Showerthought: A video I made about a local protest in Seattle got pulled from a major platform three days ago for 'violent content'.

It was just a peaceful march, but the automated system flagged some signs. A friend in Germany saw the same clip go viral on a different site with no issues. How can a global platform's rules be so out of touch with what's actually happening on the ground?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowan_wells308d ago

Wonder what specific signs got flagged. Was it just words on cardboard, or maybe a common protest symbol like a raised fist? Makes you question who programs these filters and what they're told to look for. If the same video is fine in Germany, it really shows there's no consistent global standard, just a broken algorithm making random calls.

daniel_gonzalez8d ago

Wait, it's fine in Germany but not here? That's crazy. So the exact same video gets through in one place but blocked somewhere else. It really is just random. Makes you wonder if they even test this stuff, or if it's just some guy in an office making a list of bad words. What if it was just the word "justice" on a sign? That would get you banned?

gavin2288d ago

Spot on. These platforms use cheap, lazy filters that can't understand context. They just scan for keywords and images that might look bad to a computer. It's not about real violence, it's about avoiding bad press. So a peaceful protest gets the same treatment as a riot. The fact it's fine elsewhere proves there's no real standard, just fear.