This problem is way larger than tech companies and isn't new. Some examples:
- Richard Gere got canceled for speaking out against China's human rights abuses to the Tibetans at the Academy Awards in 1993 [1];
- The Neil Armonstrong biopic "First Man" didn't have a scene of planting the American flag [2];
- These are examples of a long history of Hollywood bowing to Chinese pressure and interests [3]. Modifying a movie for the Chinese market is one thing. Modifying the global release of a movie to keep China happy is something else.
Now look at the mainstream media just this year. Some examples of stories that got zero or significantly delayed coverage include:
- The train derailment and environmental disaster at East Palestine, Ohio. For a good week you wouldn't even know this was happening if you weren't on Tiktok. Consider the irony of that situation;
- The massive French strikes and protests got almost no play in US media;
Now consider the bias in media coverage:
- Western media in general is unforgivably biased when it comes to Israel [4]. A common technique is deliberate use of active vs passive voice [5]. Example: Shireen Abu-Akleh was "killed" [6]. A more accurate headline would've been "Middle Eastern and American citizen journalist assassinated by Israeli sniper while wearing a blue press helmet and vest".
- Media coverage is unbelievably biased towards the police in cases of brutality and death at the hands of police. Guests on TV will often be former or current police. What about civil rights lawyers or victims rights advocates?
Remember this when the media writes stories about the bias in tech companies. While there might be truth to that, never forget that the media too is incredibly biased.
- Richard Gere got canceled for speaking out against China's human rights abuses to the Tibetans at the Academy Awards in 1993 [1];
- The Neil Armonstrong biopic "First Man" didn't have a scene of planting the American flag [2];
- These are examples of a long history of Hollywood bowing to Chinese pressure and interests [3]. Modifying a movie for the Chinese market is one thing. Modifying the global release of a movie to keep China happy is something else.
Now look at the mainstream media just this year. Some examples of stories that got zero or significantly delayed coverage include:
- The train derailment and environmental disaster at East Palestine, Ohio. For a good week you wouldn't even know this was happening if you weren't on Tiktok. Consider the irony of that situation;
- The massive French strikes and protests got almost no play in US media;
Now consider the bias in media coverage:
- Western media in general is unforgivably biased when it comes to Israel [4]. A common technique is deliberate use of active vs passive voice [5]. Example: Shireen Abu-Akleh was "killed" [6]. A more accurate headline would've been "Middle Eastern and American citizen journalist assassinated by Israeli sniper while wearing a blue press helmet and vest".
- Media coverage is unbelievably biased towards the police in cases of brutality and death at the hands of police. Guests on TV will often be former or current police. What about civil rights lawyers or victims rights advocates?
Remember this when the media writes stories about the bias in tech companies. While there might be truth to that, never forget that the media too is incredibly biased.
[1]: https://tfiglobalnews.com/2022/04/11/how-hollywood-destroyed...
[2]: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/06/if-anyone-can-m...
[3]: https://www.npr.org/2022/02/21/1081435029/china-hollywood-mo...
[4]: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/04/28/jerusalem...
[5]: https://www.newarab.com/opinion/how-media-bias-serves-israel...
[6]: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-61403320