On this New Year’s Eve, billions of people will gather with friends to ring in 2025 with the hope of a better year to come. For the first time in many years, free-speech advocates have a reason to celebrate.
With 2024, we will say goodbye to one of the most reviled offices in the Biden Administration: The Global Engagement Center. I discuss the Center in my recent book, The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage as one of the most active components in the massive censorship system funded by the Biden Administration. The demise of the GEC is a good start. However, like weight loss resolutions, it will take much more of a commitment if we are going to restore free speech in the United States. It is time to make the ultimate resolution to rip out the censorship root and stem from our government.
This month, the Biden Administration fought to keep the GEC funded, but Republicans refused to include it in the continuing resolution for the budget. However, even with the closure of this one office, Biden will leave behind the most comprehensive censorship system in the history of the United States.
Over the last three years, many of us have detailed a comprehensive system of grants to academic and third party organizations to create blacklists or to pressure advertisers to withdraw support for targeted sites. The subjects for censorship ranged from election fraud to social justice to climate change.
I testified at the first hearing by the special committee investigating the censorship system funded or coordinated by the Biden Administration. It is an unprecedented alliance of corporate, government, and academic groups against free speech in the United States. The Biden Administration established the most anti-free speech record since the Adams Administration.
House investigations showed the critical role played by government officials in “switchboarding,” or channeling demands for removal or bans in social media. Officials evaded the limits of the First Amendment by using these groups as surrogates for censorship.
The system has functioned like a multiheaded hydra where cutting off one head only allows two more to grow back. These censors will not simply walk away and become dentists or bartenders. They have a skill set for censorship and this is now a profitable industry supporting scores of people who now market themselves as “disinformation specialists.”
Shutting down the GEC will eliminate a $61 million budget and 120 employees. However, these employees will find ample opportunities not just in other agencies but in academia and state agencies. There are also pro-censorship sites like BlueSky, which are becoming safe spaces for liberals who do not want to be “triggered” by opposing views . (Notably, BlueSky hired a former Twitter employee who was fired after Musk cleaned out at what is now X).
They are not going anywhere unless the Trump Administration and the Congress makes free speech a priority in eliminating each of these funding sources.
As I wrote in the book, we need to get the United States out of the censorship business by passing a law barring any federal funds for the use of censorship, including grants to academic and NGO groups.
Rooting out this censorship system will require a comprehensive effort by the new Trump Administration. So here is a resolution that I hope many in the Trump Administration will share: let’s get the United States out of the censorship business in 2025.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
Let’s get the United States out of the (covert) censorship business.
This practice is subversive and disloyal to the American oath of office!
Great piece. I never realized that our government’s censorship apparatus was this extensive. Defund the censors!
“Officials evaded the limits of the First Amendment by using these groups as surrogates for censorship.” (JT)
Actually, they did not.
A government official who outsources censorship does not evade the limits of 1A, anymore than does hiring a killer evade the limits of the laws against murder.
Those attempts to flout the Constitution via hirelings is the essence of fascism.
Great piece, JT, on the sordid mechanics of the Left’s push for censorship.
Optimistic message from Nigel Farrage:
https://x.com/Nigel_Farage/status/1874064818367349238
* not so long ago before the net and cell phones, people went on long trips to places like Death Valley in California and were fine. Some kind soul would see a car broken down and stop to help. You’d call home and say what happened, get a ride and find a phone.
Life was experienced. It was slower and quieter then.
A lot of Americans long for those good old days —
Pity Chief Justice Roberts did not name names. He should have mentioned Joseph Biden, Senators Chuck Schumer, Amy Klobuchar, Pocahontas, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, and the many other usual Democrats.
2024 Year End Report on the Federal Judiciary
Unfortunately, not all actors engage in “informed criticism” or anything remotely resembling it. I feel compelled to address four areas of illegitimate activity that, in my view, do threaten the independence of judges on which the rule of law depends: (1) violence, (2) intimidation, (3) disinformation, and (4) threats to defy lawfully entered judgments.
