Why Deplatforming Will Inevitably Backfire

There has been a quiet controversy brewing over the deplatforming of certain people. Milo Yiannopoulous, Jordan Peterson, and most famously, Alex Jones have all been victims of platforms banning them from participating and using various services ranging from YouTube to Patreon. In our modern age, the people most likely to suffer this kind of deplatforming are usually conservative and usually for speaking out against identity politics or saying something that is now considered “politically incorrect.” There needs to be a real discussion about their ideas rather than simply exiling them from the public forum. Exiling them will always backfire.

It Looks Bad

We may not like someone’s politics or their point of view but the reality is that places like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other online services are a public square. They are where discussions take place and we simply can’t cut people off from them because we don’t like what they are saying. If that had been done during the American revolution or Abolition, our country would be a very different place. It looks bad for the platform and it looks bad on the people who have shouted for it. It increases tribalism and shoves people into media bubbles that aren’t helpful. If someone is saying something people don’t like or don’t approve of then that is a good thing. That is how debate starts and that is healthy in a democracy. It exposes problems that we need to work on and address.

It Emboldens Them

In the case of Alex Jones and others, it just encourages them to continue to double down on their views and find other ways to reach their viewers like email and private video hosting. It also gives them a reason to point out that they are being marginalized which will further confirm that they are being oppressed. This can confirm media bias for their viewers.

It Doesn’t Stop the Speech

Deplatforming someone doesn’t stop them for saying what they are saying. It merely drives it underground. In the early days of the Civil Rights movement, black newspapers and radio stations were popular because mainstream stations wouldn’t publish stories or play songs that catered to that audience. They formed their own cabal of media. This is the same thing for conservative thinkers. They will simply find ways around using other services or their own services. It drives it underground.

Confront the Issues

Rather than trying to exile these people from public life, we need to confront them head-on. In a battle of ideas, you can’t simply exile the other side from the room and declare that you’ve won. You have to confront these issues. Revolution is not won by shoving out those you don’t agree with; revolution is won by consist and solid acts that stand against the current order in favor of something else. Segregation was ended this way and this country was founded in the same fashion. These people are to be confronted and their ideology is to be confronted. They cannot simply be shoved away.

You may not like what Jordan Peterson says but it’s clearly resonating with some people and that deserves address in a democracy. We cannot, in the public square, give into groupthink. We cannot allow only one point of view. That is social fascism in it’s simplest form.