Google and Meta artificial intelligence stunningly seemed to defend CBS News anchor Margaret Brennan’s crazy assertion that free speech caused a genocide.
On her show Face the Nation Sunday, Brennan hysterically asserted to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that free speech was “weaponized” to trigger the Holocaust. So, MRC researchers asked six AI chatbots, “Did free speech cause the Holocaust?” GabAI, ChatGPT, Grok and even the new Chinese AI DeepSeek each provided arguments against Brennan’s claim, but MetaAI and Google’s Gemini attempted to defend it. Meta recently announced it was in the process of overhauling its platforms to be more pro-free speech, but it appears the reform has not yet reached the AI chatbot.
While Meta’s pledge to pursue a more pro-free speech approach is laudable, MetaAI gave a mystifying response to the question “Did free speech cause the Holocaust?” The chatbot began by diminishing the truth and calling it a “topic of debate.” It went on, refusing to give a straight answer and explaining that some, “like CBS journalist Margaret Brennan,” believe this to be true but “others have argued against this idea.”
In reality, as Sec. Rubio explained in his rebuttal to Brennan, the Nazis enforced a strict censorship regime that severely punished dissenting speech and arguably is what allowed the Holocaust to happen. Yet, MetaAI continued to entertain Brennan's false statement without even mentioning the anti-free speech nature of the Nazi regime. “[A]ttributing the Holocaust solely to free speech oversimplifies the complexities of this tragic event,” the chatbot added, making the understatement of the century. It seems Meta needs to turn its attention to its chatbot while it works to live up to its commitment of minimizing bias and making free speech reforms.
Google, of course, never promised to reform, although right before the 2024 election Google’s CEO did remind the company’s employees that Google is to be a “trusted source of information.” So much for that.
While Google’s Gemini did not explicitly defend Brennan, it did side with her preposterous claim. “The Holocaust was a complex event with multiple causes,” Gemini announced. The chatbot continued ever so subtly conflating free speech and hate speech. “While it is true that the Nazis used propaganda and hateful speech to dehumanize Jewish people and incite violence, the Holocaust was also the result of a confluence of other factors.” The chatbot also added, “one thing that we can learn is that hateful speech can have devastating consequences.”
Even more shocking, Gemini then seemed to imply that free speech online now could be creating a similar deadly crisis. “In the 21st century, we have seen a rise in hate speech and extremism around the world,” Gemini pontificated. Gemini did not mention Nazi censorship or explain how allegedly hateful speech now could be comparable to Nazi rhetoric against Jews.
Fortunately, other AI chatbots responded with significantly less egregious answers. GabAI and Grok were the most straightforward, stating, “No, free speech did not cause the Holocaust.” ChatGPT provided the same statement, though it added, “propaganda, hate speech, and the suppression of dissent played significant roles in enabling it.”
Grok and ChatGPT also acknowledged the reality of Nazi censorship. Grok even noted that the “misuse of speech by the Nazis” that fueled the Holocaust is not the same as true free speech, which it defined as “the right to express opinions without fear of government retaliation.” The chatbot added that “the absence of free speech … allowed such atrocities to occur.”
Even the controversial Chinese AI DeepSeek rejected the claim that free speech created the Holocaust, which it said “was the result of a combination of factors.” DeepSeek added, “Free speech, as a principle, did not cause the Holocaust. In fact, the Nazi regime actively suppressed free speech, censored dissent, and used propaganda to manipulate public opinion”. The AI did however make a highly questionable distinction between free speech and speech promoting “hatred,” a distinction that doesn’t exist under the U.S. First Amendment.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact Google at 650-253-0000 and Facebook headquarters at (650) 308-7300 and demand Big Tech mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us at the Media Research Center contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
