TheMediumIsTheMessage
ThoughtStorms Wiki
MarshallMcLuhan's slogan.
The "shape" of media often determines what it "says" (or what it conveys) better than the overt context.
YouTube is pushing people towards the RightWing (see link on that page)
Quora Answer : Why is the Quoran political "extremist" (communist, fascist, anarchist, etc.) more tolerant and less hardcore than the YouTube one?
Because Quora is a written medium.
Words are more abstract and put a distance between you and what you say. You can contemplate extreme ideas in a detached, impersonal, unemotional way.
YouTube is the perfect medium for demagogues, because it is all about representing people's faces and body-language. Personal passion shines through. Body language and tone of voice comes through. Far more than the specific details and content of those ideas.
The liberal ideal is of free -speech so that all ideas can at least be known and considered. Even bad and dangerous ideas. But ideas are best considered calmly, in the abstract, in a detached way.
They're a bit like very strong acids. You might want to work with them, but only with thick gloves or via a mechanical intermediary.
Directly expose yourself and get them under your skin and its a different story.
The medium of text does the same thing. Let's you keep your distance and your calm and your mental health.
Allow the acid direct access to your visual / audio senses through video and the bad ideas start to eat into you.
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