Of course, similar thinkers used to believe that sanctioning Russia would work too:
“Deplatforming works,” boasted former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao, who became notorious among Reddit users for her pro-censorship policies during her brief tenure as head of the company, in a tweet posted this week.
Pao made the tweet in response to a study that showed the decline in attention for a group of right-wing commentators in the wake of their bans from YouTube.
“Deplatforming hate works,” said Pao. “It worked on reddit in 2015, and now it’s working on YouTube.”
It’s true that deplatforming people from YouTube, and to a lesser extent, Twitter, has reduced the size of their audiences.
Of course, this also demonstrates the truth inherent in the Nietschean concept “that which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. Every deplatformed individual or organization that hasn’t simply given up and gone away has become more independent and less reliant on elements under SJW control. While it’s a short-term blow, in the long term, the effect is decidedly positive.