Censorship vs Freedom of Thought and Speech
The Road to Fascism and Totalitarianism
I believe the two most fundamental and important freedoms are
freedom of religion and/or spiritual beliefs
freedom of thought and speech (two sides of the same coin)
Benjamin Franklin states it perfectly:
“Without freedom of thought, there can be no such thing as wisdom - and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech.”
"Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.”
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.”
“Republics derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates."
Then there’s this accurate assessment from George Washington:
“For if men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.”
Thomas Jefferson had a lot to say about freedoms of speech and especially the importance of a free press. Here’s one short but powerful statement from Jefferson:
“Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”
I agree completely with Voltaire, who had the right attitude toward freedom of speech:
“I may disagree with what you have to say, but shall defend, to the death, your right to say it.”
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis offered a profound and accurate point of view:
“It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears.”
Let’s look at the reverse view - what happens if freedom of speech isn’t allowed or is restricted by governments:
“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.” - Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
“Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one place to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.” - President Harry Truman
Unfortunately, the United States and most other Western nations are going down the paths warned against by Justice Douglas and President Truman. Censorship and fascism are growing like wildfire in the US, Canada, UK, Netherlands, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other so-called ‘free’ nations. Censorship and blatant suppressions of free speech are being conducted by Western governments and global corporations in bed together.
Totalitarianism, which goes hand-in-glove with censorship and fascism, is also taking root and spreading like a cancer in these nations. The road to tyranny and totalitarianism begins and ends with suppressing freedoms of thought and speech.
Western nations have enacted dozens of laws and regulations, and created dozens of agencies, intended to censor, discredit or even legally attack anyone who exposes corruption and disinformation, and goes against “official narratives.” These laws, regulations and agencies are designed to block any truthful, factual information that opposes official narratives and agendas.
AND TOO FEW CITIZENS OF THESE NATIONS ARE AWARE OF OR EVEN CARE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING!
Paul Craig Roberts sums up perfectly this disturbing trend of attacking basic freedoms:
“We should be alarmed that it is in the Western countries, where constitutions were devised to protect truth with free speech, that truth is being suppressed.
“Truth is dying, and truth has fewer and fewer defenders. Defenders of truth are labeled ‘enemies of the state.’
“Everywhere in the Western world, to speak the truth when it contradicts an ‘official explanation’ is a certain way to trouble.”
“The Criminalization of Truth in the Western World: Time is running out on truth, the telling of which is being criminalized.”
- Paul Craig Roberts
“Free speech is in trouble on both sides of the Atlantic”
“It’s been a troubling summer, on both sides of the Atlantic, for those of us who care about free speech.
“On 26 June, the US Supreme Court vacated a lower court judgment in Murthy v. Missouri that barred officials from the White House, CDC, FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Surgeon General’s office from encouraging social media platforms to censor constitutionally protected speech.
“Justice Samuel Alito, in a dissenting opinion that was joined by two other justices, highlighted the history of State-sponsored censorship unveiled in the case, and the stark implications of the majority ruling:
‘For months in 2021 and 2022, a coterie of officials at the highest levels of the Federal Government continuously harried and implicitly threatened Facebook with potentially crippling consequences if it did not comply with their wishes about the suppression of certain covid-19-related speech … The Court … permits the successful campaign of coercion in this case to stand as an attractive model for future officials who want to control what the people say, hear, and think.’
“But free speech is in trouble on both sides of the Atlantic.
“In the UK, Kier Starmer’s government is using recent civil unrest as an excuse to prosecute people for social media posts. In Ireland, the government is adamant it will strengthen its ‘hate speech’ legislation. And in the EU, the Internal Market Commissioner suggested an interview between Elon Musk and Donald Trump might fall foul of Europe’s Digital Services Act.”
“EU Commissioner Thierry Breton Seems Determined to Scrap Free Speech in Europe”
This article is a terrific and on-target analysis of the current decline in freedom of speech and increasing censorship and suppression of anyone who dares expose truths that conflict with ‘official’ (but false) narratives:
“Current censorship has reached levels not seen in the past, and with all the advanced technology available, this nefarious plot to silence the thinkers and hide the truth could affect all forms of speech.
“It is getting much more difficult to find truthful information, as those like Google, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and many other venues are eliminating content and access to content at a blistering pace. A day rarely goes by without something I am reading or researching on these sites being taken down or hidden.
“This can only lead to a world consumed by propaganda alone, thus guaranteeing that only the state narrative will be presented in any mainstream or easily accessible format. This is a dangerous situation . . .”
Western governments today are little better than China, North Korea and other oppressive governments who don’t allow much freedom of thought and speech.
Western governments have become fascist censors of anyone and anything that exposes and opposes their corrupt and criminal agendas and activities.
