Disinformation and online rhetoric: How do Western governments censor information?

Oct 05, 2022

Mahmoud Bennett Social Media Producer

By Mahmoud Bennett (Social Media Producer)

The role of government officials in content moderation in the West has come under heightened scrutiny in recent years as leaders attempt to censor the public. From the White House coordinating with Twitter and Facebook to combat disinformation, to Canada’s recent crackdowns on hate speech — governments in the West have adopted varying approaches to regulating information and speech on topics ranging from health to politics.

With the massive expansion of information access, should elected officials be able to vet certain content before it gets to you? In a revealing multi-part series, Straight Arrow News takes an in-depth look at the different ways public entities maneuver through other platforms to impact the censorship of speech.

Tags: Censorship, Facebook, Twitter

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE WORKING WITH TWITTER AND FACEBOOK ON COVID INFO

TO CANADA’S RECENT LAWS BANNING HATE SPEECH

GOVERNMENTS AROUND THE WORLD HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN MODERATING INFORMATION – AND SPEECH – IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND FOR DIFFERENT REASONS

FOR NEW ZEALAND’S PRIME MINISTER IT’S ABOUT COMBATING QUOTE HARMFUL RHETORIC

JACINDA ARDERN:

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF OTHERS ARE UPHELD WHEN THEY ARE SUBJECTED TO HATEFUL AND DANGEROUS IDEOLOGY

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

AND FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IT’S A MATTER OF TACKLING DISINFORMATION

JEN PSAKI:

WE’VE INCREASED DISINFORMATION RESEARCH AND TRACKING. WE’RE FLAGGING PROBLEMATIC POSTS FOR FACEBOOK.

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

BUT TO CRITICS – IT’S A SLIPPERLY SLOPE OF CENSORSHIP, WITH SUBJECTIVE STANDARDS

BILL MAHER:

“IF WE’RE GOING TO BAN UNTRUTH, DOES THAT INCLUDE THE HALF-TRUTH? THE QUARTER-TRUTH? WHO DECIDES WHAT GETS THE “NO EVIDENCE FOR THAT” STICKER?

MAHMOUD BENNETT:

WITH THE MASSIVE EXPANSION OF INFORMATION ACCESS, THE WORLD WIDE WEB – AND BY EXTENSION MILLIONS OF ARTICLES, OPINIONS AND DATA AT YOUR FINGERTIPS – SHOULD CONTENT BE VETTED BEFORE IT GETS TO YOU?

WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE DIFFERENT WAYS WESTERN GOVERNMENTS DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY CENSOR SPEECH

STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO