Finally, I see comment from someone who clearly understands this. Somehow, many people perceive such a threat very non-seriously, as if they think it will never happen, or that someone will come and prevent it from happening.
Do people even understand what that means?
No, they don't. And they don't want to understand. Just look at how indifferent many are about what is happening on the other side of the planet. If offered an exclusive choice between a 50% reduction in gasoline prices and the complete cessation of all authoritarian and totalitarian regimes without prolonged wars and massive devastation, many would choose the first option. Instead of the cessation of authoritarian regimes, you can point to solving any other global issue like climate change - and they would still choose the first option. This utter indifference, mixed with all sorts of absurd destructive beliefs such as conspiracy theories or racial superiority, provides very fertile ground for the establishment of authoritarianism.
A second Trump term really is an extinction-level threat to democracy worldwide, not just in United States. Considering that Trump and his supporters promise an isolationist policy, all sorts of predatory authoritarian and totalitarian regimes will suddenly feel like they can do anything - and this will start happening all over the world.
The problem with any statements about WWIII, if made during an election period, is that they intimidate the average citizen and lead them to vote for Trump and his destructive isolationist policy. Such statements are either deliberately made to achieve exactly this result or due to a lack of knowledge about the fact that absolutely any threatening declarations by Putin on nuclear war are pure lies and bluster. In 2022, even some totally incompetent people from Biden's administration believed in this bluster seriously, and then imagined they had prevented a nuclear war. What a shame.
What will definitely lead to WWIII with 100% probability is a policy of non-intervention, NATO deconstruction, and concessions to all totalitarian frostbites, which any concessions are perceived as weakness and an invitation for the immediate start or continuation of aggressive unrestrained actions.
A second Trump term really is an extinction-level threat to democracy worldwide, not just in United States. Considering that Trump and his supporters promise an isolationist policy, all sorts of predatory authoritarian and totalitarian regimes will suddenly feel like they can do anything - and this will start happening all over the world.
IntroductionOver the last eight years, the spread of conspiracy theories has reached unprecedented scales. This occurred because society was too tolerant of conspiratorial narratives, making it highly vulnerable and susceptible to the influence of openly obscurantist ideas. In 2020, it became eviden...
One of the key reasons for the unprecedented polarization of society that we are currently observing lies in the fact that in an attempt to convey their point of view, one party disseminates its ideas to its target audience and tries to discredit its opponents through conspiracy theories and narratives. This is a very dirty tactic, as it affects people with problems with critical thinking and who are highly prone to fanaticism.
Something urgent needs to be done about this, otherwise it can very quickly lead to catastrophic consequences for society up to fascization, which will be extremely difficult to reverse.
I have prepared a petition calling for measures to counteract this threat. The petition concerns social networks, video hosting sites, and the media, and does not contain any calls for extreme measures or even the removal of conspiracy-related content.
What you can do to help achieve the adoption of these measures:
- Post a copy of this petition on Change.org. Due to some purely technical reasons, I am unable to do this myself.
- Share links to the petition in appropriate communities on Reddit (e.g. /r/Petition/, /r/Petitions/ )or in social networks (e.g., X, Facebook).
- Sign the petition.
And do you know what's both hilarious and terrifying? The Pentagon intends to use AI technologies to counteract adversaries of its country. However, AI technologies and products based on them are not considered dual-use technologies subject to strict export control. Anyone from a hostile country can simply download AnythingLLM or any similar software, then download any model from Huggingface, and use it for any purposes. There are no GeoIP checks, GitHub doesn't require mandatory registration for downloading such software to at least verify by phone number that the user is not from countries where the export of dual-use goods and technologies is prohibited.
This all happens because there are no penalties for spreading blatant lies in election campaigns. And there are no penalties for not fulfilling election promises. If each promise was given as a personal guarantee of the candidate's assets and property - the situation would be quite different.
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One of the key reasons for the unprecedented polarization of society that we are currently observing lies in the fact that in an attempt to convey their point of view, one party disseminates its ideas to its target audience and tries to discredit its opponents through conspiracy theories and narratives. This is a very dirty tactic, as it affects people with problems with critical thinking and who are highly prone to fanaticism.
Something urgent needs to be done about this, otherwise it can very quickly lead to catastrophic consequences for society up to fascization, which will be extremely difficult to reverse.
I have prepared two versions of a petition with measures that could counteract this threat. The first version concerns only the internet and media - it does not contain any radical measures and does not even require removing conspiracy content. This version is available at the link below. I consider all the measures mentioned in it necessary, but nevertheless, I would like to receive some assessment or critique with the aim of possible corrections: Link
The second one aims to address the problem more comprehensively. It also does not require the removal of conspiracy content, but includes points aimed at preventing the spread of conspiracy beliefs and internal extremism through other channels. It is addressed not only to governing structures and social network administrations and online services, but also to ordinary people who could make some effort to prevent the spread of such ideas in their circle of communication. This is a draft version, and I am still not sure about some points. For example, I am not sure whether the "inflammatory speech" with vivid descriptions of the consequences if fascization does indeed occur should be left in, but on the other hand, I'm not sure whether it should be removed because many people still perceive this threat too lightly. This version, I do not urge to sign; instead, I want to first receive feedback and an assessment of the correctness of such text. This version is available at the link below: Link
In your opinion, what of this is easier and faster to implement, and what is most likely not achievable in the short term?