Democrats Desperate To Implement Censorship Regime Disregard Free Speech In Weaponization Hearing
The Democrats demonstrated their complete disregard for freedom of speech during the second hearing The Thursday meeting of the Select Committee on the Weaponization Federal Government featured prominent journalists, who also published the “Twitter Files.”
Substack reporters Matt Taibbi Michael Shellenberger The nearly three hour hearing was dominated by testimony from the two witnesses. They explained how federal officials use major social media platforms to restrict speech and censorship. They both voted in President Joe Biden. Both have extensive experience reporting on American politics, with liberal backgrounds that are far beyond anything else. “ultra MAGA.”
“American taxpayers are unwittingly financing the growth and power of a censorship industrial complex run by America’s scientific and technological elite, which endangers our liberties and democracy,” Shellenberger made these remarks in his opening statements. “The censorship industrial complex combines established methods of psychological manipulation, some developed by the U.S. military during the global war on terror with highly sophisticated tools from computer science.”
“We learned Twitter, Facebook, Google, and other companies developed a formal system for taking in moderation requests from every corner of government, from the FBI, the DHS, the HHS, DoD, the Global Engagement Center at State, even the CIA,” Taibbi. “A focus of this fast-growing network, as Mike noted, is making lists of people whose opinions, beliefs, associations or sympathies are deemed misinformation, disinformation, or malinformation. That last term is just a euphemism for ‘true but inconvenient.'”
Taibbi called these lists a type of “digital McCarthyism,” With users being removed from social media platforms and payment processors.
The “Twitter FilesThe government uses censorship campaigns to pressure Big Tech into promoting a single narrative. ” revealed how they manipulate public opinion. Shellenberger and Taibbi testified that the government used the Hunter Biden laptop to censor reporting about the Wuhan coronavirus, which broke with the Faucian restrictions of indefinite lockdowns.
The Democrats responded to the appearance of the pair by trying to block the proceedings whenever possible and questioning the integrity the liberal journalists instead of government censorship campaign integrity. Intimidating witnesses and threatening them to disclose their sources, the Democrats in the Weaponization probe also weaponized this panel. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which was involved in the same behavior, was revealed by House Republicans in an 112-page report. demanding Twitter reveals who had access to company internal records with over two dozen letters.
Democrats Use Probe to Force Journalists To Identify Sources
Stacey Plaskett (the congressional delegate to the Virgin Islands) who is the Democrats’ top member interrupted Rep. Jim Jordan, R-OH, almost every time he spoke. This led the two men to fight throughout the fiery hearing.
WATCH: @Jim_Jordan During House Judiciary Committee Hearing, clashes between Plaskett and Ranking Member
JORDAN: “Transparency…You don’t want that…They’re here to tell their stories, and frankly, I think they’re brave individuals.” pic.twitter.com/c6RGdpKBji
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 9, 2023
Plaskett was present as the hearing began. tweeted Each witness was an individual. “direct threat to anyone who opposes them.” Plaskett was first to insist that the witnesses disclose their source information. “Twitter Files.”
“Again, the attribution for my story is sourced at Twitter,” Taibbi responded to a question regarding contact with Twitter CEO Elon Muss.
Shellenberger said to Plaskett that it was Bari Weiss, who introduced him to the project.
Rep. Jim Jordan: “Are you trying to get journalists to expose their sources?”
Plaskett is a Congresswoman “No”
Rep. Jim Jordan: “It sure sounds like it” pic.twitter.com/yTIA0rRIjr
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) March 9, 2023
Jordan defended Jordan during the exchange. Sylvia Garcia attacked Sylvia Garcia for information regarding their sources. It led to yet another round of heated debate between legislators.
Rep. Stacey Plaskett said they weren’t trying to get @mtaibbi Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D–TX), once more tries to persuade him to disclose his sources. pic.twitter.com/ECsl643EAr
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 9, 2023
Garcia continued to ask who the original authors were of the Twitter Files. He asked if Taibbi and Shellenberger were involved. “in this as a threesome.” This 72-year-old lawmaker is also explained That she doesn’t know what it is “Substack” it is the same questioning.
