Governments Don't Censor Disinformation, They Censor the Truth

Banning TikTok Would Be Another dagger in the chest of US Democracy

From the banning of Darwin’s ideas to banning George Orwell’s prescient novel 1984, to the current administration’s censorship complex, our first amendment rights are being stepped on. The latest bill to ban TikTok continues this dangerous pattern. The ban of TikTok is ironically being heavily discussed as oral arguments in the supreme court begin for the Murthy vs. Missouri case (Formally Biden vs. Missouri). In this case, the Biden administration is accused of using intelligence agencies to coerce social media platforms into censoring information. A federal judge ruled this as “the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history”. A federal appellate court upheld this decision.

The propagandistic headlines are in full force. For example, The Guardian ran an article “US supreme court hears case on government’s power over online misinformation” and NPR’s article “Supreme Court examines whether government can combat disinformation online”. Neither article even hints about the grave violation of the first amendment this censorship has caused.

This is not about disinformation; it is about censoring dissenting opinions from the narratives that the political establishment pushes through their mainstream media servants. This includes opinions that discuss the role of the US in instigating the Ukrainian war, the Neo-Nazis that infect the Ukraine and the peace deals between the Ukraine and Russia that the United States ordered the Ukraine to rip up. Also quick to be censored are opinions that discuss the broader context of Ukraine and Russia and Israel and Gaza conflicts. Any point that even questions Israeli foreign policy is considered disinformation. It was almost impossible to get a story published that disagreed with the Russiagate hoax.

In George Orwell’s 1984, England had suddenly changed the enemy they were fighting in their never-ending war. All references to the old enemy were systematically and quickly removed from media and books. The great quote followed: “The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.” This rings true to today’s censorship situation.

I have asked many people to provide me a definition of disinformation. One answer I often get is “lies”. Lies by whom? Certainly not the lies of our power elites who have been misleading us with war narratives for decades. Certainly not the lies of the same elites who protect criminal institutions such as Wall Street firms and health care companies. The real definition of disinformation: it means whatever elites say it means at the exact moment they need it to safeguard their narratives.

The CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg was bemoaning the censorship that was forced on Facebook. Zuckerberg spoke about Covid saying that officials "asked for a bunch of things to be censored that, in retrospect, ended up being more debatable or true." He also was told to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story, which had already been confirmed to be true. Whatever you think about the laptop story, it’s dangerous that a verified story can be banished as thoroughly and effectively as this was.

The Twitter file dump that was given to Matt Taibi tells the same story: FBI agents abusing power by demanding that posts be deleted. Taibbi had to testify in congress over the file dump and faced a barrage of personal attacks, with very little discussion over the content. There is specific name given to a government that coerces the private sector to its own needs: it’s called Fascism.

Yes, there is disinformation in the US, but it comes from mainstream media: the exact people who warn us about disinformation. The exact people who will be hurt by and could face serious consequences from censorship. It’s breathtaking to watch journalist’s self-destruct. Are they so swept away by their institutions that they no longer value a free media?

Banning TikTok would be a brutal blow to what remains of our diminishing first amendment rights. The most immediate reason given to ban TikTok is that the app is being used to spy on us. This accusation has been based on vague, unclear information. I suspect the real reason for the potential ban is that the Biden administration can’t thrust its will upon TikTok like it can US based companies. This increases the risk of truthful information getting into the hands of Americans. Considering how the last few years of censorship have played out, this theory is plausible.

There are additional parts to the bill that are at least as frightening as the actual ban of TikTok itself. The bill calls for the president to have far reaching capabilities to ban other sites. This could bring a whole new level of power of censorship and push us further towards a world we most certainly don’t want to be in.

As the for the claim that TikTok is spying on us: Yes, you are being spied on, but not by TikTok. The spying is coming from our own institutions which continually gain more and more domestic spying capabilities, no matter who is president. This bill has bipartisan support, won by a huge margin in the House and now it’s on the way to the Senate. The Republicans, who have claimed to be defending free speech over social media censorship have suddenly (but not surprisingly) changed their tune.

In the words of Ron Paul “I am convinced that there are more threats to American liberty within the 10-mile radius of my office on Capitol Hill than there are on the rest of the globe”.