If you didn't see "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver on Sunday, his Main Story was about content moderation on social media, with a focus on Facebook.  It's a pretty funny report, since the topic lends itself to ridicule, but it's also an important and interesting story.
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​Ah, Sweet Twitter, what hath thou become under MusXk...

Yesterday, in response to a tweet left by new White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that was a song-and-dance attempt to explain away something that wasn't true, I wrote the following --

"You have started your tenure VERY poorly for someone who said she 'was about the truth.'  This below at best is a gobbledy-gook to explain a jumble. You lied about the military going into California. And lied about $50 million meant for Gaza that supposedly went instead for bombs."

To my surprise, I received an email from the folks at TwiXter that said --

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Needless-to-say, after ungnashing my teeth and unclenching my typing fingers, I saw that at the bottom of their email, I was allowed to appeal their algorithm's "decision."  I did not, explaining that I merely criticized the press secretary for lying and there was nothing in my tweet that promoted violence or threatened, and nothing was based on age, gender, religious or whatever.  (I'd have said much more, but I was limited to only 280 characters.)

I explained this online, and then rephrased my original tweet, trying to figure out some way to tone down what was only bluntly critical but not threatening in any imaginable way.  I trimmed out a few words and also cut out the reference that Ms. Leavitt herself made to bombs, since I thought that that word might be been what the algorithm saw and thought was a "threat."  And so, my post now read this kinder, gentler way --

Moments later, also to my surprise, but this time a happy surprise, I received a quick follow-up from TwiXter to my appeal that said --

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Oh!  How nice.  Honestly, I didn't expect that.  And so quickly.  Sanity ruled the day.  So, okay, good!

But then came the funnier part. 

Much to my, once again, surprise -- after I had toned down my tweet (written before getting their ruling that it was perfectly OK), the algorithm limited my toned down tweet that -- which moments before they had just ruled that the original tweet was fine!

I decided not to challenge the "limited visibility" of the rewritten tweet, since the original was more pointed and better.  And I just deleted the rewrite.

Mind you, I still have absolutely no idea what the algorithm saw that it considered even remotely violent or threatening about my original tweet, since (in my rewrite) I deleted what I thought was the only conceivably algorithmically-threatening word, "bomb" -- and it still got tagged.

Some days, it seems you just can't trust a MusXk-based algorithm.  Go figure.

More than a few friends periodically ask me, “Why do you keep posting on Twitter?  Isn't it crazy there?"  I always answer that, yes, Twitter is incredibly crazy – indeed, ever since Elon Musk took over and opened the door wide with a welcome mat for racists, anti-Semites, fascists and lunatic conspiratorialists, it’s become even crazier and nastier.  But I stay because…Anatevka’s our home.  Wait, sorry, wrong musical.  I stay because the election is too important not to put on a protective helmet and respond to lies, lies, more lies, disinformation and hate.
 
All that holds true, though I’m not sure that TwiXter hasn’t morphed into something else that might not be worth – well, I won’t say “the time,” but – as much time.  What it’s become is whack-a-mole.
 
The lies, disinformation and crazy theories have become so pervasive that there’s no way to respond to even an angel’s breath of them.  The one you do respond to is only one of probably hundreds or thousands saying the same thing.  And that one may have two or three lunatic screeds within it to refute – an even bigger challenge for responding since TwiXtter only allows 288 characters in a tweet.  (You can, of course, respond with more than one tweet, but there’s no guarantee each will be seen by the people following the initial discussion, and so they only react to the one they see.)  Further, a rational response of reality to a conspiratorialist will generally be dismissed simply for the fact that you made it.  Disagreement with a conspiracy theory is often “proof enough” that you’re compromised or an agent of the devil or whatever.
 
That’s why I often don’t even try to debate, since arguing with facts and reality don’t matter.  So, instead I have written a default reply that I just copy-paste in.  It reads –
 
“This below is from someone who supports a man convicted of 34 felonies, found liable for rape, guilty of business fraud, says he wants to be a dictator, wants to rewrite some of the Constitution, echoes HITLER’s words, says he wants to build internment camps & has early dementia.”