There is of course no place for violence directed at judges for doing their job. Yet, in re- cent years, there has been a significant uptick in identified threats at all levels of the judici- ary. According to United States Marshals Service statistics, the volume of hostile threats and communications directed at judges has more than tripled over the past decade. In the past five years alone, the Marshals report that they have investigated more than 1,000 serious threats against federal judges. In several instances, these threats have required the assignment of full-time U.S. Marshals Service secu- rity details for federal judges, and approximately fifty individuals have been criminally charged. In extreme cases, judicial officers have been issued bulletproof vests for public events.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/year-end/2024year-endreport.pdf
Professor Turley, Do you agree with Chief Justice Roberts that disinformation threatens judicial independence? Would you be concerned that efforts to curtail disinformation could have a chilling impact on free speech and the right to criticize and characterize judicial opinions?
Roberts is missing the most important problem.
That is a judiciary that is untethered to the constitution and the law.
9-0 supreme court decisions should be rare – no issue that the supreme court is unamimous on should make it to the supreme court.
We are seeing lawlessness in courts througout the country.
The lawfare targeting Trump is disturbing – but it is just the tip of the iceberg.
Why did the Daniel Penny case go to trial ? Accorss the country we see courts – mostly but not entirely on the left making decisions that are obviously driven by politics – not the law and constitution.
The left has made the courts a battle ground for politics – the result has been growing chaos and distrust of our courts.
Every problem that Roberts identifies is the conequence of courts that are no longer trusted.
It is the Supreme courts job – and Roberts particularly to impose discipline on the Federal and to a lessor extent state courts.
SCOTUS needs to do more than issue 9-0 rulings, it needs to impose consequences – where it can – and there ARE places that it can.
When Judges follow the law and constitution ad we do not like the results – we can change the law and constitution.
When judges do not follow the law and constitution – the only power we have is to remove the judges.
When they are appointed for life the means to remove becomes violent.
We should not forget that a major factor in the US revolution was King George replacing colonial judges when the courts did not act as he prefered.
* The best part is the cartoon Puck toasting to a new year 1901.
Reference the Puck building , NY, Soho. Puck was a humor magazine and if you look closely it’s by Keppler and Schwarzman forgiving spelling.
Today it houses Thrive Capital. Check my details as I am tired. Joshua kushnet brother of Jared kushner is the big wig. It’s investments in Open AI. Open AI was begun by Elon Musk and Sam Altman. Bill Gates via some convolution is a main man.
Cheers to Open AI purveyor of all that you see, touch, smell, taste, and hear and may it be a better year. Perhaps we can have history returned but Gates is hellbent on what is best for all mankind.
Perhaps a purchase of Thrive capital stock if there is such or Open ai via Thrive. Open AI can’t be purchased by just any slob. … cheers.
Hip hip hooray!
* The punch bowl looks a bit like a boiling cauldron.
Gates owns 49 percent invested 13 billion now valued at 157 billion.
Nope on the stock. Private.
Try tangling with that octopus…
Adieu and happy new year 2025.
* oh goody gum drops, we’ll be living in a sci fi movie run by a bunch of immoral high IQ people…
It’s the punch bowl cauldron…
* the paths of righteousness means the right roads. The opposite are the wrong roads. This means roads will be separated. They’ll be vurtual gatekeepers opening and closing roads depending upon your designation by AI. Your roads may only be the roads used by criminals. No one can compete with IQs like these guys have and they’ll have safe roads of course where they’ll live in paradise not knowing at all the depravity of the wrong roads.
What a life…
So it turns out Carter helped North Korea go nuclear. He was a terrible president and a worse ex-president.
https://archive.is/0ZEt9#selection-1085.0-1085.790
He said you can call him the devil if you want. He doesn’t care…
He’s a demon built on greed and destruction. His super power is stupidity.
This is the most important post I have ever seen on this site. See Mike Benz to get a clue on the massive extent of the demoncrats censorship regime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o98Y1cEja-U
“They are not going anywhere unless the Trump Administration and the Congress makes free speech a priority in eliminating each of these funding sources.
As I wrote in the book, we need to get the United States out of the censorship business by passing a law barring any federal funds for the use of censorship, including grants to academic and NGO groups.” Mr. Turley
Good luck to us all, as this is what determines freedom or tyranny in the West.