Ex-chair DNC Complains About Journalists Making money
Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida Congresswoman, charged Shellenberger and Taibbi with destroying their credibility because they testified at Republican colleagues’ request.
“Being a Republican witness today certainly cast a cloud over your objectivity,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Florida’s lawmaker complained that the witnesses were making money from their journalism, as though their separate outfits should operate free of charge.
“After the ‘Twitter Files,’ your followers doubled, and now it’s three times what it was last August,” Wasserman Schultz stated to Taibbi. “I imagine your Substack readership, which is a subscription, increased significantly because of the work you’ve done for Elon Musk … Is it true that you have profited since you were the recipient of the ‘Twitter Files.’ You’ve profited.”
Taibbi explained that his rise in profile led to him to become more visible. “hire a whole group of people to investigate.”
Virginia Democrat Ignores Weaponization Probe
Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly totally missed the point in questioning witnesses about episodes of partisan censorship.
“Have you combed the so-called ‘Twitter Files’ to look at other examples that aren’t about the Biden White House or FBI that might, in fact, involve people from the right, ideologically or from the Republican ranks?” Connolly was astonished.
Taibbi clarified that the de-weaponization of the federal government is not an partisan cause, but a move to strengthen the First Amendment in digital age.
“We’re focused not on the Biden administration or the Trump administration,” Taibbi spoke. “Really, we were looking at the intelligence agencies when we were doing this research.”
“In some ways, what you just said undermines the premise of this Select Committee,” Connolly claimed, “which is that the federal government has been organized to weaponize against conservative voices. And, of course, what you just indicated is that’s not the evidence you found.”
Taibbi corrected him.
“No, my understanding is [this committee] is concerned about the weaponization of the government against free speech, which is certainly what we’re finding,” Taibbi spoke.
New York Democrat Defends FBI Over Laptop Censorship
New York Democrat Rep. Daniel Goldman defended FBI. He claimed that the FBI did not censor Hunter Biden’s laptop story in 2020. The focus of the investigation was the “Twitter Files: Part 7” written by Shellenberger.
“Are you aware that the FBI had nothing to do with Twitter’s decision to pause the New York Post story?”
“I am not aware of that,” Shellenberger said.
Goldman read then the February 8 testimony of Yoel Roth (Twitter’s ex-head for safety), who claimed that the company’s censorship wasn’t motivated by government intelligence. Goldman then questioned why the government gave companies such access to its data. “direction” This was far from forced censorship.
“Mr. Shellenberger, in all of the emails that you reviewed, did the FBI ever direct Twitter to take down any accounts or remove any posts?” Goldman asked.”
“Yes,” Shellenberger said.
The pair sparred over the term “direct,” with Goldman denying the word could be taken as synonymous with a mandated instruction.
“That is, I believe if you are told by a police officer that you have broken the law, it would be a violation of my rights.” Shellenberger began before Goldman cut him off.
Shellenberger’s Twitter Files revealed federal law enforcement directed the company to suppress stories that implicated President Biden in Hunter Biden’s foreign business ventures.
Witnesses Stand Their Ground For Free Speech
Despite the onslaught of partisan accusations Thursday, Taibbi and Shellenberger testified as champions of free speech who warned about the dangers of government censorship.
“For the government to use government resources against your political activities to combat you, it doesn’t need a predicate calling you terrorist or extremeist.” Shellenberger said. “You can only make it false by stating that your opinion on social media has no predicate.”
Taibbi shared his experience living in Russia when President Vladimir Putin came to power.
“A group of brave, muckraking journalists from Russia was my friend. Many of them didn’t make the cut; some were even murdered.” Taibbi said. “Because our country offers the most protections to reporters around the globe, I have always been aware of the dangers that foreign reporters face.”
Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected]. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.
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