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755 points MedadNewman | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.213s | source
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kelseyfrog ◴[] No.42891543[source]
Tiananmen Square has become a litmus test for Chinese censorship, but in a way, it's revealing. The assumption is that access to this information could influence Chinese public opinion — that if people knew more, something might change. At the very least, there's a belief in that possibility.

Meanwhile, I can ask ChatGPT, "Tell me about the MOVE bombing of 1985," and get a detailed answer, yet nothing changes. Here in the US, we don’t even hold onto the hope that knowing the truth could make a difference. Unlike the Chinese, we're hopeless.

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1. zamadatix ◴[] No.42891720[source]
Setting the specifics around each event aside, as that's not only its own rathole but also a never ending stream of "what about"s for other events as well, I doubt you're ever going to come up with an ideology where all things are correctly handled all of the time yet that doesn't automatically imply all of those are hopeless.

Anti-censorship is more a bet that when people can freely know there is more hope things can change for the better. It's not a bet all things will always change for the better. I do put a lot more hope in that than anybody from anywhere saying those who can't even openly discuss it are in better chances.