Shakdi: You claim that Trump priortizes “free speech”? I guess Hannity or whatever other MAGA media you rely on for your news didn’t tell you that Trump ORDERED his nominees to stay off of social media until after Congress votes on them. Gee, I wonder why that is–could it be that their words will come back to haunt them and be thrown in their face? For example, Dr. Oz once said, in an interview, that people without health insurance do not deserve health care. Now, that’s someone good to look out for America’s health by running the Department of Health & Human Services–right?
Turley’s little toilet piece begins with the false notion that Democrats are promoting censorship–which is NOT true.
GooGoo
Do you have amnesia from all your COVID vaccines?
@Gigi Shakdi: You claim that Trump priortizes “free speech”?
AT this time of the night, you’re usually curled up with your copy of the Biden Bribery Laptop and a box full of your favorite vibrators.
You would have been a star if you had been born a century ago in Germany to be present when Hitler seized power.
Hunter Biden Laptop Online – Modeling By Gigi
https://bidenreport.com/#p=231
Given the explicit nature of the text and pictures of the Biden Laptop, this online version of the laptop contents is for an adult readership only.
ISBN: 978-1-7371866-3-2
@2022 by ICU, LLC
Is so.
“Trump ORDERED his nominees to stay off of social media until after Congress votes on them.”
So ?
Free speech is a right – being on Trump’s cabinet is not.
The problems Turley points out are NOT employers telling employees – toe the corporate line or go elsewhere.
It is not government telling those in government – to conform to the policy of the president or be fired.
It is Government censoring or directing the censorship of private individuals – “the public”.
“Dr. Oz once said, in an interview, that people without health insurance do not deserve health care.”
I would like the EXACT quote and the context.
Regardless Ox is close to correct.
Rights are things that can not be taken away.
As a rule your rights create no positive obligation in others.
Your free speech does not require others to listen.
Healthcare – like housing, food, cloths are NOT rights.
You must provide them for yourself.
This is important – because you can not make a world work in which others MUST provide what YOU desire.
“that’s someone good to look out for America’s health by running the Department of Health & Human Services–right?”
Yup.
“Turley’s little toilet piece begins with the false notion that Democrats are promoting censorship–which is NOT true.”
Of course they are.
That did not used to be true.
But it is today.
This is not even a close call.
* There are no winners, only losers.
To win you must not be afraid to state who the enemy is. Those who have declared that Democracy itself was on the ballot in the last election are actually the ones who have endangered Democracy through the use of censorship of the citizenry. This has been a typical tactic of dictatorships around the world. Democratic Republics of the Congo, North Korea and China just to name a few. Democracy is said to be in danger to support government policies in nations such as these. It is not hyperbole but fact that the tactics of the Democratic Party are perfect parallels to actions in totalitarian nations. The leaders of such nations are completely convinced that the path they prescribe is the one true path to equality for all mankind. There has now been enough history of such nations to convince the world that the truth is that some pigs are more equal than others. Evil never rests. Dedicated diligent opposition to these self appointed saviors is a matter of life in freedom or life in serfdom. Then again, some will be satisfied with bread and the circus. You chose.
These despots remain in power using a combination of censorship and deceitful infowarfare (pushing out false narratives). If we only deny those in power (or seeking power) censorship, they will immediately line up around definitions of “free speech” so broad and permissive as to include the crafting of public frauds for political effect.
If we’re serious about preventing an authoritarian dictatorship, we must figure out a way to safeguard the public square from both threats. This rules out “anything goes” conceptions of free speech that tolerate inauthenticity and untrustworthy machinations using speech, writing and images.
Keeping a political infospace working to serve the public interest with reliable information upon which to make good decisions, as opposed to one brimming with opinion-shaping operations, is much harder than just coming down hard on censorship. It requires setting standards of public candor, and the means to uphold them…something similar to the way defamation lawsuits work, but faster responding to infowarfare campaigns..
“[T]he tactics of the Democratic Party are perfect parallels to actions in totalitarian nations.”
Excellent point.
Tyrants always use “emergencies” as a pretext for subjugation. And when there aren’t enough real emergencies, they concoct them (“threats to democracy”).
“.. These censors will not simply walk away and become dentists or bartenders. …”
Now just hold on one dog gone minute there Honest Jon, I’ll have it know that my Dentist put me under Nitrous Gas induces trance and swung a searing light into my eyes while cooking my retinas,
As he performed his work asking a plethora of questions such as: “So what do you think about this election year? Do you think They’ll run Hillary? Do you know any January 6th party goers?
