Free Speech, Inc.: Censorship Has Become En Vogue Yet Again
"Rules for thee, not for me" became a rallying cry of the right wing's dissent from the political establishment in its quest to rectify Washington's festering corruption. From a two-tiered system of justice to the abandonment of principles when it became political expedient for the left, its opponents were spoiled for choice when it came to finding examples of their brazen hypocrisy. No example best demonstrated this than the political establishment's utter abandonment of the right to free speech. From coordinating mass censorship efforts to attempts to brand free speech as illegal under toothless claims it constituted hate speech which has no recognition in constitutional law or incitement of violence, evidence of that wanton disregard for the principle fundamental to the First Amendment was replete.
The visibility of the erosion of free speech was one one of the most deterministic factors in the triumphant return of President Donald Trump to the Oval Office. However, Trump's devout if not deluded supporters have demonstrated their blatant disregard for free speech now that he has recaptured the presidency before he could even be inaugurated for the second time. Since his re-election, Trump's supporters and closest political allies have began to lead their own assault free speech in a manner befitting the political establishment that drew their vitriol for that same reason.
The greatest example of this change of course came in the wake of Elon Musk's promotion of the H-1B visa program that is designed to bring foreign workers into the United States. Musk's support for the visa program immediately brought the ire of a faction of disciples of the MAGA movement upon him because of their view that turning to a reliance on foreign workers in and of itself is an abandonment of the core campaign promise to put America First. Their outrage was emboldened by President Trump echoing Musk's position that the United States needs to bring in more foreign workers, a complete contradiction of his opposition to the H-1B visa program dating back to 2016 that he maintained during his first term in office. Under the duress of that immense criticism, Musk began to target his opponents on X, the platform he and his staunch supporters have lauded for being the savior of free speech online.
I dont know, Bill. All I hear from Elon, @elonmusk FUCK YOURSELF in the face, Musk is that Americans, in his view are 2nd rate.
— Tweedle Dee (@TweedleReee) December 29, 2024
He's upset because, like the deep state, his cash cow H1B farms in California have been outed, so his cheap labor pools are now threatened. pic.twitter.com/rQg9bqRhFi
Some of the most vocal critics of Musk and Trump's about-face on putting America first by endorsing the H-1B program were supporters of iconoclastic right wing political commentator Nick Fuentes. Those supporters, known as Groypers, mobilized to call Musk and Trump out for their blatant hypocrisy and abandonment of the core tenets of the America First platform. Following their mobilization against Musk and Trump, a massive purge of Groyper accounts happened on X. The technocratic Stalineaque purge demonstrated how the stance taken on free speech has become seen as little more than a marketing tactic meant to garner support from voters disaffected by big tech's mass censorship in the years before the Musk's takeover of the platform. When that free speech was aimed at them, they proved to resort to the same tactics to silence critics that their liberal opposition had.
That vulgar display of hypocrisy only serves to amplify criticism of Musk for his perceived betrayal of the commitment he made to the America First movement which holds the sanctity of free speech as of paramount importance. High profile right wing accounts across X sympathetic to that cause quickly followed the purge by voicing their disdain for the mass-banning of Groyper accounts only to find themselves as the next ostensible target of Musk's. While those accounts didn't face the same fate as the lower-profile Groyper accounts that they came to rally behind in support of, a mass removal of them from X's monetization platform ensued. Suddenly, many of the accounts that Musk claimed X made "citizen journalists" who he claimed had become the backbone of the new decentralized media paradigm were stripped of their blue checkmarks, rendering them incapable of participating in X's monetization program. These accounts included Jake Shields, InfoWars' own Owen Shroyer, Stew Peters, Myron Gaines, Laura Loomer, and other high profile controversial right wing influencers in the alternative media landscape.
Elon has decided I’m not worthy of a Blue Check mark
— Jake Shields (@jakeshieldsajj) December 31, 2024
As they say in Animal Farm all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others
The tactic of removing blue check marks from accounts critical of Musk during the fallout from making his position on H-1B visas clear did not solely affect accounts with notoriety. The mass deplatforming was apparently enforced algorithmically as even verified X users without massive follower counts lost their credentials. Many of the accounts to lose their blue checkmarks were stripped of them despite paying for X Premium for an annual period, without so much as a refund.
Some wanted receipts, here they are.
— Tom Hennessy (@Tomhennessey69) December 30, 2024
Apology accepted. https://t.co/LG6Mn1fHbg pic.twitter.com/JGwoveYWgb
As X took to damage control by selectively restoring the credentials of aggrieved users, sycophants of Musk came out of the woodwork to match the fervent criticism he faced from the debacle. In their defense of Musk, his most ardent supporters quickly began to move the goalposts when it came to the issue of free speech and X's role as a vehicle to restore it. The once free speech absolutists soon started to echo the empty platitudes that the liberal establishment had made central to the defense of their own censorship tactics. "The First Amendment only protects you from the government," "Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences," and other vapid defenses of Musk's censorship campaign were echoed by those desperately trying to curry his favor.
