That of which you shall not speak shall henceforth be called “misinformation.” No, that’s not a pithy quote from days gone by. It’s the new daily modus operandi of big tech. If they disagree with a position — or if they merely fear a position is disagreeable, the label “misinformation” is applied.
Case in point: YouTube removed a video of a “Washington Watch” discussion last week with Mary Holland, president and general counsel of Children’s Health Defense about the Washington, D.C. City Council’s move to authorize schools to administer vaccines to children as young as 11-years-old without parental consent. The now-banned video, which you can watch here on Rumble, was taken down by YouTube for allegedly offering “medical misinformation.” Nevermind that there was no discussion whatsoever of medical advice — the substance of the interview was focused on parental rights, consent, and notification. Even so, as the video was removed, we were issued a warning that further violations would result in channel restrictions. FRC has appealed YouTube’s ruling and is awaiting a response, but we’re not holding our breath.
If you’re not shocked at this news, it’s not surprising. Ours is not an unfamiliar story, and it seems that many conservatives are simply waiting around wondering when the cancel man will come for them. A new Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll shows that, when asked if “Facebook is censoring posts more often from conservatives, more often from the left, or does it apply standards equally,” a whopping 42 percent said conservatives were censored more often. Six months ago, “election integrity” were the keywords that raised flags. Today, it’s anything that remotely mentions a vaccine and doesn’t carry the registered trademark of the CDC. There are no neutral discussions if Biden administration talking points are not followed.
Much of the big tech backlash may be directly fueled by the administration’s recent rhetoric on misinformation. It was just last week that President Biden said of Facebook, “They’re killing people. The only pandemic we have is among the unvaccinated. And they’re killing people.” Biden clarified on Monday that, “Facebook isn’t killing people. These 12 people are out there giving misinformation. Anyone listening to it is getting hurt by it. It’s killing people. It’s bad information.”
Last week, the president’s press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that the White House would be, “flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.” Whether or not Google’s YouTube is aided in its flagging by the White House is unclear, but either way, the administration’s message is crystal clear in its call for tech companies to get with the program.
Big tech isn’t going away, and what it categorizes as misinformation will only grow, especially when a government administration fuels the flames. For free speech to thrive, the need for robust alternative platforms (like Rumble, where you can still freely watch our banned video) is great. Proverbs 15:22 tells us, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” When every voice is silenced except for one, success will indeed be difficult to find. To echo Senator James Lankford, “I’m more concerned with D.C controlling speech than I am of some people passing wrong information. Let people speak.”
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