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

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