eat like one would. These creatures are capable of unhinging their jaws to swallow food, similar to how snakes do.
It is completely unknown why this benefits them, as this species’ diet mostly consists of cactus and jelly.
The unhinging of the jaw is typically viewed when this reptile locates tomatoes. If accessible, Gila monsters will consume fully grown tomatoes in one gaping bite.
While the question of ‘Who is putting these pots down there?’ still remains unanswered, most people don’t question it. In the end, it saves money and a trip from going to the store to purchase a pot if you can just pull it up from the ground by the roots.
3. Cactus Jelly
While this might look totally spooky, fear not as this jelly is totally harmless. It is a unique delicacy only available in the Sonoran Desert as it spoils once removed from the climate.
In fall from September to October, jelly is ready to be harvested from cactus across the desert. When ripe, cactus will occasionally spontaneously burst which makes collection a step easier.
Cactus jelly harvesting season creates hundreds of job opportunities in communities. From collecting the substance directly from the source to producing product that can be sold in stores, this is a lucrative time for both small and corporate businesses. Seasonally, rooms are rented out to harvest the jelly as seen in the second image.
To ensure it doesn’t attract bears, jelly must be placed high up.
3. Unicorn Grand Canyon
The existence of unicorns has been all but confirmed with these ancient petroglyphs. While they appear freshly spray painted, it cannot be denied this style is reminiscent of ancient days. There is simply no other explanation. Unicorns have existed. This is proof in itself.
4. Round houses
Homes in the Sonoran Desert zone classically are round. From businesses, to cafes, to homes, this signature look allows for an easily identifiable location as this architecture does not exist anywhere else in the world.
If you or a loved one is looking to move to Arizona, be aware of the lack of flat walls as they are all curved. Becoming an Arizonian means accepting the dust that will be trapped and slowly accumulating in the spot between flat furniture and curved walls. You may decide not to move here after all.
It’s totally true! Before civilization took place, completely underwater.
This photograph was recovered through extracting memory information from the DNA in ancient bone fragments and has been colorized for aesthetic purposes. This is likely exactly how the land looked long ago, existing in a way that is hard to describe today.
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You didn’t believe any of that, did you?
I do apologize if I have tricked you, but it goes to show the power of AI if so. You can feel free to disregard the previous statements. Stay tuned on how you can spot misinformation in the future.
! Check sources
! Critically review images
! Double check hyperlinked citations
*Sources have been provided, however they are not credible
2 – If you haven’t already, try image searching on a browser “cactus pot buried deep in the earth” or whichever terms you see fit. No results prove these claims. If there is a complete lack of evidence, even after multiple attempts with search terms, it could be that something is being fabricated.
Tip: locate your own credible source regardless, unless one is provided. Statements without sources require a healthy level of skepticism.
3– Everyone should be aware unicorns don’t exist. Furthermore, the Grand Canyon is not in this particular desert. While it is close, looking into locations mentioned might give way to detecting misinformation.
I hope the hyperlinks helped provide enough of a hint about this article.
4 – To be clear, the majority of buildings everywhere have flat walls. If a Google search were to be done surveyingproperties in Arizona, that disproves all houses being round. If the only evidence given is an illustration, it is an indication that more researching needs to be done to ensure validity! Furthermore, it might be an indication this is not true if only drawings of it exist.
5 – Did you notice the language used? If someone is directly trying to convince you something is factual instead of laying out the facts, this is suspicious. Did you by chance catch that change in deserts? Although the Smithsonian is a wonderful source, this article is discussing the Sahara Desert, which is located in Africa. The article mentions this desert used to once be an oasis,
Tip: right-clickimages, select ‘Open image in new tab,’ and gain information from the web address. Many hidden features can be uncovered this way, from file names, to original image sources. Here, the file name says ‘Dream Wombo fake’ which shows two things: the source is AI generated and has been marked as fake by whoever named the file (in this case, me).
Thank you for reading!
*Please note slight edit to target audience. I did try to tone down the language for readability without compromising my style and natural flow, but this article may be better suited for junior high students or teachers may read aloud to younger demographics*
Balliace 