Top 5 Crackdowns on Conservatives' Internet Free Speech
by Ben Shapiro 4 Apr 2014
On Thursday, CEO Brendan Eich of Mozilla was forced out of his job
thanks to his $1,000 donation to the Proposition
8 pro-traditional marriage effort in California in 2008. At that point, he held the
exact same position as Barack Obama
on traditional marriage. Now, that position has soured in the nostrils of the
militant left, which seeks to ruin the lives of those with whom it disagrees.
Mozilla’s cave-in to the militants
over at OKCupid, a dating site that labeled Eich one of its “enemies” thanks to
his position, represents just the latest assault on conservatives in the online
space. It’s not illegal for Mozilla to dump Eich nor for OKCupid to call for
that ouster – nor should it be – but it is certainly wrong, and in violation of
basic principles of free speech that the internet is supposed to guarantee. It
is purely Orwellian that Mozilla’s response to Eich’s resignation suggested
that ensuring “equality and free speech” led to that resignation.
Unfortunately, such crackdowns on
free speech principles have become all too common among members of the leftist
online community. Here are the top five examples:
Google Adsense Shuts
Down WorldNetDaily. On February 6, Google Adsense notified WorldNetDaily’s
Joseph Farah that it would be cancelling WND’s account thanks to a “policy
violation email this morning regarding negative/hate speech particularly with
the repeated references to ‘black mobs,’ although I don’t know that this is
specifically what it’s limited to.” Farah told Breitbart News that Google
explained, “The reviewers cited a number articles [sic] with usage of this term
specifically and in general asks that no ad code is placed on articles
containing hate/anti or sensitive content as this is against Adsense policies
and does not provide a good experience for users and advertisers.”
WND’s sin: covering the so-called
“knockout game” phenomenon, in which black youths attacked and beat white and
Jewish passersby. The phenomenon received national media attention. Apparently
observing the race of those participating in the game was enough to put WND on
Google Adsense’s banned list.
Kickstarter Shuts Down
Campaign to Raise Money for Gosnell Film. This week, Kickstarter informed
filmmakers Phelim McAleer and his wife Ann McElhinney that it would not allow
them to use purely factual language in their attempt to raise $2.1 million for
a movie about mass killer abortionist Kermit Gosnell. McAleer explained:
They asked us to remove the descriptions
of a serial killer committing his crimes, but in the Belle Gunness
[Kickstarter] project they allowed a picture of a dead body on the project
page. In addition Kickstarter has hosted and promoted 16 projects about
stabbing. Kickstarter has also hosted 5 projects about incest, one project with
the "C" word in the project description, 44 projects about rape and
28 projects with the word F**k or F**king in the title. Some of these projects
were based on true stories, some were works of fiction, but all were allowed
onto Kickstarter.
Kickstarter gave in but maintained
that they could remove the project at any time, even after the donation
campaign began. McAleer and McElhinney decided instead to move to indiegogo.com
for their project.
Facebook Cracks Down on Gun
Photos, Anti-Obama Messages. Earlier last month, VentureBeat reported that
Facebook could announce new policies designed to crack down on gun-related
fanpages. Sources told VentureBeat, “Talks are progressing [between Facebook and Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action]. The
discussions are ongoing; there have been positive developments.”
In October 2012, Facebook shut
down the page of a group called Special Operations Speaks after they posted a
meme reading, “Obama called the SEALs and THEY got bin Laden. When the SEALs
called Obama, THEY GOT DENIED.” The meme received 30,000 shares… until Facebook
blocked it. First, Facebook warned the group; then Facebook sent a message: “We
removed content you posted. We removed the content you posted or were admin of
because it violates Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.”
Facebook later apologized.
Instagram Deletes Gun Posts.
Facebook and Instagram announced in early March that it would delete all posts
offering to buy or sell guns without a background check, as well as banning
users 18 and under from viewing gun offers. Facebook also deleted a photo of a
6-month-old child with a bolt-action rifle across her lap.
Twitter Gulag for Conservatives.
This one is a rumor, but a widespread one: many conservatives have complained
of their accounts being suspended from Twitter. In fact, it’s been termed
entering the “Twitter gulag.” Twitchy has detailed this practice and how to
avoid being suspended here.
Again, all of this activity is
legal. The question is one of appropriateness. For a group of leftists who
prize themselves on the primacy of the open internet to target political
opposition is hypocritical at best, and nasty at worst.
Mozilla
Reid
Hoffman is a director at the Mozilla
Corporation, and was a fellow at the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
Note: Mozilla
Foundation is a subsidiary of the Mozilla
Corporation.
Joichi
Ito is a director at the Mozilla
Foundation, and was an early investor for Kickstarter.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think tank),
the Robin Hood Foundation, the International Rescue Committee, and the
Brookings Institution (think tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
James S.
Crown is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member
of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
Lester Crown
was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and is a
member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.
R.
Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial
Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP
Michelle
Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Barack
Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin
LLP.
Newton
N. Minow is a senior counsel at Sidley
Austin LLP, and a member of the Commercial
Club of Chicago.
Mellody L. Hobson
is a member of the Commercial Club of
Chicago, and the chairman for DreamWorks
Animation SKG Inc.
David
Geffen is a co-founder of DreamWorks
Animation SKG Inc., and endorsed Californians
Against Eliminating Basic Rights, No on Prop. 8.
Californians
Against Eliminating Basic Rights, No on Prop. 8 opposed Proposition 8.
Proposition 8
eliminated same-sex marriage in California.
Clifford S.
Asness supported same-sex marriage
in New York, was
a leadership council member for the Robin
Hood Foundation, and is a director at the International Rescue Committee.
Michael R.
Bloomberg was a donor for the Robin
Hood Foundation, and is a co-chair for Mayors
Against Illegal Guns.
Condoleezza Rice is an overseer at the International
Rescue Committee, a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and
a 2008 Bilderberg conference
participant (think tank).
Henry A. Kissinger is an overseer at
the International Rescue Committee, a director at the American Friends
of Bilderberg (think tank), was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant
(think tank).
Madeleine K.
Albright is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee, and a
trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank).
Reid
Hoffman was a fellow at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and is a director at the Mozilla Corporation.
L.
John Doerr is a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a
director at Google Inc.
Sheryl K.
Sandberg was a VP for Google Inc.,
a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think
tank), and is the COO & director for Facebook.
Center
for American Progress was a funder for Facebook.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Center for American Progress, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
George
Soros is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations, was a supporter for the Center for American Progress, and the
chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think
tank).
Reid
Hoffman was a fellow at the Aspen
Institute (think tank), and is a director at the Mozilla Corporation.
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