Then there is “The Barbershop”, with all those one-way mirrors and chatter recording devices spinning around in the ‘the backroom’. Patrons saddle into the ‘Iron Chair’, while their Head gets molested for answers. Censors know these are the bastions of rumor-mongering & backroom-deals. Do you remember the slogan: “4 outta 5 Dentist approve…”, well 4 outta 5 Dentist and Barbers will sell your soul to the Democratic party if you’re information has the right-stuff.
Also true enough that many of the de-listed employees of these Government Censorship agencies may find themselves as news reporters for the National Enquirer. There is plenty of opportunity for another Ex-President scandal to explode as the Tell-All signs are everywhere.
Just today at the Walmart check-out stand, I caught a glimpse of what’s to come sans-censorship in the National Enquirer: “Biden Scandal – What Hunter Is Still Hiding!” Look closely my friend and you will see the uncensored Truth all around you.
(See: upper left corner of rag cover) National Enquirer ~ December 23, 2024
Biden Scandal – What Hunter Is Still Hiding!
https://www.zinio.com/publications/national-enquirer/4272/issues/643444
With the new year about to start, I remembered a quotable line from a book by Charles Lever, ‘Charles O’Malley’: “Life is marked out in periods in which, like stages in a journey, we rest and repose ourselves, casting a look now back upon the road we have been traveling; now throwing a keener glance toward the path left us.”
James Fenimore Cooper: “Come, friend; you are welcome, though your notions are a little blinded with reading too many books.”
Lend a hand to a democrat so they may see a clear path forward beyond their petty politics filled with (what-ever definition you wish).
May God help us All!
“we need to get the United States out of the censorship business by passing a law barring any federal funds for the use of censorship.”
As Javier Milei would say: Afuera!
Who is going to define censorship? It cannot be those holding governing power. For the same reason, it cannot be those seeking governing power.
The definition of censorship cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of infowarriors. This begs the question: What is infowarfare, who shall decide what it is (distinguish it from that which is authentic, well-meaning and trustworthy)?
This is a very complex problem, and it always has been. What’s changing is the speed of the infospace, dissolving barriers, eliminating curation, circumventing editorial judgment, and spreading highly-effective infowarfare techniques waged by persons who prefer their motives to remain shrouded. The stakes for regrettable public decisions are increasing, e.g., Putin convincing Russians that it’s time to lower the bar for using nuclear weapons.
Jonathan: You call the GEC “one of the most reviled offices in the Biden administration”. By whom? Foreign governments who want to spread disinformation in the US to influence our elections. They are probably happy that the GEC has been closed. Which side are you really on?
What you conveniently ignore is that the GEC was created in 2016 and, according to the State Department, the purpose of the agency was to “recognize, understand, expose, and counter foreign state and non-state propaganda propaganda and disinformation efforts aimed at undermining or influence the policies, security, or stability of the United States, its allies and partner nations”. Nothing in its mandate about censoring US citizens.
But according to Fox News, you and others on the right have claimed the GEC censored Americans. Any evidence for that claim? Nope. In Murphy v Missouri conservative GOP AGs argued that the GEC was pressuring social media networks to censor conservative views. The SC ruled ruled there was “no evidence” the State Dept. communications with social media companies went beyond “educating the platforms on ‘tools and techniques used by foreign actors”. No other court decision has ruled to the contrary. But you keep repeating the nonsense about the GEC.
What you conveniently forget is what DJT plans for his second administration. He wants to use government to censor his critics in the press and in social media. He has sued Bob Woodward because he “didn’t quote me properly from the tapes”. DJT has now sued the Des Moines Register and its pollster Ann Selzer because he didn’t like a poll they put out. And DJT wants to revoke the broadcast licenses for networks that don’t follow the government’s propaganda line. And like you, DJT wants the SC to overturn Times v. Sullivan. Without the “actual malice” standard DJT and his supporters could file all sorts of lawsuits to try to silence the press.
The Trumpster’s second term promises to deliver historic threats to US press freedom. That’s the reality you refuse to recognize!
