Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald laid out a damning thread outlining what he called the “regime of censorship” — which he said was largely supported by Democrats in Washington, “disinformation experts,” and several others.
Greenwald initially raised the alarm and left The Intercept — the outlet he cofounded — when he was asked to sanitize an article he was writing about then-candidate Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and their past dealings with both China and Ukraine. And in the months since, he has been vocal about coordinated attempts within corporate media to shield Biden and other Democrats from criticism.
“The regime of censorship being imposed on the internet – by a consortium of DC Dems, billionaire-funded ‘disinformation experts,’ the US Security State, and liberal employees of media corporations – is dangerously intensifying in ways I believe are not adequately understood,” Greenwald said on Tuesday to kick off his thread.
A series of "crises" have been cynically and aggressively exploited to inexorably restrict the range of permitted views, and expand pretexts for online silencing and deplatforming. Trump's election, Russiagate, 1/6, COVID and war in Ukraine all fostered new methods of repression. pic.twitter.com/RXIbcMhiiD
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2022
“A series of ‘crises’ have been cynically and aggressively exploited to inexorably restrict the range of permitted views, and expand pretexts for online silencing and deplatforming,” Greenwald continued, noting that chief among those crises were: “Trump’s election, Russiagate, 1/6, COVID and war in Ukraine.”
According to Greenwald, what each of those crises had in common was that they “all fostered new methods of repression.”
Greenwald then pivoted to address the failed attempts to get popular podcaster Joe Rogan canceled — for his comments about COVID and potential therapeutics first, and when that didn’t work, for previous statements that were later deemed offensive.
But that Rogan failure only strengthened their repressive campaigns. Dems routinely abuse their majoritarian power in DC to explicitly coerce Big Tech silencing of their opponents and dissent. This is *Govt censorship* disguised as corporate autonomy.
https://t.co/7s5uY175HZ— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2022
“But that Rogan failure only strengthened their repressive campaigns,” Greenwald observed. “Dems routinely abuse their majoritarian power in DC to explicitly coerce Big Tech silencing of their opponents and dissent. This is *Govt censorship* disguised as corporate autonomy.”
Greenwald went on to say that the move to promote censorship had created a whole new industry — and he called out those he referred to as the worst offenders: “The worst, most vile arm of this regime are the censorship-mad liberal employees of big media corporations.”
Among those he named were CNN’s Ben Collins and Brandy Zadrozny and Libs of TikTok nemesis Taylor Lorenz.
“It is astonishing to watch Dems and their allies in media corporations posture as opponents of ‘fascism’ – while their main goal is to *unite state and corporate power* to censor their critics and degrade the internet into an increasingly repressive weapon of information control,” he added.
“A major myth that must be quickly dismantled: political censorship is not the by-product of autonomous choices of Big Tech companies. This is happening because DC Dems and the US Security State are threatening reprisals if they refuse,” Greenwald continued, adding, “The worst is watching people whose job title in corporate HR Departments is ‘journalist’ take the lead in agitating for censorship. They exploit the platforms of corporate giants to pioneer increasingly dangerous means of banning dissenters. *These* are the authoritarians.”
But the worst is watching people whose job title in corporate HR Departments is "journalist" take the lead in agitating for censorship. They exploit the platforms of corporate giants to pioneer increasingly dangerous means of banning dissenters. *These* are the authoritarians. pic.twitter.com/Ru6oGtIrFb
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 6, 2022
“This is the frog-in-boiling-water problem: the increase in censorship is gradual but continuous, preventing recognition of how severe it’s become,” Greenwald observed, listing several examples of censorship like the European Union banning Russian news updates outright — and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau freezing the bank accounts of truckers who dared to oppose his vaccine mandates.
“All of this stems from the classic mentality of all would-be tyrants: our enemies are so dangerous, their views so threatening, that everything we do – lying, repression, censorship – is noble,” Greenwald said, referencing author Sam Harris’ recent interview claiming that any extreme could be rationalized if it helped to keep former President Donald Trump out of power. “That’s what made the Sam Harris confession so vital: that’s how liberal elites think.”
After several more tweets decrying the betrayal of “journalists” who would position themselves as gatekeepers rather than truth-tellers, Greenwald concluded: “Heap scorn on the corporate outlets and their deceitful, pro-censorship employees abusing the ‘journalist’ label. Read them with full skepticism, or just ignore them. Support outlets and platforms that want to protect free inquiry and the right of dissent, not rob you of it.”
Source: Dailywire
