The Censorship Conundrum: How Big Tech’s Silent Purge is Silencing Dissenting Voices
As the great Irish philosopher, Oscar Wilde, once said, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” However, in today’s digital age, it seems that loving oneself and one’s opinions is a recipe for disaster, especially if those opinions don’t align with the powers that be. I’m Ryan “Dickie” Thompson, and I’m here to tell you that the censorship conundrum is real, and it’s coming for us all.
Recently, I noticed that more than half of my released songs had disappeared from YouTube without so much as a whisper of explanation. No red flags, no warnings, no notifications – just a silent purge. It’s like waking up to find your house has been burgled, but the thief left no evidence, no fingerprints, and no signs of forced entry. You’re left scratching your head, wondering what just happened.
This isn’t just a YouTube problem; it’s a systemic issue that’s pervasive across Big Tech. I’ve seen it happen on Facebook, Google, and other digital platforms that were once hailed as the bastions of free speech and open discussion. Now, they’re more like digital prison yards with invisible walls, where dissenting voices are quietly silenced without warning or justification.
The Illusion of Transparency
Remember when Mark Zuckerberg promised us that Facebook would no longer be the Thought Police? When he said that fact-checkers would step back and give context, not censorship? Well, that promise was about as reliable as a politician’s promise to lower taxes. My community groups, including the Dublin Buy Sell and Trade group and the Athy Ireland Community page, vanished without a trace, taking with them thousands of members and countless conversations. No notification, no flagged violations, no recourse – just a digital land seizure that left me feeling like I’d been robbed of my online livelihood.
This isn’t just a minor inconvenience; it’s a direct attack on our freedom of speech and expression. It’s like having your home leveled overnight and being told it never existed. The silence is deafening, and it’s a silence that’s more dangerous than the censorship of the past. At least back then, you knew what you were up against – a clear and present enemy that sought to suppress your voice. Now, it’s like fighting a ghost – an invisible, omnipotent force that can erase your online presence without leaving a footprint.
The Music Blacklist
Let’s go back to the music, shall we? In the last nine months, I’ve produced 128 songs – all independently released, all original content. And yet, only 38 of them remain on YouTube. The others have been quietly removed, without so much as a whisper of explanation. No demonetization, no age restrictions – just a blanket removal that’s left me wondering what I did wrong. Was it the lyrics? The melody? The fact that I refused to toe the line and sing the praises of the powers that be?
This is algorithmic erasure, folks – censorship without flags, leaving no fingerprints behind. And it’s far more insidious than the censorship of the past, because it’s so subtle, so silent, so seemingly innocuous. But make no mistake – it’s a deadly attack on our freedom of expression, and it’s happening right under our noses.
No Crime, Just Wrongthink
So, what did my songs contain that warranted deletion? No hate speech, no violence, no copyright strikes – just messages that challenge the status quo, songs that question the narratives, tracks that call out the machinery of control and compliance. And that, it seems, is the real crime in today’s digital dystopia: refusing to pick a side, refusing to toe the line, refusing to conform to the expectations of the powers that be.
I don’t lean left; I don’t lean right. I lean into truth, into principle, into reality. And that’s what gets me into trouble. One side wants me to call a man a woman on command, under penalty of deplatforming. The other side wants to shove me into religious doctrine as state policy. And I say no to both, because that’s not how civilization works – or at least, that’s not how it used to work.
Inspiration from the Dissidents
But I’m not one to be silenced, and I’m not one to give up. I’ve read Orwell, Bradbury, Huxley, Rand, and Solzhenitsyn – the great dissidents of literature who warned us about the dangers of censorship, propaganda, and groupthink. They were the oracles of our times, the prophets who saw into the future and warned us about the perils of our present.
George Orwell showed us how truth can be erased and rewritten by those who control the present. Ray Bradbury warned us how censorship wouldn’t need firemen – just enough distraction. Aldous Huxley predicted a future where people wouldn’t fight censorship, because they’d be too drugged by comfort and entertainment to notice. Ayn Rand showed us the soul-deadening effect of collectivism disguised as moral certainty.
These were not just works of fiction; they were battle manuals for what we’re living through right now. And I’m not just a commentator; I’m a witness. I was there in Seattle when mobs set my building on fire, when ideology became a weapon and truth was collateral damage.
The Solitary Path
Walking the solitary path of dissent is a hard road to travel, especially when the world around you seems determined to silence your voice. But I’m fine with that, because the truth doesn’t need to go viral; it just needs to be heard by those ready to hear it. I don’t care if Facebook deplatforms me; I don’t care if YouTube shadowbans my songs. I’ll keep creating, keep publishing, keep broadcasting – not because I expect approval, but because I demand reality.
Censorship without warning is the soft tyranny of our age, the algorithmic execution of inconvenient voices. And the only antidote is to keep speaking, especially when they want you silent. So, let’s raise our voices, let’s make some noise, and let’s fight for our right to free speech and expression. For in the end, it’s not about winning or losing; it’s about being heard, being seen, and being counted. Stay dangerous, me friends!
