Fighting for Freedom of Speech

Freedom of speech is the first amendment in the Bill of Rights. Free speech was rare at the time of our Founding. Kings and Czars could imprison or kill anyone who dared to criticize them. When the Founding Fathers set up their republic they realized that freedom of speech was an essential check on government.

We think elections are contentious these days, early campaigns were chock full of overstatements, mistruths and insane accusations, but our Republic survived.

• 1800 - Thomas Jefferson accused John Adams of being a hermaphrodite. Adams' supporters, in turn, called Jefferson an atheist and a French revolutionary sympathizer.
• 1828 - Andrew Jackson's wife was accused of bigamy, while John Quincy Adams was accused of pimping out an American girl to the Russian czar.
• 1876 - Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden accused each other of voting fraud and corruption, leading to one of the most contested elections in U.S. history.
• 1884 - Grover Cleveland was accused of fathering an illegitimate child, while James Blaine was accused of corruption and accepting bribes.
• 1888 - In Harrison vs. Cleveland, voter fraud and the improper use of funds were major issues, with accusations of vote-buying on both sides.

Sound familiar?

When the digital age began, anyone could speak their mind and instantly reach millions, but they were dependent on the platforms they used. This began to break the mainstream media’s hold on news and information.

Here’s a brief progression of online efforts to restrict “harmful” content…

November 2016 - After the presidential election, articles spread rapidly on platforms about "Pizzagate," which claimed that Hillary Clinton had organized a human trafficking and child sex ring in the basement of Comet Ping Pong pizzeria in Washington, D.C. To combat the spread of such “misinformation,” Facebook and Google began to restrict advertising on sites known for “spreading fake news.”

• 2017 – “Shadowbanning” began on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Users noticed their posts were no longer reaching the same number of followers. The platforms manipulated their algorithms to minimize the reach of posts containing “harmful content.”
• August 5, 2018 - Apple removed radio host and Infowars founder Alex Jones’ podcasts. Pages and channels were removed from iTunes, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify.
• November 21, 2018 – Laura Loomer was banned from Twitter for “tweeting” about “Squad Member” Representative Ilhan Omar, accusing her of being anti-Jewish and pro-Sharia law.
• February 2020 - Facebook announced it would start removing content with “false claims or conspiracy theories” about COVID-19 that could cause harm including posts about “unproven treatments” and “misleading information” about virus origins.
• July 27, 2020 – “America's Frontline Doctors” held a press conference on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court. Their video quickly went viral, promoting “unverified treatments” for COVID-19. Social media platforms began removing the video the same day. Dr. Simone Gold was immediately fired from her position as an emergency room physician. When other doctors spoke out against the COVID vaccine in favor of safer treatments, many were threatened, fired from their jobs, and their online presence was ended.

• October 14, 2020 - The Hunter Biden laptop story was the first time our government pressured platforms to censor free speech for political purposes. People were banned on platforms the Democrats were able to control, either through “requests for cooperation” or by fear of possible government reprisals.
• October 27,2020 - The censorship of free speech reached a new level when outspoken investigative journalist Josh Bernstein began writing negative articles about Ilhan Omar, exposing her roots and origins and showing a Project Veritas video exposing how Democrats, working with overseas vote counting organizations, were planning to steal the 2020 election. When Bernstein suggested she be tried for crimes including treason, his Patreon page, ROKU TV Channel, and Facebook page was deleted and his Twitter account was suspended. Bernstein’s YouTube Channels were also removed with over 150,000 subscribers.
• 2021 to Present - Mike Lindell, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and even Donald Trump are among the tens of thousands who have been silenced when telling truth to power.

In the United States, even highly offensive speech is protected under the First Amendment, with legal actions often focusing on whether the speech incites violence. Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969) established that speech advocating illegal conduct is protected unless it incites imminent lawless action. Credible threats are investigated by the FBI and local law enforcement.

While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, there is no such law for private enterprises such as online newspapers or social media platforms.

The problem occurs when government officials begin to demand these platforms suppress speech they dislike. Safeguards, such as the First Amendment and Supreme Court rulings, protect journalists who reveal classified information, but the pressure a government can bring to bear on websites that operate under government oversight is immense.

When the government is perceived to control or heavily influence the media and Internet, trust in those outlets, and the government, is destroyed. The public has no idea who to believe, making them even more susceptible to actual fake news.

Our media used to be considered “the Fourth Estate.” The fear of organizations revealing government stupidity, misdeeds and corruption was considered to be an essential check on government misconduct and overreach. But when media owners and employees are overwhelmingly liberal they are much less likely to deliver fairness and accuracy in favor of supporting their progressive views.

Currently they hire very few conservative voices. These platforms and news organizations must resist partisanship. If not, our country will remain hopelessly divided, the papers will close and websites will lose half of their followers.

Instead of the government deciding what is fact or fake, or using biased “fact checkers,” websites and news organizations must begin policing themselves to restore their credibility by bringing on independent ombudsmen. Any efforts by government to manipulate the press must be reported.

Many brave voices have suffered great harm from censorship. Some were embroiled in lawsuits and ended up in prison. Others lost their online income, their jobs, and their friends because they were accused of saying something controversial.

Some have recovered and found gainful employment, Mike Lindell still sells pillows. Josh Bernstein is active on alternative social media platforms such as Rumble and BitChute, where he continues to share his political commentary through podcasts and has just written a book called “Preserving Liberty.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene is now a prominent member of Congress. Donald Trump is back on Twitter and is the President-Elect of the United States. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will serve as Trump’s head of Department of Health and Human Services.

No one dies from hearing something they disagree with, but they do when government stupidity, waste and abuse is allowed to continue. How many people were killed in the California fires because no one exposed the State’s unpreparedness? How many people continue to suffer in North Carolina because no one is reporting their dark winter in the mountains?

People need to learn how to discuss partisan matters for real, not just copying memes or shouting insults in comment sections. We need to share honest information and work together to develop functional compromises, not use blunt political power to force compliance.

To this very day, brave patriots continue to publish honest, online news and editorials, despite constant attacks from powerful forces. Please support The Gateway Pundit, JoeHoft.com, American Thinker, Canada Free Press, and all other conservative voices.