Update 3: @dessalines@lemmy.ml did state that they (singular) disagree that a genocide is taking place.
Update 2: My conclusion
- @dessalines@lemmy.ml, one of the developer of Lemmy, is a “tankie” who refuted the Uyghurs genocide.
- @dessalines@lemmy.ml is also an admin of and funds the website Lemmygrad.ml.
Update: So I dug around a little deeper, and found that
- @dessalines@lemmy.ml is /u/parentis_shotgun on Reddit. Source: https://archive.is/Ky9vd
- /u/parentis_shotgun moderates some subreddits, including r/InformedTankie, r/asktankies, r/GunZedong. Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/parentis_shotgun
- /u/parentis_shotgun got banned from r/socialism for “refuting the ‘China is genociding Uyghurs’”. Source: https://archive.is/CwFZC
- /u/parentis_shotgun then launched lemmy. Source: https://archive.is/132fW
- @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml, one of the admin of lemmygrad.ml, referred to themself as @dssalines@lemmygrad.ml in a post on lemmygrad. They also claimed that they built Lemmy. It seems like @dssalines@lemmygrad.ml changed their username. Source: https://archive.is/LlzKb
- At this point, I am convinced that the admin @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml is @dessalines@lemmy.ml.
- Another admin over lemmygrad.ml said that Lemmygrad is paid by @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml, while another mod said that @muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml is funded by the NED. Source: https://archive.is/G5Dh7
- What is the NED? I have no idea, but Google suggests that could be The National Endowment for Democracy (NED), an independent, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world.
- Lemmy was also funded by NLnet with financial support from the European Commission’s Next Generation Internet programme. Source: https://nlnet.nl/project/Lemmy/
On another topic, there are rumors circulating that we are fascists or supported genocide. These claims are completely false, and like most viral twitter threads, are coming from a single Mastodon user on a personal vendetta who didn’t provide any sources. Such slander doesn’t deserve any response and is best left ignored.
- Previous discussion on the moderation policy on lemmy.ml including response from @dessalines@lemmy.ml : Expressing concerns about moderation policy on lemmy.ml
- Accusation of a Mastodon user (probably the one they are referring to): https://mstdn.social/@feditips/106835057054633379
- Essays from @dessalines@lemmy.ml: https://github.com/dessalines/essays/blob/master/socialism_faq.md
Update: More info about @dessalines@lemmy.ml
See, it’s all this stuff that really makes the
Such slander doesn’t deserve any response
statement feel very Steve Huffman to me. It very clearly does deserve a response because the problem doesn’t end with just saying “nope lol that’s not us” and people like me have to go digging through all this bullshit just to figure out the facts: they believe anti-China news and similar is U.S./media propaganda and will moderate opposing viewpoints with “Orientalism” bans and similar. That’s not a hard statement to type, and if this viewpoint is in good faith then I struggle to see why they refuse to just say that and consistently resort to “if you don’t like our moderation policy feel free to join/start a different instance!” without ever actually clarifying the moderation policy. Even lemmygrad pretty much says outright “if you like capitalism, fuck off.”
makes the statement feel very Steve Huffman to me
Then you didn’t read it, they link a page that clears up their position on it right below that sentence: https://join-lemmy.org/docs/en/users/07-history-of-lemmy.html
