Joe Rogan Experience #1792 - Daryl Davis & Bill Ottman

Ottman and Davis reference empirical research, including their paper “The Censorship Effect,” showing that banning users tends to increase their certainty in extreme beliefs and drive them into more insular, radical echo chambers.

Ottman argues that any ‘alternative’ social network that doesn’t publish its source code and algorithms can’t be trusted on free speech claims because users can’t verify whether shadow banning, spyware, or hidden manipulation is occurring.

Daryl Davis maintains that bad ideas should be countered with better ideas and accurate information, not silence; suppressing people only sends them to more extreme spaces where they’re never challenged productively.

Davis explains that he’s helped over 200 KKK members and neo-Nazis leave extremism by listening first, not attacking their ‘reality,’ and then offering better alternative perceptions that allow them to change their own minds.

They discuss how top executives feel pressure to appear ‘responsible’ and ‘woke,’ leading to overbroad definitions of harm that can include dissenting views on politics, pharma, or COVID, while ignoring data showing censorship backfires.