JT has really gone weird these past few years. Does he really want a fascist government? Supporting a fascist president elect sure seems to be a way to get there.
or has JT awakened to the reality of progressive liberalism and the inabilities of the WOKE Democratic establishment. Realizing the errors and follies of his past beliefs, not even Barrack the anointed one and Big Mike can save it now… Biden and Harris have revealed the reality of the cancerous corruption that is the very foundation of the federal government for all America to see, you just have to open your eyes.
Understanding free speech is very simple, it’s free and we Americans are free to say and write any damn thing we want without government interference.
Yep, and when you say stuff that is defaming or incendiary, you pay the price.
DJT is finding this out to the tune of nearly $100 million with regards to defaming the woman he sexually assaulted.
What year was that?
Mo, there was not an ounce of proof just an attention seeking mentally ill has- been looking for an easy buck — which the democrats commies provided her. Come Jan 20 this circus will be thrown out. Research her and you will believe that she belongs on mental hospital, not in a court of law.
Take a look at E Jean Carroll’s own words
https://www.thecut.com/article/donald-trump-assault-e-jean-carroll-other-hideous-men.html
That is quite an extensive history of being raped, by 20 plus different men on totally unrelated occasions …. please take your time and read it, and see what a sane person thinks.
I have no idea how this woman got away with it other than the crazy rules of lawyers judges and courtrooms.
George Conway and a Trump hating billionaire?
“A New Year’s Resolution: Let’s Get the United States Out of the Spying on their own Law Abiding, Tax Paying Citizens, without a Warrant, Business”.
While we are at it, make sure Federal employees are held to the same standards as Law Abiding, Tax Paying Citizens.
Terrific Post Johnathan,
Thank You (Staff et.al) for all the work you have done throughout the years. This past election-year has certainly earned it’s place in the top of this Century’s list of debauchery. Spy-vs-Spy (,SCOTUS Leak), Censorship galore, Bait-n-Switch (Harris), Scandals, GOP Traitors, DNC Defectors , and a President AWOL. Savored every minute of it, like a juicy Political Filet Mignon. Your missives were; tantalizing, tasteful, wholesome, and respectable. Your Team is remarkable, their diligence is extraordinary, and their resilient strength and courage (Post-after-Post), gave us insight to the realities of the swamp around Our community.
Wishing You & the Mrs. Daren, Kristin, Hartwell, the Interns and Students all the best in this coming New Year.
It’s been Fun, Now it’s going to be Great, Again!
“Over the last three years, many of us have detailed a comprehensive system of grants to academic and third-party organizations to create blacklists or to pressure advertisers to withdraw support for targeted sites. The subjects for censorship ranged from election fraud to social justice to climate change.”’
This “blacklisting” Turley is talking about is rating companies categorizing sites according to criteria, and he’s been upset about the fact that most of them rate conservative sites as unreliable or bad. He claims they “pressure” advertisers to withdraw support, but that’s not true. Turley wants these companies defunded or blocked from rating sites, which means he’s calling for censorship because they exercise their free speech rights. He doesn’t say that advertisers use these sites to decide whether to continue advertising with specific organizations or websites. That’s not “pressuring” them to choose. None of the rating companies require advertisers to follow or take their ratings as fact. The information they provide is no different than conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundations and the Enterprise Institute when they put out their ratings on anything from how politicians vote to how conservative they are.
Turley’s anti-censorship crusade is biased, and it shows. The problem is that Turley doesn’t fully understand free speech and what is required to exercise it and accept the responsibility that comes with it.
>”The problem is that Turley doesn’t fully understand free speech and what is required to exercise it and accept the responsibility that comes with it.”
I understand it. People are free to say this version of Biden is The Best Biden Ever .. . and must accept the responsibility that comes with it.
Everyone read Georgie’s very last paragraph. As usual, little georgie “fully understand[s] free speech” so much more than the professor. Oh save me!
That is not what was said. As usual, reading comprehension rears its ugly head. No wonder Elon Musk prefers foreign workers over Americans. There’s less risk of poor reading comprehension issues.
As usual, reading comprehension rears its ugly head.
Handicapped by a single digit IQ, George tries to rationalize people mocking his Kamala Harris word salad posts by whining “reading comprehension”.
