Tech giant Microsoft is once again taking aim at free speech as the 2024 election approaches.
In an Oct. 23 blog post, Microsoft accused U.S. adversaries Russia, China, and Iran of “undermining U.S. democratic processes” with online activities. The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) offered an equally problematic and anti-free speech solution, calling on politicians, government institutions, and online fact-checkers to target and censor information with alleged foreign ties online. This comes even after The Twitter Files repeatedly revealed how Twitter censored Americans who were falsely accused of Russian ties.
Microsoft referenced an incident in which Iranian hackers allegedly sent “stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign” to Joe Biden’s campaign and media entities, according to a federal investigation. The tech giant asserted that Chinese agents are targeting the elections of members of Congress and other down-ballot Republican candidates online. And the blog accused “Russian actors” of trying to spread false information about Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
Ultimately, Microsoft’s solution was to encourage fact-checking and something akin to pre-bunking, both of which often silence constitutionally-protected free speech online. “With a particular focus on the 48 hours before and after Election Day, voters, government institutions, candidates, and parties must remain vigilant against deceptive and suspicious activity online,” Microsoft claimed. “Early detection and fact-checking remain essential to countering these efforts and maintaining election integrity.” Microsoft particularly tried to raise hysteria about artificial intelligence-generated content.
Again, this is particularly concerning in light of past misidentification of Americans as foreign disinformation spreaders. After the 2016 election, the witchhunt for Russian bots online led to censorship of Americans on Twitter, per the Twitter Files. One American user, @drkwarlord, was accused of living in Asia and launching a “Russian hashtag” because he was a night nurse who posted at unusual hours, according to the Twitter Files.
Microsoft also has a track record of pushing for censorship. For instance, in 2021, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) accused Microsoft-owned LinkedIn of censoring content that was critical of Communist China. LinkedIn also censoredcontent critical of Covid-19 vaccines.
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