“The secret of freedom lies in educating people, whereas the secret of tyranny is in keeping them ignorant.” - Maximilien Robespierre
So true! This is why governments do their best to hide so much factual information from people, and consider free and unfettered communication and speech to be such heinous ‘crimes.’
How to Pass Censorship Laws:
Step 1: Declare an existential threat to democracy and human rights
Step 2: Assert that the solution will protect democracy and human rights
Step 3: Enact anti-democratic, anti-human rights censorship fast and in unison”
- Dr. David Bell
https://brownstone.org/articles/internet-censorship-everywhere-all-at-once/
Want proof that Western nations are descending down a path toward fascism and totalitarianism? Let’s take a look at the shocking number of laws, agencies and actions manufactured by Western governments and their cohorts in education and the private sector to silence dissent and free speech.
United States
DHS Censorship Agency Had Strange First Mission: Banning Speech That Casts Doubt On ‘Red Mirage, Blue Shift’ Election Events
Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP)
The “Censorship-Industrial Complex” consisting of government agencies, universities, think tanks and corporations working together to censor and control information. See chart here.
Government funds AI tools for whole-of-internet surveillance and censorship.
The Digital Platform Commission Act (DPCA) would develop a de facto ‘Ministry of Truth’ called the Federal Digital Platform Commission.
Stanford University’s ‘Virality Project’ threatens our freedoms
“Formerly known as the Election Integrity Partnership, Stanford’s Virality Project colluded with Feds, social media to censor ‘misinformation.’” See additional details here.
“The Stanford Internet Observatory is a central node in the massive effort to censor EVERYTHING to keep out all the news that the US government decided we are not allowed to hear.” See additional details here.
Stanford’s Virality Project pushed to censor the vaccine-injured.
“Big Tech Is Ramping Up Censorship of the Climate ‘Solutions’ Debate”
“Everything You Need to Know about the Government’s Mass Censorship Campaign. The national security state is the main driver of censorship and election interference in the United States”
New Documents Reveal US Department Of Homeland Security Conspiracy To Violate First Amendment And Interfere In Elections
House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Weaponization of the Federal Government: “Over the past year, the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government has released several reports detailing how the government is a) harassing and intimidating citizens to shut down undesirable viewpoints, b) using misinformation and propaganda to drive false narratives and c) censoring protected speech using third parties.” House Judiciary reports here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.
Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), an influential nonprofit that allegedly colluded with social media platforms and the White House to censor.
How a former CIA fellow came to lead US government efforts to stamp out disfavored speech on the Internet. See video here
Uncovering the Army of Federal Censors
The US Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Center on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) created an internal ‘Disinformation Primer’ that reveal government plot to promote censorship initiatives.
"What we have learned is that there were . . . hundreds of times when different agencies in the federal government went to the various platforms and directed them to take down particular kinds of speech.”
American Medical Association (AMA) President Opposes Free Speech
European Union (EU)
“You Should Be Very Worried About the Digital Services Act.”
“A draconian new law went into effect [in Europe] hat institutes extreme censorship of the internet on a global basis”
“Jacob Mchangama, Danish historian, sounded the alarm about the Digital Services Act, that the plan would be a case of the ‘cure’ being worse than the disease.”
“The Gestapo raided homes in New Normal Germany as part of the Third European Day of Action Against Hate Crimes.”
“Censorship Goes into Overdrive: ‘European Democracy Shield’ Removes Online Content. The so-called Weimar Triangle—an informal cooperation between Berlin, Paris, and Warsaw—has jointly called on the EU to do more to combat foreign influence and disinformation”
“The European Commission considers that hate speech and hate crime are particularly serious crimes because of their harmful impacts on fundamental rights, on the individuals and on society at large, undermining the foundations of the EU.” This is gaslighting propaganda and total BS. The EU and EC simply want a legal basis to shut down any written or spoken opinions or information they don’t like.
United Kingdom
Great Britain’s Online Safety Bill turns Free Speech into a felony.
Scotland: “The Hate Crime and Public Order Act 2021 illustrates how these laws create a slippery slope of speech criminalization as more and more speech is banned.”
Ireland
“This is not a drill. This is a totalitarian effort by global elites to censor all of us.”
“In Ireland we know what hate is. Hate speech is speech that the government hates - anything that would call into question the dominant political force.”
“Ireland’s new Hate Offences Bill undermines the rule of law”
France
A new law was covertly passed in France (in the middle of the night) that would make it a crime to criticize mRNA shots (mRNA products are fraudulently marketed as “covid vaccines.)
Germany
“Germany announces wide-ranging plans to restrict the speech, travel and economic activity of political dissidents, in order to better control the ‘thought and speech patterns’ of its own people.
On Nov 18, 2023 the German parliament passed a new law, revising the so-called ‘Infection Protection Act’ that formally granted the government the authority to issue whatever edicts it wants under the guise of protecting the public health.
“In the latest victory against right-wing extremism, police officers pull a 16 year-old girl out of chemistry class and advise her to stop posting Smurf-themed AfD-friendly content to TikTok.”
