Donald Trump's shutting down his website should serve to help us understand how irreplaceable social the media platforms Twitter and Facebook are -- and why everyone should have access to them and not be blocked from participating.
Trump's website was reportedly drawing less than 2,000 reads on some days, way, way down from how many reads his Twitter posts once had. In America, if you need electricity, you use the utility provided. It is a private company, but they never block anyone from participating. Twitter and Facebook have become so vital to the distribution of free speech that they are, in essence, public utilities, and people should not be blocked from participating.
Yes, flag the inaccurate stories. Provide fact-checking links. But, do not silence free speech by banning President Trump or anyone else. Let Trump and everyone else have the full benefits of free speech.
And, speaking of fact-checkers, they, too, should enjoy free speech. There are many who would do away with them. That, too, is wrong. Nobody's voice should be silenced, and that include the voices of the fact-checkers.
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