The second month of President Donald Trump’s second term is in the books, and the fight to preserve free speech is still in its infancy. Nowhere is that more clear than in the digital space online where memes are under attack, Meta appears to be up to its old bad habits and the latest TikTok deadline looms.
Two separate states, Texas and Maryland, are in the throws of a meme battle. Put more accurately, two separate states have politicians battling with—and at times against—Americans’ first liberties.
In Texas, what has been suggested is an anti-meme bill — an anti-free speech bill really — was introduced by a Republican. From the MRC Free Speech America report: “Former Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, who was censured and ultimately dropped out of the state speaker’s race last year, has introduced Texas H.B. No. 366. The bill, if passed, would create a ‘Class A misdemeanor’ for anyone sharing altered media, whether serious or satirical, that portrayed politicians saying and doing things which did not actually occur.”
Meanwhile, in Maryland, anonymous X account “No Moore” has been memeing itself into local prominence by criticizing Democratic Gov. Wes Moore. The account now finds itself in a fight with the Maryland Democratic Party, who “has filed a formal complaint, arguing that NoMoore is not just a garden-variety critic, but potentially engaging in campaign activity—and thus, should be regulated under state election law,” according to Reclaim The Net.
Pro-free speech organization Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression came to the defense of “No Moore,” stating the following in an X post:
“FIRE is concerned by the Maryland State Board of Elections’ investigation of anonymous speech critical of Gov. Wes Moore’s policies.
“The First Amendment is at its strongest and most essential when protecting speech about public officials and public affairs. And anonymous political speech has been a cornerstone of American democracy since the Federalist Papers, allowing individuals to speak out without fear of government retaliation.
…
“The internet has democratized free speech, empowering millions to share their thoughts and opinions with a large audience. Unmasking or enforcing complex regulatory schemes against individuals speaking online would cast a chill over one of most important forums for public discussion in the modern era. Absent evidence that ‘No Moore’ is anything other than an American exercising their individual right to anonymously criticize a powerful politician, this investigation should go no further.”
These are but two small examples of politicians attacking the free speech liberties (anonymous speech in the case of the “No Moore” account) afforded to every American, and this trend is not likely to slow anytime soon unless or until it is effectively called out as the anti-American nonsense that it is.
And what about Meta? Is CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s promise that Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram and Threads) return to their roots being kept? As former President Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust but verify.” While MRC has seen some improvements since Zuckerberg’s apparent Jan. 7 free speech about-face, MRC is still very much in the “verify” stage.
What about those that Meta has already harmed? Let’s not forget that Meta already censored so many—media and individuals alike. That’s especially important since as Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.” And Meta already appears to be foolishly returning to some of its bad old ways.
In a blog post on March 25th, Meta announced that it will be “Partnering Directly With Schools and Teachers to Address Bullying.” Sounds innocent enough, right? Wrong.
Time and time again the left and Big Tech (but I mostly repeat myself) have used the pretense of protection and safety — especially of children — to curtail the free speech liberties of Americans. And that appears to be what Meta is again tiptoeing towards here.
In what reeks of the Orwellian censorship catastrophe that was the Election Integrity Partnership reborn, Meta wrote, “Today, we’re rolling out a new School Partnership Program, starting with a pilot open to all US middle and high schools. The School Partnership Program, developed with support from the International Society for Technology in Education and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ISTE+ASCD), is designed to help educators report potential teen safety issues, including bullying, directly to us.”
Meta claims that it is “listen[ing] to parents,” but red-blooded, freedom-loving Americans know better. Big Brother and Big Tech need to get out of the way, stop trying to parent America’s children and let individuals take care of their own households.
Finally, will more minutes be added to the already-extended April 5 TikTok deadline? If Senate Democrats get their apparent wish, that answer will be yes. Reports suggest that the communist Chinese government-tied, censorship platform has had more than a few suitors willing to cut a deal, but only time will tell.
Strides are being made, and the momentum is with conservatives, but those willing to fight for freedom cannot rest while the battles continue to rage. The left certainly won’t.
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 using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
