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Government Corruption
Disinformation Isn't the Problem. Government Coverups and Censorship Are the Problem
2024-10-11
[Rutherford Institute] "What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer... And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please."—Hannah Arendt

In a perfect example of the Nanny State mindset at work, Hillary Clinton insists that the powers-that-be need "total control" in order to make the internet a safer place for users and protect us harm.

Clinton is not alone in her distaste for unregulated, free speech online.

A bipartisan chorus that includes both presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has long clamored to weaken or do away with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which essentially acts as a bulwark against online censorship.

It’s a complicated legal issue that involves debates over immunity, liability, net neutrality and whether or not internet sites are publishers with editorial responsibility for the content posted to their sites, but really, it comes down to the tug-of-war over where censorship (corporate and government) begins and free speech ends.

As Elizabeth Nolan Brown writes for Reason, "What both the right and left attacks on the provision share is a willingness to use whatever excuses resonate—saving children, stopping bias, preventing terrorism, misogyny, and religious intolerance—to ensure more centralized control of online speech. They may couch these in partisan terms that play well with their respective bases, but their aim is essentially the same."

In other words, the government will use any excuse to suppress dissent and control the narrative.

The internet may well be the final frontier where free speech still flourishes, especially for politically incorrect speech and disinformation, which test the limits of our so-called egalitarian commitment to the First Amendment’s broad-minded principles.

On the internet, falsehoods and lies abound, misdirection and misinformation dominate, and conspiracy theories go viral.

This is to be expected, and the response should be more speech, not less.

As Justice Brandeis wrote nearly a century ago: "If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence."

Yet to the government, these forms of "disinformation" rank right up there with terrorism, drugs, violence, and disease: societal evils so threatening that "we the people" should be willing to relinquish a little of our freedoms for the sake of national security.

Of course, it never works out that way.
Posted by:Besoeker

#8  They've forgot who Americans are.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2024-10-11 18:07  

#7  #5 In Hebrew we say: "Barking dogs don't bite."
Posted by: Grom the Reflective   2024-10-11 15:00  

#6   Hear my words because you will be no good to anyone if you get arrested

Yes. And the rest, too.
Posted by: trailing wife   2024-10-11 14:47  

#5  A very thoughtful posting on CTH this morning that intuitively forecasts the coming weeks news content and its impact. I never imagined that this level of prudence would be apt in my country, but it is now!
"(@wendyp4545): “I’m going to give you some very sound advice and I understand how angry you are and I anticipate how much angrier that you’re going to be, you just don’t know it yet. Hear my words because you will be no good to anyone if you get arrested.. Always remember that. Under NO circumstances should you plan, threaten or organize any retaliation on any social media platform or in any email to anyone. I’m going to ask you to keep tucked into the back of your mind how the FBI undercover set up the men in the Whitmar kidnapping hoax. They are all innocent men who were caught up in a trap set by our own government and they are online with us right now. They’ll post or reply with words that will try to goad you into your reply that would suggest any type of organization against our government. Don’t fall for it. EVEN when it gets really bad we anticipate that it will. They’re online to set us up. Know that in advance and avoid their traps.” | nitter.poast.org
Posted by: NoMoreBS   2024-10-11 13:09  

#4  
Posted by: Besoeker   2024-10-11 07:39  

#3  /\ Clinks yes, but a bit more as well. It's about the narrative and population control.

Afghan charged in Election Day terror plot passed multiple screenings

The Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi story is an example of failed recruitment and near miss that received damaging media attention. The Tawhedi clean-up and movement to the memory hole should be instructive.

Posted by: Besoeker   2024-10-11 07:12  

#2  The CIA/Hillary/State Dept - the Blob are trying to censor Americans in America by going to all the other 5 eyes countries and Europe and pressuring all of us to insert "misinformation" censorship laws on social media firms

That back-engineers censorship in the US bypassing the 1st amendment because the internet publishes everywhere and it's easier for corporations just to have one simple policy globally

They will use AI to censor in real time

They're coming for RUmble, Substack, Insta, Telegram - everything

And once they do that, it also back-engineers your mainstream CNN Fox MSNBC etc - you know why? Journos rely on clicks on their stories that's the metric of success for them to keep their jobs

No clicks from no shares because socials censor = career death

they will all self-censor
Posted by: Anon1   2024-10-11 05:37  

#1  In Resurfaced Clip, Kamala Harris Fantasizes About Weaponizing DOJ Against 'Misinformation'
Posted by: Skidmark   2024-10-11 00:53  

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