The best way to combat disinformation is with more and better information. Censorship isnt the answer.
The Biden administration has reached a different conclusion, creating a Disinformation Governance Board under the Department of Homeland Security. This board is headed by Nina Jankowicz, an unelected official and an apparent partisan hack. One example: she dismissed the infamous Hunter Biden laptop story as a fairy tale involving a laptop repair shop; its now been confirmed that Hunters laptop was real, and so too was that repair shop.
Democrats, of course, dont have exclusive rights to censorship. Republicans always seem to be calling for books to be banned or education to be policed. But the real problem is much larger than partisan hackery and bickering. Efforts at censorship are all around us, couched as a way of protecting us from harmful lies and other forms of disinformation. Yet, as the comedian Jimmy Dore points out, the government isnt that concerned about protecting you from lies; it is, however, deeply concerned with denying you access to certain truths, truths that undermine governmental authority and the dominant narrative.
As a retired U.S. military officer and as a historian, the most insidious lies and disinformation Ive encountered have come from the government. Consider the lies revealed by Daniel Ellsberg and his leak of the Pentagon Papers. Consider the war crimes revealed by Chelsea Manning, aided by Julian Assange and Wikileaks. Consider the lies revealed in the recent Afghan War Papers. Consider the lies about the presence of WMD in Iraq, lies that were used to justify the disastrous Iraq War. The government, in short, is a center of lies and disinformation, which is precisely why we need an adversarial media, one that is willing to ferret out truth. Instead, were being offered a governmental Ministry of Truth in the form of a Disinformation Governance Board.
All things being equal, a democratic society thrives best when speech is as free as possible, trusting in the people to sort fact from fiction, and sound theories from blatant propaganda. And theres the rub: trusting in the people. Because the government doesnt trust us (remember Hillary Clintons comment about all those irredeemable deplorables), even as the government is often at pains to mislead and misinform us. As maverick journalist I.F. Izzy Stone said, all governments lie. Its truly nonsensical, then, to allow the government to police what is true and what is disinformation.
But dont we need some censorship in the name of safety or security or mental health or whatever? Sorry: censorship is rarely about safety, and it most certainly doesnt serve the needs of the vulnerable. Instead, it serves the needs of the powerful, those who already possess the loudest megaphones in the public square.
But doesnt someone like Donald Trump deserve to be censored because he spreads disinformation? Which is the bigger problem: Trump or censorship? I happen to think Trump is a divisive con man, but it was a bad precedent for Twitter to have banned him from tweeting. The bigger problem wasnt Trumps tweets but the medias obsessive coverage of them in pursuit of ratings. The way to combat a blowhard like Trump is to ignore him, and to correct him when needed. To combat his lies with the truth. We dont need a governmental Ministry of Truth to police the tweets of a former president. Not when the government is often the biggest liar.
The solution isnt censorship but an active, engaged, and informed citizenry, assisted by a fourth estate, the press, that is truly independent and adversarial to power. But the weakening of education in America, combined with a fourth estate that is deeply compromised by the powerful and often in bed with the government, means that these democratic checks on power are less and less effective. Hence calls for quick yet dangerous solutions like censorship, where the censors (governmental boards, private corporations) are opaque and almost completely unaccountable to the people.
Unless your goal is to give the already powerful a monopoly on speech, censorship is not the answer.
CrossPosted from Bracing Views.
