A new poll from RealClear Opinion Research confirms what we already know: the majority of Democrats are fine with online censorship. In fact, they are the ones pushing for it.
The results of a recent RealClear Opinion poll were astonishing. Indeed, 47 percent of Democrats said that free speech should be legal “only under certain circumstances.” Over one-third of Democrats said that they believe Americans “have too much freedom.”
And an overwhelming majority of Democrats said the federal government is duty-bound to protect the public from certain types of speech. More specifically, 75 percent of Democrats said the government has a duty to censor so-called “'hateful”' social media posts online. Of course, none of the responses provided clarification on what “hateful” means or who determines the aforementioned parameters.
In perhaps the most illustrative example of how far the United States has strayed from its original pro-freedom views was the bedkrock of the nation’s foundation, only 31 percent of Democrats strongly agreed with the statement, "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
MRC Free Speech America has long reported on the dangers the modern left poses to civil liberties. Last year, MRC Free Speech America reported that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) published its “Recommendations for Combating Online Misinformation,” which claimed that social media companies “still have much to do to reduce the spread of disinformation.” The “recommendations” featured a 14-point plan to prevent the spread of so-called “disinformation.”
Many Democratic lawmakers adopted this mindset as well. MRC Free Speech America research showed that House and Senate Democrats sponsored or cosponsored at least 18 “Big Tech” bills introduced in 2021 and 2022.
As an example, the Open App Markets Act prevented a “covered company” from imposing certain restrictions on internet applications, unless the company’s action was allegedly “necessary to achieve user privacy, security, or digital safety.” Bill co-sponsors Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), along with the DNC’s content moderation manifesto, claim that so-called “misinformation” online is dangerous, a warning sign for free speech. Klobuchar has even endorsed increased censorship as well.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) also called for more censorship, touting his Algorithmic Justice and Online Platform Transparency Act, which he claimed would “ban discriminatory algorithms that harm vulnerable populations online, like showing employment and housing ads to white people but not to black people in our country.”
What a bleak picture of things to come.
Contributing Writer Catherine Salgado contributed to this report.
Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand they hold Big Tech to account to provide transparency, provide clarity on hate speech and an equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.
