Somehow, our government seems slow in understanding that just because something is written or shown as a post or video online, that this is considered to be different than our First Amendment right to free speech. In other words, those who use social media or things of that general ilk, have in recent times been subject to having their free speech removed from the public square, such as we have seen done with Facebook posts, (Twitter)X, and also with Google products. The government has taken the attitude that those, for example, that have a different theory of the origin of COVID-19, or in regards to “stop the steal,” or other areas of import to the general public, have the right to determine what is or isn’t legitimate, and therefore that government through the pressure that it exerts on corporate entities, or in conjunction to a quid pro quo, censor certain posts on the internet, which is a violation of free speech.
We read at ncsu.edu that “Freedom of speech is the right of a person to articulate opinions and ideas without interference, retaliation or punishment from the government.” Yet, this government has shown in recent years that it will interfere, it will retaliate, and it will punish those exercising their free speech through the Internet, again and again. Look, it has to be recognized that those who desire to express their opinion or have the belief that the origin of COVID-19 actually came from a “gain of function” laboratory in Wuhan, China, that accidentally or irresponsibly released the coronavirus are permitted to express that in conversations with one another but have been subject to that viewpoint being censored when doing so on social media.
All those who believe that for the good of this nation, we need to censor more words and videos that some people find to be uncomfortable or the orthodox government finds to be an inconvenience, or that are considered to be outside the narrative that mass media wishes to propagate -- is thereby a form of censorship and should be clearly seen as a violation of the First Amendment of our freedom of speech. The fact that some of the biggest and most powerful social media companies routinely kowtow to the government is a reflection that their pursuit of profit is their main concern, and when the government makes it clear to these companies that their disobedience to their dictates or preferences has not been taken seriously, these corporations are quick to recognize that their bottom line may well be negatively impacted, which would come to the dismay of their principal stockholders and corporate executives.
We live in a hi-technology age, in which the immediacy of social media posts or videos posted online, is a preferred method of getting across to one’s followers, what is desired to be expressed, per a given entity’s wishes, and to have that suppressed and censored by the government is a disservice to what this nation is supposed to represent, because posts online that do not violate any of the narrow conditions of our First Amendment Rights, should not ever be censored and the fact that they are being censored reflects that this government has aggrandized onto itself, powers that are not legitimately theirs at the expense of the people and their freedom of speech.