There’s a reason George comes here very day to try and justify his existence by saying Professor Turley and everybody else is wrong, while he alone is right.
But nobody, including George, really knows what that is when he’s mocked and held in such contempt here.
Here’s how Wikipedia defines the Global Engagement Center: “Executive Order 13584 of 2011 established the State Department’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) to support “agencies in Government-wide public communications activities targeted against violent extremism and terrorist organizations.”[5] Five years later on March 14, 2016, Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13721[6] which renamed CSCC as the Global Engagement Center while retaining its counterterrorism mission.[7][8]
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 expanded GEC’s mission by giving it the authority to address other foreign propaganda, misinformation, and disinformation operations,[9] following some Members of Congress’ call for a stronger response to Russian interference in U.S. elections through propaganda.[10][11] The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 further expanded GEC’s scope of work, including endowing it with a mandate, as reflected in its current mission statement.[12]
In September 2022, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) activated the Foreign Malign Influence Center (FMIC).[13][14][15] In May 2023, director of national intelligence Avril Haines testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee that the FMIC would support GEC and other entities within the U.S. government to help them understand “the plans and intentions of the key actors in this space: China, Russia, Iran, etc.”[13]
The GEC, which operated with a $61 million budget and a staff of approximately 120, shut down in December 2024 when the GOP-led Congress declined to renew its funding.[16]”
Last year, Republicans accused the GEC of trying to censor “conservative” speech–not true, just like Turley is trying to do here, but Elon Musk, who purchased himself a shadow presidency at the price of $300 million, was a loud and frequent critic.
Turley is just trying to normalize the MAGA media lie machines and to prepare the disciples for what is to come–to try to normalize to equate propaganda and conspiracy theories with established fact. Public health and vaccinations are just one example: RFK, Jr. will campaign against vaccinations, which will cause some parents of young children to fear getting their kids vaccinated out of the mistaken belief that he might be right that vaccines cause more harm than good–all without any evidence. RFK continues to push the disproven theory that vaccines cause autism–a theme echoed by Trump–even though studies prove that is not the case, and the thimerosol that used to be in vaccines as a preservative, that conspiracy theorists blamed for autism, hasn’t been used for many years now. That’s how MAGA world operates—pushing conspiracy theories, distrust of science, distrust of educated people and equating conspiracy theories with established fact. You would think that 83 dead Samoans, mostly children, as a result of his anti-vaccination rhetoric, would have taught him a lesson–but you would be wrong. This is just one example of the BS that is to come.
Turley: there is no equivalency between decades of established science that proves that vaccines are safe, effective and save lives with the RFK anti-vaccine conspiracy theories that have been disproven. The problem is that gullible people will believe it, and that is due, in no small measure, to MAGA media that you choose to be a part of. This is the same MAGA media that teaches disciples that Trump really isn’t a crook, didn’t commit crimes, didn’t steal classified documents, didn’t steal from his charitable foundation or defraud Trump university “students” and that our legal system, prosecutors and judges cannot be trusted because they went after Trump solely for political reasons. The MAGAs believe this crap, along with the pathetic efforts to equate Joe Biden with Trump by falsely accusing Biden of crimes for which they have been unable to come up with any evidence. The MAGAs believe it anyway, just like they believe the MAGA lie that Joe Biden is mentally incompetent. The MAGA lie machine produced the Trump “victory” that many of us fear will bring the US down, once again kill our economy, and alienate our allies. Significant numbers of gullible people believed Trump’s lie that he can immediately bring down the cost of groceries. He can’t and he lied about that.
Trump intends to pull the US out of the World Health Organization–a tragic mistake that will bear bad fruit for generations to come. Excerpted from “Wikipedia”:
“The WHO’s purpose is to achieve the highest possible level of health for all the world’s people, defining health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”[5] The main functions of the World Health Organization include: to promote the control of epidemic and endemic diseases; to provide and improve the teaching and training in public health, the medical treatment of disease and related matters; and to promote the establishment of international standards for biological products.” The only way to diminish the spread of communicable diseases is to be aware of new infections when and where they arise, how they are transmitted, to monitor them and share the best scientific knowledge about treatment and prevention. Without sharing information via the WHO, the US will be at a stark disadvantage.