And yes, that’s just under the 288 character limit.  I made sure of it.
 
Thank goodness, too, that God created the “Block” button.  It’s made life so much better.  Alas, it’s not a panacea.
 
Another main reason I participate on TwiXter, though, isn’t just to debate disinformation and hate from “the other side” – but to shore up support of those who agree with me or maybe need talking down from the ledge.
 
Unfortunately, the lunacy has now begun to permeate though the edges of one's own side, as well.  And that, perhaps more than the hate and racism, is what is making it almost not worth spending as much time in the morass.  When your “friends” are driving you nuts, and arguing with you if you don't support them in everything and are telling you off, that’s when you think maybe you should make sure you always know where the nearest exit is.
 
The great thing about the Democratic Party is that it’s, as the expression goes, “a big tent.”  Filled with many views.  The hurdle the Democratic Party has to deal with is that it’s a big tent – filled with many views.  The party has long been known for eating its young.  As humorist Will Rogers famously said back in the 1930s, almost 100 years ago, “I’m not a member of any organized political party.  I’m a Democrat.”
 
And I’m okay with that.  The different views are what give Democrats their vibrancy and strength.  But in recent days, starting months ago, the “What I heard is's …” have grown louder – never mind almost no one on TwiXter is in any position to “hear” anything from a direct, informed source, but are just passing along a rumor based on a rumor.  And the fear of “what if Trump wins…” has begun to color views, to the point that disagreement is less tolerated.  And surface-level conspiracies have begun to creep in.  (Rational, but unsupportable ones, not "JFK is coming back to life.")  A “We should boycott...” attitude also now permeates over anything you don’t like, for many.  “That reporter is really a Trumper” because the reporter asks hard questions to a Democrat is something that has begun to crop up all over, as well.
 
Just yesterday, I saw a few more cries for MSNBC to drop Jen Psaki.  Apparently she’s been more critical of President Biden than many people think is appropriate, since she worked for him.  I replied to one by saying, “Personally, I admire any reporter seriously trying to be objective and honest even against their friends, whether I agree with their opinion or not. It’s their job.”
 
Just yesterday, too, TwiXter was bombarded with Democrats red-hot outraged at Adam Schiff for calling on President Biden to leave the race.  While I certainly understand people being upset, I can make a great case for him staying in the race or leaving.  What I don’t like much is when politicians make the case publicly for dropping out, since they have direct access to the real power brokers that the rest of the public doesn’t have.  But being upset at Schiff’s decision (or supporting it) is one thing.  It’s another to see the tsunami of questions on social media about if he’s been bought off, is his campaign in trouble, is he out of money, “I heard on the street that…” (yes, someone actually said that) and how, oh my God, this is trouble for California.  I left as many  replies as I could saying that -- “Steve Garvey outraised Adam Schiff this last quarter by $1 million.  Overall, however, Schiff has outraised Garvey by almost $30 million.  He has $3 million more cash on hand than Garvey.  And a poll just showed that Rep. Schiff was leading former first-baseman Garvey by 25 points!  No, Adam Schiff is not in trouble or bought off.”  But there are only so many times you can keep posting that.
 
Just yesterday, again -- and yes, this is all just yesterday -- perhaps my favorite exchange of the day came from someone trying to drag me into an argument because she disagreed with something I wrote and, in doing so, made a claim of fact that, in fact, had no basis as “fact.”  So, how do I respond?, I wondered.  I checked her bio, laughed, and wrote back – “I see in your bio that you have disdain for the left and antipathy for the right. Fair enough, but that's not an arena I care to participate in, so someone else is going to have to jump in and debate with you.  Not me.”
 
And that’s why God also created the “Mute” button.

And none of these "yesterday" tales were were from the other side of the aisle.
 
So – we’ll see.  I’ll continue posting on TwiXter to provide links to my articles here.  And I’ll continue posting thoughts about news stories.  And I’ll let my eyes drift over other posts to see if there’s anything I strongly agree with and want to lend support – or anything (especially from a MAGOP official) that’s a blatant, egregious lie or disinformation that I want to refute.  Or…who knows?, perhaps continue replying to a range of topics (being careful not to get dragged into whack-a-mole) – as long as I follow what may possibly be a new rule:  don’t read replies.  Or at the very least, debate them.
 
