TikTok's estimated value is approx $300 billion. Nobody has explained why the data TikTok collects is any worse than data collected from any other unregulated platform —  X, Meta, Amazon, Google, or Microsoft.

Boston billionaire & former owner of the L.A. Dodgers Frank McCourt says TikTok is worth $20 billion.  Last week, McCourt and his coinvestors, including Shark Tank's Kevin O’Leary, sent ByteDance a formal offer to buy TikTok.

Meanwhile, Trump's team is looking for ways to delay the ban that he & fellow Republicans clamored so hard for in 2020.  Also, Trump invited TikTok's CEO to his inauguration, so clearly he's NOT concerned about China or their intent to "spy" on Americans who use TikTok. 

If you're confused, you're not alone. This whole TikTok issue is a confusing mishmash of contradictions.

That's the whole point. Fake news is fake news, not free speech.

Laura Loomer is not banned from X.

By @Leslie Moak Murray

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Loomer's account was banned for 12 hours (aka Twitter jail).  She was censored from posting/following or sending/receiving DMs.  More than 14 other conservative critics of Musk complained of shadowbanning and having their blue verification badges revoked— cutting them off from a variety of paid premium features, including the ability to monetize their accounts through subscriptions and ad revenue-sharing.  The platform essentially clipped their wings. If that's not banning, it's the closest thing to it.

Conservatives said they considered X’s actions to be a betrayal by Musk, who touts himself as a free-expression advocate even as he calls for jailing some of his critics. Musk's sizzling hypocrisy can't be ignored be either side now.

the way the Left is trying to make it into a "war" and trying to say there's trouble in paradise is fake news. As usual.

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This is why so many users made the mass X-odus from Twitter when they did.  Now that Twitter's conservatives are deprived of their preferred prey, the leopards are eating each other's faces. This screenshot says it all.

Bluesky is now an echo chamber of far left-wing voices, where if one happens to disagree - especially if you are a well-known figure - are 'blocked.'

By @Ricky336

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That's not my experience.  An echo-chamber devoid of hostility & fear is not a "far-left or far-right" thing.  It's what happens naturally when mentally stable adults control the room. 

 

I follow people on all sides of the geopolitical spectrum in various countries. I don't always agree with them, but we can agree to be civil and have respectful exchanges without resorting to name-calling & threats.

 

When trolls come out with both guns blazing -- be they left, right or center, I recoil & block them. Bluesky moderators take care of the rest. I don't care what your position is, be civil or go back to your sandboX.  Simple, simple.

 

If Bluesky users have a common interest, I think it's to see Musk permanently disappear from our orbit and relocate to Mars.

 

 

Ask yourself why the richest bully in the world who almost bankrupted his EV company in 2013, destabilized a major social media platform and shared top secret info with foreign actors is injecting himself into American politics? And more importantly, why on Earth should any of us trust this man?

 

By @Nancy OShea

'Troll - A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. '

It's interesting that in English 'troll' now means something else.

 To say that Musk should be the only immigrant to be deported when he is a legal citizen of the US is strange.

Speaking of mentally stable adults controlling the room, on the other side of the political spectrum, the US has a candidate that has awesome quotes such as:

"What can be, unburdened by what has been." 

"Fell out of a coconut tree."

"The wheels on the bus go round and round."

"I haven't been to the border or Europe."

"I really love Venn diagrams."

...and so on...

....and so we get a new phrase in English - 'word salad'.

"... but we can agree to be civil and have respectful exchanges without resorting to name-calling & threats..."

... so what about Bluesky users having a common interest in seeing Musk relocate to Mars - that's not very tolerant, is it?!

So much for being kind, inclusive and tolerant!

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

At our basic human level, we are still tribal  - birds of a feather flock together - which was brilliantly portrayed in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.  

Social media brings this to life in the digital universe! 😁