Go here to see the original:
On Censorship and Disinformation - LA Progressive
- The week in TV: Platform 7; Smothered; Louis Theroux Interviews Chelsea Manning; Seeds of Deceit: The Sperm Donor Doctor review - The Guardian - December 11th, 2023
- Louis Theroux Interviews Chelsea Manning, BBC Two, review: one of Louis's toughest gigs yet - The Telegraph - December 11th, 2023
- Louis Theroux Interviews Chelsea Manning: the best of the series - Yahoo News UK - December 11th, 2023
- Louis Theroux Interviews Chelsea Manning on BBC Two: the best episode of the series - Evening Standard - December 11th, 2023
- Louis Theroux Interviews Chelsea Manning review the awkwardness is torture - The Times - December 11th, 2023
- Louis Theroux in 'most awkward' interview ever as he sits down with whistleblower Chelsea Manning - The Mirror - December 11th, 2023
- Who is Chelsea Manning on Louis Theroux Interviews on BBC2? - Manchester Evening News - December 11th, 2023
- Obama shortens sentence of Manning, who gave secrets to WikiLeaks - November 25th, 2023
- Book Review: README.txt, by Chelsea Manning - New York Times - April 17th, 2023
- Chelsea Manning fought a complex system to transition in prison : NPR - April 17th, 2023
- Chelsea Manning Release: What to Know About Whistleblower | Time - April 8th, 2023
- Chelsea Manning - Wikipedia - March 14th, 2023
- Chelsea Manning - Life, Jail & Facts - Biography - March 14th, 2023
- WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning says we need to rethink ... - March 14th, 2023
- The Chelsea Manning Case: A Timeline | News & Commentary | American ... - January 30th, 2023
- Chelsea Manning speaks out and says voice 'has been left out of the ... - January 22nd, 2023
- Everything you need to know about Chelsea Manning - ABC News - January 22nd, 2023
- Chelsea Manning: I struggle with the so-called free world compared ... - January 22nd, 2023
- Chelsea Manning: Why she leaked U.S. military secrets | CTV News - November 17th, 2022
- README.txt by Chelsea Manning review secrets and spies - October 31st, 2022
- Chelsea Manning shared secrets with WikiLeaks. Now she opens up in ... - October 23rd, 2022
- Chelsea Manning: I struggle with the so-called free world compared with life in prison - The Guardian US - October 23rd, 2022
- Facing the warmongers: An Assange update - newagebd.net - October 15th, 2022
- Elon Musk blames communism in schools and universities for strained relationship with daughter - indy100 - October 15th, 2022
- Elon Musk And Grimes Relationship Timeline: All About Their On-And-Off Dating - TheTealMango - October 15th, 2022
- Here Are the Favorites To Win the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize - TIME - October 7th, 2022
- CIA co-opts Harriet Tubman to boost its efforts to recruit spies and assassins - WSWS - October 7th, 2022
- October 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us - Ms. Magazine - October 7th, 2022
- Chelsea Manning to return to active duty after prison release - Army Times - September 29th, 2022
- 10 books you should read in October, including David Bowie's Moonage Daydream and William Shatner's Boldly Go - The A.V. Club - September 29th, 2022
- Excessive Secrecy and the Deep State: Is there Cause for Concern? - LA Progressive - September 21st, 2022
- Salman Rushdie and the Neoliberal Culture Wars - Boston Review - September 21st, 2022
- Come With Me As We Reflect On The Queer Celebrity Couples Who Are Still In Love And Ones Who Called It Quits - BuzzFeed - September 13th, 2022
- 21 years after 9/11 attacks, it's time to 'flip the script' on militarism in America - Columbia Missourian - September 13th, 2022
- Is Trump the Rosenbergs? - Jewish Journal - September 5th, 2022
- Mar-a-Lago and why intelligence agents matter to America - Washington Examiner - September 5th, 2022
- Grimes and Chelsea Manning break up - Page Six - August 28th, 2022
- Ex-prosecutor in Boston indicted on NYC rape charges - New York Daily News - August 20th, 2022
- What happened to Glenn Greenwald? The former trans ally now sides with right wing transphobia - Salon - August 12th, 2022
