Twitter CEO holds livestream with Snowden to talk about censorship of ‘fake news’

(INTELLIHUB) — Recently, former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey held a Periscope livestream to tackle the notion that “fake news” helped sway the U.S. election in Donald Trump’s favor. The solution to “fake news” was not censorship but rather critical thinking, Snowden said.

This discussion between the controversial whistleblower and the tech giant boss comes after Facebook announced recently that it would be partnering with ABC News, Politifact, and Snopes to assist with the debunking and labeling of so-called “fake news” on their social networking platform.

“The problem of fake news isn’t solved by hoping for a referee but rather because we as participants, we as citizens, we as users of these services help each other,” said Snowden.

“The answer to bad speech is not censorship. The answer to bad speech is more speech. We have to exercise and spread the idea that critical thinking matters now more than ever, given the fact that lies seem to be getting very popular.”

Snowden did not say whether or not he believed the claims – which the likes of Hillary Clinton and Democrat supporters pushed – that “fake news” had swung the election in Trump’s favor but rather pointed out the dangers of companies using terms such as “fake news” to censor content they disagree with.

Snowden emphasised that rather than waiting for gatekeepers to define what is and isn’t “fake news,” people should be encouraged to participate in an open dialogue with each other and point out facts based upon proven data.

You can watch a replay of Snowden’s full interview with Jack Dorsey here.

Caleb Stephen is a freelance journalist, independent commentator, political activist and the founder and Editor-In-Chief of The Caleb Report (Calebreport.com) He is also a contributing writer and editor of WeAreChange.org.

Visit his website calebstephen.com and follow him on twitter @CalebsOfficial.

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