Now, WHY would Trump oppose the WHO, other than it would serve as a bulwark against the bad public health lies and conspiracy theories that are coming–Trump said he’d allow RFK to “go wild” on public health. We already know how Trump’s lies about COVID and his rolling back of regulations on things like air pollution cost American lives. Public health officials say that if vaccination rates for diseases that have been mostly eradicated fall below 90%, we will see the return of things like polio, measles, rubella and diphtheria. People will die. Kids will once again be crippled for life. But, hey, freedom of speech, according to Turley, is the freedom to lie to gullible people. Any official push back would be that dreaded “censorship”, the significance of which Turley exaggerates.
“This “blacklisting” Turley is talking about is rating companies categorizing sites according to criteria”
That are often formed by government, and or paid for or subsidized by government.
That is unconstitutional.
“he’s been upset about the fact that most of them rate conservative sites as unreliable or bad.”
No we are upset because government is actively particupating in censorship – worse Political censorship.
I would note EVERY organization that Turley mentioned – such as CISA or GEC are either litterally part of government or formed and funded by government.
“He claims they “pressure” advertisers to withdraw support, but that’s not true.”
It is true, but the PROBLEM is that these entities are answeable to no one.
They are other part of governmet or funded by government.
If you wish to fund GEX – that is your business.
” Turley wants these companies defunded”
Correct – Government MAY NOT FUND THEM.
“blocked from rating sites,”
They are answerable to whoever funds them. They do the bidding of whoever funds them.
As the saying goes “h e who has the gold, makes the rules”
That can NOT be government.
If George Sorros wishes to fund ratings – that is his bussiness – he can do as he wishes with his money.
If these are funded by private contributions that is fine.
If they are funded as a subscription service by consumers – that is free markets.
I would separately note these organizations are fundimentally unnecescary.
Most modern web systems have ratings systems and as a result content is emphasized or de-emphasized based on user preferences – and that is the optimal way to deal with things.
Then YOU can make ratings choices that result in YOU getting felivered left wing nut ludicrously stupid content and live within your bubble.
“which means he’s calling for censorship because they exercise their free speech rights.”
NO they are engaged in government funded supression of speech – that is NOT free speech.
“He doesn’t say that advertisers use these sites to decide whether to continue advertising with specific organizations or websites.”
That is irrelevant. Advertisers can make their decisions however they please.
GOVERNMENT can not influence that processs.
I would note that consumers have been fairly effective at influencing companies.
Disney, Bud Light., Harley Davidson. Tractor Supply, John Deer – are a FEW of the businesses that have chosen to stop this left wing nonsense.
I expect as Trump gets the SEC out of the business of polkitivally manipulating businesses we will see and end to DEI and ESG which are counter productive and make us all poorer.
There is BTW a building body of evidence that Corporate and academic DEI makes things WORSE – it creates hostility both in the so called oppressed groups and the so called opressors.
It accomplished the opposite of what it is intended to do. But that is typical of left wing nut solutions to problems. They actually do the opposite of what they intend.
” That’s not “pressuring” them to choose.”
Of course it is – it is aslo perfectly vine even a valid service – so long as govenrment is not part of it.
Good Housekeeping, UL, Consumer reports, myriads of other private ratings agencies of many kinds exist.
So long as they are not government funded or influenced that is fine.
“None of the rating companies require advertisers to follow or take their ratings as fact.”
Corrcect – FORCE is not the same as pressure.
Government can not fo or fund either.
“The information they provide is no different than conservative organizations like the Heritage Foundations and the Enterprise Institute when they put out their ratings on anything from how politicians vote to how conservative they are.”
The difference is that heritage and EI do not receive government funding.
“Turley’s anti-censorship crusade is biased, and it shows.”
Nope.
” The problem is that Turley doesn’t fully understand free speech and what is required to exercise it and accept the responsibility that comes with it.”
ROFL.
There is litterally NO RESPONSIBILITY that comes with Free speech.
But there MAY be consquences – but ONLY privately imposed consequences.
Government may not participate.
“I testified…” Blah blah blah.
You also testified about Biden being impeached.
How’s that going? Any day now? Today? Before the new year? Next week? Before the 20th?
Any day now.
I’m just curious, how diligent will JT be about trump and the BS his administration pulls.
Your liberal tears are delicious this time of day.