Censorship has been a very real problem in America for quite some time.
First, it began on social media sites. Conservatives and right-wing users often had their accounts shadowbanned and penalized, if not outrightly banned. Meanwhile, left-wing users have been allowed to say whatever they want with impunity.
Now, Democrats are ramping up levels of censorship.
The White House has a Disinformation Governance Board in the works; meanwhile, left-wingers, like former President Obama, have openly claimed the First Amendment doesn’t apply to social media.
As the battle of censorship vs. free speech heats up, conservatives are fighting back. Now, Newsmax reports that big tech is walking back certain censorship in a major way.
Pushing Back Against Censorship
When tech mogul Elon Musk purchased Twitter last month, this set off a chain reaction of events.
It thrilled conservatives who were taken with Musk’s vow to uphold free speech on the site; Musk’s acquisition of Twitter also angered leftists for the same reason.
However, since Musk expressed that he’d let former President Trump back on Twitter, ex-CEO Jack Dorsey has largely walked back permanent bans on the site.
I do agree. There are exceptions (CSE, illegal behaviour, spam or network manipulation, etc), but generally permanent bans are a failure of ours and don't work, which I wrote about here after the event (and called for a resilient social media protocol): https://t.co/fQ9KnrCQGX
— jack⚡️ (@jack) May 10, 2022
On Tuesday, Dorsey described ongoing Twitter bans as a “failure” for the platform, even citing them as ineffective. This is a far cry from previous times when Twitter justified permanently shutting down accounts with no hopes of restoration.
This also arrives as measures like Biden’s Disinformance Governance Board are getting mass pushback from Americans who don’t want free speech to fall to censorship.
It’s Not Over Yet
The battle for free speech is far from over. Already, the left is weaponizing the terms “disinformation” and “misinformation” against anyone who emotes speech they disagree with.
This isn’t in keeping with actually combating lies. Instead, it’s just a partisan effort to yank down the opposition.
Just earlier this year, Democrats were trying to have Joe Rogan banned from Spotify because they didn’t like what some of his podcast guests said about COVID vaccines.
“[The Biden admin’s new censorship board] is contrary to the mission of the U.S govt which is to defend our liberties. It’s anti-constitutional,” @TomFitton.
Watch more: https://t.co/oDlQv86VB0 pic.twitter.com/j4p96Fk1Q1— Judicial Watch ⚖️ (@JudicialWatch) May 11, 2022
Supporters of free speech should continue to stand up and push back against censorship. The right to speak freely is within the First Amendment for a reason.
If people truly believe that something being said is “misinformation” or “disinformation,” they can push back against it with speech of their own.
The answer is never censorship, nor is it letting one side become the de-facto arbiters of what is true and what is not. Americans of all views, walks of life, political affiliations, etc., will be better off with free speech remaining intact.
What do you think about certain parts of big tech starting to walk back censorship? Is this a good sign for supporters of free speech? In the comments area, please let us know.