- Behind The Meaning of "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" By Aerosmith - American Songwriter - August 4th, 2022
- Elon Musk confirms he gave himself and son X matching haircuts - Page Six - August 4th, 2022
- Nominations Open for the 2022 EFF Awards - EFF - July 26th, 2022
- Famous whistleblowers who shocked the world - msnNOW - July 26th, 2022
- Grimes and Chelsea Manning Have Reportedly Broken Up - The Cut - July 18th, 2022
- Epstein was murdered Chelsea Manning RT World News - July 9th, 2022
- Epstein was 'murdered' says US whistleblower Chelsea Manning - July 9th, 2022
- Chelsea Manning dodges question about rumoured relationship with Grimes - June 19th, 2022
- Chelsea Manning dodges Grimes relationship questions - June 19th, 2022
- Will Julian Assange be extradited to the U.S.? Where his case stands now - NPR - June 19th, 2022
- Spain's High Court Demands Pompeo Testify on Alleged Plot to Kidnap or Kill Assange - Common Dreams - June 10th, 2022
- Dogwoof Acquires Tribeca-Bound Documentary 'XY Chelsea' - Variety - June 10th, 2022
- Review: 'Breaking The News' The press, politics, and profit - Socialist Appeal - May 25th, 2022
- Grimes Will Donate Dune-Inspired Met Gala Accessories To Ukraine Relief - The Blast - May 25th, 2022
- Chelsea (Bradley) Manning | Americans Who Tell The Truth - April 28th, 2022
- Grimes dating leaker Chelsea Manning after Elon Musk breakup - April 28th, 2022
- Grimes and hacker Chelsea Manning are reportedly dating - April 28th, 2022
- Is Grimes dating whistleblower Chelsea Manning after ... - April 28th, 2022
- The Socialist Equality Party candidates for the May 21 election - WSWS - April 28th, 2022
- Glenn Greenwald Sorry for Gross Remark About Chelsea Manning - April 28th, 2022
- Inside Elon Musks bizarre life from fluid relationship with Grimes to dumping worldly goods & living i... - The US Sun - April 28th, 2022
- Rights Activist Nandita Haksar on Seeing India through the Eyes of its Refugees - NewsClick - April 28th, 2022
- This week in Oakland: Black music fest at the Continental, Alena Museum, more - The Oaklandside - April 13th, 2022
- NY Public Radio Appoints Kristina Newman-Scott as Executive Director of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space - Broadway World - January 15th, 2022
- Talon Anvil, Task Force 9 and the terrible cost of the air offensive in Syria - NationofChange - December 30th, 2021
- Anthony Broadwater Was Convicted of Raping Alice Sebold. Then the Case Unraveled. - The New York Times - December 19th, 2021
- The Study That Convinced the CDC To Support Mask Mandates in Schools Is Junk Science - Reason - December 19th, 2021
- A day in the death of British justice - newagebd.net - December 19th, 2021
- Andreessen Horowitz Leads Investment In Privacy Startup Integrating With Bitcoin - Forbes - November 19th, 2021
- 'Trans Awareness Week' Sounds Nice, but We Need Action - The Daily Beast - November 19th, 2021
- M.I.A. Shares Previously Unreleased Song and Video Babylon, Which Is Being Auctioned as NFT - Complex - November 19th, 2021
- US Peace Prize Awarded To World BEYOND War | Scoop News - Scoop.co.nz - November 5th, 2021
- Refusing to go with the current - manilastandard.net - October 23rd, 2021
- Stella Moris on her secret family with Julian Assange: Hes unlike anyone I have ever met - The Irish Times - October 23rd, 2021
- Canada invited Chelsea Manning to country just so she could be thrown out - The Guardian - October 12th, 2021
- Ottawa wanted U.S. whistleblower Chelsea Manning to come to Canada so she could be kicked out in person - National Post - October 12th, 2021
- Julian Assange and the CIA-USA Daily Wars Against Humanity - LA Progressive - October 12th, 2021
- Chain reaction: Corey Johnson finally talks with East River Park activists - The Village Sun - October 12th, 2021
- US appeal on Assange extradition to be heard on 27 and 28 Oct - iTWire - October 5th, 2021
- The US Considered Kidnapping and Even Assassinating Julian Assange - Jacobin magazine - October 5th, 2021
- ACLU Advocate Reining in Government Use of Face Surveillance, Champion of Privacy Rights Research, and Data Security Trainer Protecting Black... - August 27th, 2021