The censorship war against conservatives on social media is far from over. But now, with the pressure on Big Tech and media providers, Democrats are raging and set to lead the charge against Fox News, Newsmax and One America News Network.
The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing on February 24 entitled “Fanning the Flames: Disinformation and Extremism in the Media,” which will examine the effects that cable and broadcast news stations have in “disseminating disinformation and extremist content to the American public,” according to the memorandum.
Rather than address the misinformation and lies liberal media outlets, the hearing memorandum specifically cited articles that bashed Fox News, Newsmax, and other “conservative media.”
The memorandum decried how “media outlets will often cover demonstrably false statements made by politicians and other public figures because they consider them to be newsworthy.”
It even goes so far as to say, “Despite criticism, many traditional media outlets continue to allow for the disinformation in an attempt to follow journalistic standards and present multiple viewpoints on a news story.” It’s almost like presenting “multiple viewpoints” is the entire point of journalism.
“Democrats are expanding their campaign to censor political speech they don't agree with. This type of government pressure on the media is what we see in China, not here. This should deeply concern every journalist who values freedom of the press and freedom of speech,” tweeted Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), the ranking member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
As if this hearing was not enough of an assault on the free press, two Democratic representatives went even further in their fight against the First Amendment.
Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) wrote letters to twelve companies, including Verizon Communications, Amazon.com, Comcast Corp., Spectrum (Charter Communications, Inc.), Dish Network, AT&T Inc., Roku Inc., Apple Inc., Cox Enterprises, Altice USA, Hulu, LLC, and Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google. The letters demanded answers to questions such as “Have you ever taken any actions against a channel for using your platform to disseminate any disinformation?” and “Are you planning to continue carrying Fox News, Newsmax, and OANN?” Unsurprisingly, the letters made no mention of any liberal news organization.
“Misinformation on TV has led to our current polluted information environment that radicalizes individuals to commit seditious acts and rejects public health best practices, among other issues. @RepMcNerney and I are asking for that to change,” Eshoo wrote in a tweet.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro called the letters “authoritarian insanity,” in a tweet.
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner Brendan Carr called Eshoo and McNerey’s letters an “attempt to stifle political speech and independent news judgment.”
FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington said, “It is worrying that members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee have found it appropriate or necessary to apply the overbroad and vague label of ‘misinformation’ to any media reportage that calls into question their preferred political narratives, and have sought to intimidate into silence those who would distribute on their platforms disfavored points of view.”
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and 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.