Those shameless displays of sycophancy and lack of true conviction of any principle demonstrated how so many supporters of Trump who joined his cause to challenge the establishment were easily swayed in effectively becoming supporters of the establishment themselves after only the slightest taste of power. An absence of welcoming any diversity of opinion would only become a cornerstone of their political platform after being emboldened by their victory in the 2024 Presidential Election that Musk was so integral to.
Weaponization of that newly consolidated power once again manifested itself once again when the vote for the Speaker Of The House of the 119th Congress came to pass. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky House Representative who has built his reputation on maintaining his integrity and commitment serving the American people became the latest target for the MAGA masses when he decided not to vote for House Speaker Mike Johnon's re-election. After refusing to cast a vote for Johnson, critics of Massie called for him to be primaried in the hopes that he would lose the next bid for his own re-election. President Trump had made a similar threat to Marrie directly in 2020 when the representative refused to vote for the CARES Act on the basis of his commitment to fiscal responsibility. Infuriated by his refusal to conform to the MAGA agenda after Trump endorsed Johnson as speaker ahead of the Electoral College Certification, Massie's critics claimed he was committing political subterfuge in order to put the balance of power in the hands of the Democratic Party, a claim so removed from the basis of reality it could only be fueled by a level of cognitive dissonance held by the likes of followers of a cult.
Unlike the faceless profiles who lost their blue checkmarks if not their X accounts completely, Massie was much better equipped to fight back. By taking the offensive against those who called for his head, Massie was quickly able to expose the facade so many prominent right wing influencers aligned with Trump and Musk have hidden behind. One of those high profile influencers, DC_Draino, took aim at Massie for what he deemed "anti-Trump obstructionism." Rogan O'Handley, the man behind the account DC_Draino, claimed he was attacking Massie for his own interests and had never been compensated to push his political agendas in any way, shape, or form. Soon after making this claim, O'Handley's reply to Massie was tagged with a community note proving that he has indeed been paid to promote his political positions in the past. Massie also pointed out that O'Handley had been a recipient of COVID relief funds paid for with taxpayer money. In expected fashion, O'Handley deleted his reply after he became exposed.
Yesterday we exposed paid influencer DC Drainage for misleading the public. It was so blatant that he got community-noted and deleted his post.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 7, 2025
Some say exposing X grifters is beneath my office, but my constituents deserve to know. Thank you @BuenoForMiami and @CommunityNotes pic.twitter.com/IYS3FES2VR
Catturd, another right wing influencer who lambasted Massie for refusing to vote for Mike Johnson's re-election as Speaker Of The House, responded to the congressman's criticisms by insinuating that he was preparing to file a defamation lawsuit against him. Catturd is one of Trump and subsequently Musk's most unconditional supporters and has maintained an antagonistic relationship with Massie over the years, erupting nearly every time the congressman doesn't fall in line with Trump's political agenda. Ironically, Catturd is also someone who has spent the last few years criticizing the left for lawfare when it has constantly turned to lawsuits on the basis of political persecution. Yet when that tactic proved to be advantageous for himself, Catturd had no reservations to stoop to that same level.
🚨 BRAKING 🚨
— Three Year Letterman (@3YearLetterman) January 9, 2025
Our good friend @catturd2 will be filing a “slam dunk” lawsuit against @RepThomasMassie for defamation. Massie had better take Catturd seriously - this is a guy who does nothing but win except when he’s running over his own dog#CatturdFacts pic.twitter.com/36SBsmt0Oi
The outcry against these recent episodes of censorship across X culminated with the platform implementing a new account rating system for accounts that parallels a CCP-like social credit score. According to Musk, the new algorithm was designed to improve the visibility of positive content. This means that any content X deems negative for ambiguous reasons will not be given the same degree of visibility. The amorphous nature of that label led users to examine what constituted negative content. Their discovers only increased their underlying concerns that the new algorithm was a streamlined means of enforcing censorship.
The subjugation of supposedly negative content like that which criticism of Musk could be deemed as also serves as a means of promoting accounts beholden to his agenda. This dichotomy creates a system in which users are punished for challenging narratives. That outcome is diametrically opposed to how X postures itself as the bastion of free speech which is the sole refuse against propaganda in an age of increasing information control.
What this resurgence of censorship highlights is how accounts propped up as being the faces of independent media are often anything but that. Instead, the alternative media landscape itself has become co-opted by political influences in the same manner its mainstream counterparts it sought to rebel against had. The appearance that alternative media is somehow immune from this dynamic is rooted in a woeful naivety, as if the tactics behind shaping propaganda have remained static since the onset of Operation Mockingbird. Instead, it is clear that the forces behind the scenes shaping narratives have evolved hand-in-hand with the rapidly changing landscape of how media operates. In doing so, the phrase 'alternative media' has become little more than an empty trademark, much like the label of 'America First' it built itself upon.