There’s still too much of importance with the election to depart TwiXter,  But I never much cared for playing whack-a-mole in a game box, so I can’t see any reason to start playing it online.

HBO has changed its policy of releasing the Main Story video from Last Week Tonight with John Oliver on Mondays, the day after the broadcast.  Now, they are releasing it on the Thursdays following.  So, if you didn't see the show this past Sunday, here 'tis.

The Main Story was on Internet scams, specifically a scam that goes by the notable name of "Pig Butchering."  (No, this has nothing to do with animals, but the victims of the scam.)  The story is extremely interesting, and often very funny.  (And Oliver is more self-effacing in his ridicule of himself than usual.)  But it does take a darker turn when diving deeper into the scam.

​One of the most hilarious, if insane issues that is maniacally triggering the extreme right – both the base and GOP officials – is Taylor Swift going to Kansas City Chiefs football games and cheering for her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who is a tight end on the team.  This has ratcheted up even more now that the Chiefs will be playing in the Super Bowl.
 
This is all leading somewhere, so bear with me, even if you think you’ve heard it all.  Something new just cropped up, and it’s pretty lunatic.
 
Not that everything so far isn’t hugely lunatic already.  Starting with getting so deeply upset over a young woman cheering for her boyfriend at a football game.  Actually, you would think that a white, blonde woman cheering for her sports hero boyfriend would be something at the heart of today’s Republican Party. But not with Taylor Swift.  And Travis Kelce.
 
Travis Kelce is trigger enough for Republicans, since he’s done ads about getting COVID booster shots, which only to today’s GOP is considered something worth outrage.
 
But Taylor Swift?  She’s making their heads explode.  That’s because she endorsed Joe Biden in 2020, has endorsed Democrats and – and troubling of all for Republicans – is registering voters at her concerts and online.  Just one Instagram post with link last October got 35,000 new registrants that day.  But that’s nothing compared to 2018 when her Instagram post then got 102,000 new voters to register within two days.
 
By the way, her posts don’t say who to vote for or even party to register with, just to register.  In fairness, she did once say about Trump, “We will vote you out,” and her followers do tend to be younger and more liberal.  But still – it’s just been a request to register.  Nothing more.
 
What’s been so hilarious (and truly crazy) is the level of conspiracy and outrage she has evoked among the extreme right.  One tweet that transcended "deranged" explained in detail how it was a plot with agents of with Satan who were working to get President Biden re-elected.  (Apparently, this person believes that Taylor Swift is more powerful than God.) 

There was a conspiracy-laced comment from Jesse Watters of Fox who referred to Taylor Swift as a 'psyops."  (Conspiracies about Taylor Swift became a really big deal on the extreme-right when she was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.)  Several tweets from people now explain that this is all a conspiracy with the NFL to get the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl.
 
Indeed, one of those came from outer space, suggesting Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are nothing more than an artificially-created couple designed solely to announce their endorsement of President Biden right before the election.
 
Oh, I should note that that crazy one came from Vivek Ramaswamy!  Really.  Honest.

​Of course, nothing cries "artificially culturally propped-up" like the woefully unqualified Vivek Ramaswamy's "presidential campaign." But then, pretty much all his pronouncements have been "wild speculation," so why should we expect him to stop now? Though it’s nice that he considers a Taylor Swift endorsement "major."  And the least-kept secret of the presential campaign.​
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(Just to be clear, as the cookies say, this is from 2020.)
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​But my favorite reaction has been from a fellow named Nick Adams, who says that he wrote a book which was endorsed by Trump, and who goes by the handle “Alpha Male.”  He wrote –
 
“By being on the team that won the AFC Championship, Travis Kelce will received [sic] a bonus check of around $70,000.
 
“For those wondering why Taylor Swift is dating Travis Kelce: are things beginning to make sense now?”
 
