As if the left needed any more reasons to despise the Constitution, a recent ruling handed them one more bitter pill in the form of Missouri v. Biden. Censorship violates the First Amendment and, as such, is not constitutional.
This is not shocking for conservatives, but it has shaken progressives to the core. With this ruling, years of censoring political opponents and controlling the narrative are coming to an abrupt close.
For liberals, the fun is over.
The focus of the ruling was the Biden administration’s targeted socialist campaign to silence dissenters during COVID-19, when daring to speak your truth was a guarantee of immediate de-platforming.
Terry Doughty, a Louisiana District Court Judge, stated in his ruling, “During the Covid-19 pandemic, a period perhaps best characterized by widespread doubt and uncertainty, the United States Government seems to have assumed a role similar to an Orwellian ‘Ministry of Truth’.”
Republican prosecutors delivered enough evidence to drown progressive defendants, presenting thousands of emails between tech companies running social media and the government. With so much evidence, there was little doubt of the “massive effort by defendants, from the White House to federal agencies, to suppress speech based on its content.”
One such communication revealed that Rob Flaherty, White House director of digital strategy, sent emails to social media giants claiming that “YouTube is ‘funneling’ people into hesitance” about vaccines. He warned that these concerns were “shared at the highest [and I mean highest] levels of the [White House]” and called for bi-weekly “good-faith dialogues” between the White House and Google.
In 2021, President Joe Biden dramatically lamented that Facebook was “killing people” by allowing “misinformation” about vaccines to be spread. Misinformation, which was ultimately found to be true, along with masking and lockdowns.
But America was not alone. Last month it was revealed that UK ministers enacted an identical strategy, setting up a “counter-disinformation unit” designed to monitor social media via AI and flag posts opposed to draconian lockdowns and vaccine passports.
Of course, the government didn’t stop with COVID-19 “misinformation.” It “warned” social media companies that “misinformation” would be sent to them regarding Hunter Biden months after the infamous laptop was found. “Election deniers” were not allowed to voice opinions over the validity of the 2020 election, and information about the January 6th protest was carefully curated to remove any mention of governmental or progressive guidance or interference.
For conservatives, censorship has become a way of life, just as censoring differing opinions is a way of life for progressives and liberals.
This is why they responded to the ruling like clowns being told the circus was over. When the door of the clown car door opened, the first to step out was The New York Times, reporting, “A federal judge in Louisiana on Tuesday restricted the Biden administration from communicating with social media platforms about broad swaths of content online, a ruling that could curtail efforts to combat false and misleading narratives about the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.”
Self-proclaimed “misinformation expert” Ethan Porter mourns the fact that the ruling will have “damaging effects” for the future of censorship. He dismally warns, “Over the longer term, you can imagine future administrations being somewhat more hesitant to engage with social media companies when the next pandemic emerges, as it inevitably will.” He goes on to add his own take, “That’s troubling because I think there’s good reason to suspect that people’s responses to Covid-19 are in some way shaped by misinformation.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was named on the injunction but revealed it will be business as usual for the White House. “We are going to continue to promote responsible actions to protect public health, safety and security when confronted by challenges like a deadly pandemic and foreign attacks on our election. So, we’re going to continue to do that and promote that in a responsible way.”
She went on to add, “Our view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take action or to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people but make independent choices about the information they present. They are a private entity, and it is their responsibility to act accordingly.”
Obviously, the White House will appeal to reclaim its ability to control thought and narrative throughout the U.S. But until the appeal is heard, go ahead. Freely post those Biden memes you’ve been saving for a rainy day. You’ve earned it.
