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“Shredding The Fabric Of Our Democracy”: Biden Aide Signals Push For Greater Censorship On The Internet We have been discussing the calls for top Democrats for increased private censorship on social media and the Internet. President-elect Joe Biden has himself called for such censorship, including blocking President Donald Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting. Now, shortly after the election, one of Biden’s top aides is ramping up calls for a crackdown on Facebook for allowing Facebook users to read views that he considers misleading — users who signed up to hear from these individuals. Bill Russo, a deputy communications director on Biden’s campaign press team, tweeted late Monday that Facebook “is shredding the fabric of our democracy” by allowing such views to be shared freely.
Russo tweeted that “If you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after.” Russo objected to the fact that, unlike Twitter, Facebook did not move against statements that he and the campaign viewed as “misleading.” He concluded. “We pleaded with Facebook for over a year to be serious about these problems. They have not. Our democracy is on the line. We need answers.”
For those of us in the free speech community, these threats are chilling. We saw incredible abuses before the election in Twitter barring access to a true story in the New York Post about Hunter Biden and his alleged global influence peddling scheme. Notably, no one in the Biden camp (including Biden himself) thought that it was a threat to our democracy to have Twitter block the story (while later admitting that it was a mistake).
I have previously objected to such regulation of speech. What is most disturbing is how liberals have embraced censorship and even declared that “China was right” on Internet controls. Many Democrats have fallen back on the false narrative that the First Amendment does not regulate private companies so this is not an attack on free speech. Free speech is a human right that is not solely based or exclusively defined by the First Amendment. Censorship by Internet companies is a “Little Brother” threat long discussed by free speech advocates. Some may willingly embrace corporate speech controls but it is still a denial of free speech.
The alternative is “internet originalism” — no censorship. If social media companies returned to their original roles, there would be no slippery slope of political bias or opportunism; they would assume the same status as telephone companies. We do not need companies to protect us from harmful or “misleading” thoughts. The solution to bad speech is more speech, not approved speech.
If Pelosi demanded that Verizon or Sprint interrupt calls to stop people saying false or misleading things, the public would be outraged. Twitter serves the same communicative function between consenting parties; it simply allows thousands of people to participate in such digital exchanges. Those people do not sign up to exchange thoughts only to have Dorsey or some other internet overlord monitor their conversations and “protect” them from errant or harmful thoughts.
Russo’s comments mirror the comments of other Democrats who are seeking greater censorship. Indeed, in the recent Senate hearing on Twitter’s suppression of the Biden story, Democratic senators ignored the admissions of Big Tech CEOs that they were wrong to bar the story and, instead, insisted that the CEOs pledge to substantially increase such censorship. Senator Jacky Rosen warned the CEOS that “you are not doing enough” to prevent “disinformation, conspiracy theories and hate speech on your platforms.”
Again, as someone raised in a deeply liberal and Democratic family in Chicago, I do not know when the Democratic party became the party for censorship. However, limiting free speech is now a rallying cry for Democratic members and activists alike. At risk is the single greatest invention for free speech since the printing press. Russo’s comments reaffirms that the Biden Administration will continue this assault against Internet free speech. What is most unnerving is that Russo is denouncing such free speech as “shredding the fabric of our democracy.” There was a time when free speech was the very right that we fought to protect in our democratic system. It was one of the defining principles of our Constitution system. It is now being treated as a threat to that system.
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Lies have been shredding the fabric of your democracy since forever, though info-wars and Trump have taken things to a whole new level these past years -- seems having a black president triggered way too many people.
Trump is trying to free speech you into a coup or a civil war, and if you and that Turley clown can't see it or don't care, so be it.
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I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Kory Langhofer, the lawyer representing Trump in Arizona has asked to have his "evidence" of voter fraud in Arizona sealed so that people can't see it.
Team suing Maricopa County over allegations of voting problems asks to seal evidence The attorney representing Donald Trump’s reelection team in a lawsuit alleging poll workers "incorrectly rejected" Election Day votes has asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to seal the evidence he plans to submit in support of that claim.
But lawyers representing the election officials being sued have moved to block the request, arguing the public “has a right to know how flimsy Plaintiffs’ evidence actually is.”
...snip...
“Entry of a protective order, as well as an order sealing the records when admitted into evidence, will allow full access to critically important evidentiary materials, while ensuring that the privacy of individual voters and witnesses is appropriately safeguarded,” Langhofer wrote.
In response, Maricopa County attorney Thomas Liddy [a Republican] acknowledged attorneys usually agree to a protective seal in “standard election-law cases” because “large quantities of documents from the Voter Registration Database must be offered into evidence.” But this is “not a standard, run-of-the-mill election law challenge," he argued, and plaintiffs are asking to hide "significantly more than what is protected by statute with no legal or factual basis."
If FB and the like want to preserve what little reputation they have left, they damn well ought to suppress the garbage spewing from them. Note that I said suppress, not censor. A private entity cannot censor; the garbage is free to flow to Qanonbook. Biden cannot single-handedly censor any public media; nor will Congress do it.
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There is "total fascism" going on right now and you seem unaware of it.
Trump is not part of the problem either, far as I can tell.
The press is now just an obedient lapdog of a fascist world state. There is no justice, and the press is not free. It's obvious, and blatant.
There is a heavy censorship, we all know that, and the manipulated bullchit reins on a massive scale.
Regarding Covid19 here is the real McCoy.
and those stupid stifling masks. A genuine mark of submission and obedience in the light of bullchit and lies.
The government (and the "free press") should be advising people how to be improving their immune systems, and how to shelter those with compromised immune systems from being infected.
"social distancing" is very unsocial, and totally fuks up the world economy or hasn't anyone deduced that yet? It's a great control mechanism for a big population of people though, along with promoting the nazi gestapo style snitches. Again there is ziltch real science to show that "social distancing" does any good apart from the compromised academia who are also willing lapdogs for the "one world" nazi government currently underway and well advanced.
There is no press reports to suggest anybody should boost their immune systems... the only real way to stave off a viral infection. Ten's of thousands of medical professionals views are being censored and repressed. That is not science. Real science welcomes controversy. When I heard the lockstep reports in the press in January, just like 911, it was already a screaming red flag we were being sold a narrative and story. The evidence of pre planning is thicker then flies on dogchit.
And the Associated Press even calls the USA presidential election these days ?.... seemingly so.
According to my understanding of the USA republic, that is not how the presidential election is called.
Meet a new totally fascist fuhrer and the ideology behind what is going on.
