This Real Clear Opinion Research survey has disquieting news about Americans’ tolerance of censorship. Carl Cannon comments on the results, including the partisan breakdown. Suffice it to say that not many Democrats are going to the wall for free speech these days. But I want to comment on just one aspect of that survey:
It is remarkable that the number of people who think the government should censor “hateful posts and disinformation” on social media is not greatly different from those who think social media platforms should police hate (whatever that means) and disinformation (whatever that means).
As we all know, various federal government agencies, including the White House, the Centers for Disease Control and the FBI, leaned on Twitter, Facebook et al. to censor information on the 2020 election, covid, Joe Biden’s corruption, and more. This collusive censorship came to light because Elon Musk bought Twitter. Wanting to know the real story on how Twitter collaborated with the federal government to censor conservative voices, Musk opened Twitter’s files to several journalists. Foremost among these was Matt Taibbi. More than anyone else, Taibbi has lifted the lid on the worst threat to free speech in American history.
Taibbi is, by his own description, a liberal Democrat. But he is also an old-fashioned reporter, committed to free speech, and even more fundamentally to truth. As such, he has become one of the most important opponents of the Biden administration’s censorship regime.
I recently interviewed Matt Taibbi. In this clip from our conversation, he talks about the Left’s abandonment of its support for free speech:
Here, he points out that the Twitter Files have revealed the censorship of facts that are true, but inconvenient:
I interviewed Matt because he will be the speaker at Center of the American Experiment’s Fall Briefing on October 14. Our interview will be edited into a Q and A in the October issue of Thinking Minnesota, and will be released as a podcast after the event. Based on our conversation, I would say that Matt is very smart and also a good guy.
If you want to hear Taibbi live, and have an opportunity to ask him questions about the Twitter Files, and if you live within reasonable distance of the Twin Cities, I encourage you to attend our Fall Briefing on October 14. You can buy tickets here. The event is a fundraiser, so tickets aren’t cheap. On the other hand, given restaurant prices these days, they aren’t all that expensive, either. And the Fall Briefing will be hosted by the Sovereign Estate Winery, a beautiful spot on the shore of Lake Waconia. These events generally sell out, so if you are interested, you should buy tickets soon. It will be a fun evening.
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