It’s hard to describe how much that theory transcends hilarity.  Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is the first concert tour ever (man or woman) to gross over a billion dollars. Further, the concert movie of the tour recently became the highest-grossing concert film of all-time, making an additional $261 million. But...but…but a "bonus check" of -- $70,000!  That her man will get. A check which doesn’t even go to her, and which when they started dating she could only hope he might win two playoff games to receive (games for which the team was the underdog in both) – that’s why Taylor Swift started dating Travis Kelce.  “Alpha Male,” indeed.
 
(Fun fact:  Taylor Swift gave $100,000 bonuses each to 50 truck drivers on her tour.  And also gave bonuses to dancers, musicians, technicians, caterers and other crew members on the tour.  But Travis Kelce got a $70,000 bonus and might pay for dinner or buy her a nice pendant!!)
 
And none of delusion yet is the point here.  I’ll get to it in a quick moment.
 
It’s all really quite nuts.  On several levels.  One is that, while, yes, she's supports Democrats and is registering voters -- though of any party -- all she is doing right now that is driving them crazy is...cheering for her boyfriend at a football game.  And if she's on camera cheering, that's the network's doing.  Just like they periodically put the camera on San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy's parents throughout the game yesterday.  And it's all the more bizarrely deranged when you realize that these attempts to counteract Taylor Swift (for cheering for her boyfriend) are so doomed to failure that the phrase “doomed to failure” doesn’t even come close to explaining how doomed to failure they are.  Consider --
 
Taylor Swift has 272 million followers on Instagram!  Not all in the U.S., of course, but – well, that’s a lot.  And she has 95 million followers on Elon Musk’s TwiXter.  All of them people who really, really, really love Taylor Swift.  A whole lot.
 
Which brings us to the point here.
 
And the point isn’t Taylor Swift, that was important background.  The point is Elon Musk. 
 
The Elon Musk who cries out that at the core of his being is Free Speech.  For all…except that journalists who criticize him, they get their accounts blocked.  And except for people in his company who do things he doesn’t like, they get sued. 
 
That Elon Musk.  The guy who told all users of Twitter (before weirdly changing the name to “X”) to vote for all Republican candidates.  And followed the request of the Turkey dictatorship to block information before the country had an election.  And has backed requests of other despots.  And retweeted and called “true” a deeply virulent and profoundly untrue anti-Semitic tweet.  And has made number deeply anti-Semitic comments, like saying that Jewish financier and Democratic donor George Soros “hates humanity.”
 
And the Elon Musk who told all advertisers that if they didn’t like him, after posting a particularly anti-Semitic comment, they could “Go f*ck yourselves.”
 
That Elon Musk.  Mr. Free Speech.
 
It turns out that many people on TwiXter found that Taylor Swift had been blocked from the accounts.  But even more than that, it turns out that everyone on TwiXter has been blocked from just searching for Taylor Swift!
 
I found this hard to believe.  But it was easy to check out.  So, I did a search for Taylor Swift.  And this is the result that I got --
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What I especially love is that it not only says, "Something went wrong" with zero results, but that it adds, “Don’t fret -- it’s not your fault.”
 
I had to laugh at that.  Because -- oh, believe me, I know it was not my fault.  In fact, I have a good idea whose fault it is.
 
It certainly could have been a temporary, totally innocent accident.  But I checked six hours later, and it turns out there was nothing temporary yet about it.  The issue was still there.  Nor, given Musk's endorsement of all Republicans and support of despots and dripping arrogance that he can do anything and if you don't like it, you can to f*ck yourself, was there any reason to believe it was an accident or innocent, even if it was.  Because in the end, that it took as long as it did, amid all the blistering attention on the problem, whatever its cause, innocent or otherwise, to finally "fix" what was most surely a simple, quick fix is the most glaring Musk-related indictment of all -- not just of who he is, but how he's gutted his tech department.

The thing is, of course, with 95 million followers on TwiXter, I think there's a really good chance that her fans would be able to find Taylor Swift.
 
No matter how much Mr. Free Speech wants to tell you to go f*ck yourself.