“German domestic intelligence chief defends his efforts to police the ‘thought & speech patterns’ of citizens, outlines the novel offence of ‘systematic delegitimisation of state conduct.’
Canada
“Why Canada's New Regulations For Podcast Platforms Are Cause For Serious Alarm.”
“Canada’s former chief justice is warning that a federal bill regulating ‘online harms’ will undoubtedly face constitutional challenges.”
B-63, The Online Harms Act in Canada
“Canadian Government Plans Stalinist Show Trial of Heroic Doctor - Legal Trickery Would Silence Dr. Charles Hoffe
“There was a time in recent memory when the covid tyranny in Canada was held up as an example of crushing, cruel state control, second only to the gulag down under (Australia and New Zealand) and perhaps some American States (California, NY etc).”
Australia
“This [Australian] Bill is set up to force the digital service providers to throttle points of view that don’t fit what the government and the press are saying.”
FOI response proves Australian government is actively censoring citizens on social media
Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023, coupled with Australia’s existing eSafety legislation, would radically expand the government’s ability to control online speech and is part of a broader global push to reshape the online domain.
Trusted News Initiative (TNI)
“What is the Trusted News Initiative (TNI)? TNI is an organization created for the purpose of global information control.
“BBC News-led ‘Trusted News Initiative’ major factor in 2 million excess deaths across the West due to extreme censorship”
United Nations
“ ‘We own the science and the world should know it.’ UN and World Economic Forum (WEF) admit they censor search results & pay Big Tech and influencers to shape public opinion.”
“WEF-UN calls for censorship, digital IDs and artificial intelligence everywhere.”
There are several other laws, regulations and agencies in existence or in the process of being created, that are designed to censor anyone who exposes corruption and opposes false narratives or the agendas of special-interest groups.
“House Judiciary Committee hearings on the Weaponization of the Federal Government:
“Over the past year, the Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government has released several reports detailing how the government is a) harassing and intimidating citizens to shut down undesirable viewpoints, b) using misinformation and propaganda to drive false narratives and c) censoring protected speech using third parties.
“List of House Judiciary reports that show our government continuously violates our Bill of Rights freedoms.”
The propaganda and sales pitch from governments and businesses that practice censorship is that all these measures "are intended to protect people against harmful mis- and disinformation.” Only naive or gullible people believe that. This sales pitch is a total lie.
No, the true purposes of all such censorship are
to keep people blind, deaf and ignorant as much as possible on what is reallygoing on
to sell people on false narratives that benefit those who manufacture the narratives
to sell people false “solutions” to threats that were manufactured in the first place by those offering the “solutions” (a perpetual-motion profit/power making machine)
to establish more and more control and seizure of power by governments
to suppress truthful data and information, and opposition, to government and corporate corruption and criminality
“The world is run more on false narratives, hidden agendas, disinformation campaigns and gaslighting propaganda than it is on rational, straightforward governance and factual, truthful information and data.
“The ultimate purpose and goal of such operations [false narratives] is that those who run them greatly increase their financial and political power and influence.”
Who is behind all this? Who generates false narratives? Who manufactures solutions to threats that are manufactured to begin with - for the sole purpose of selling solutions? (Round and round and round we go)?
The main culprits are those who are variously labeled as globalists, globalist cabal, global elites, new world order, liberal world order and similar terms. I call them global oligarchs.
“The reality is that globalism is the intention of a small number of extremely wealthy, powerful and influential individuals to control and profit from as much of the world as possible.
“Their goal is simple: control of the world’s wealth, resources and populations.”
The Good News
But there is good news and a brighter future. Even with all the censorship, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have been awakened and enlightened to what is really going on with all the false narratives and destructive agendas being pushed by global oligarchs and their tools and puppets in governments, private industry, the United Nations and World Health Organization (see here, here, here, and here.)
Two conclusions have emerged over the past few years:
COMMUNICATING TRUTH WORKS! IT PRODUCES POSITIVE AND EXCELLENT RESULTS.
TRUTH CANNOT BE STOPPED, NO MATTER HOW HARD SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, GOVERNMENTS AND POWERS-THAT-BE TRY TO CENSOR AND SUPPRESS INFORMATION.
I’ve always believed these, but now we have irrefutable proof.
The incredible amount of effort to censor and suppress truth by governments, businesses and international organizations is staggering. The amount of disinformation and gaslighting propaganda generated by these same entities to push their false agendas is mind boggling.
Yet they have failed to stop truth; they managed only to slow it down for a time.
Truth is getting out to more and more people - thanks to thousands of independent and courageous journalists, doctors, scientists, government officials, business executives and even athletes and entertainers. And thanks to independent platforms like Substack, Rumble, BitChute, X/Twitter, OAN, Epoch Times, Brownstone Institute and several others.
Well researched and enlightening