{"id":583642,"date":"2023-07-21T00:06:25","date_gmt":"2023-07-20T21:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/rfk-jr-hearing-puts-censorship-misinformation-fights-at-center-stage\/"},"modified":"2023-07-21T00:06:25","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T21:06:25","slug":"rfk-jr-hearing-puts-censorship-misinformation-fights-at-center-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/rfk-jr-hearing-puts-censorship-misinformation-fights-at-center-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"#RFK Jr. hearing puts censorship, misinformation fights at center stage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/kennedyjrrobert_072023gn06_w.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A House hearing Thursday featuring Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought the complicated debate about balancing free speech with fighting misinformation to center stage.<\/p>\n<p>Some of the debate played out in real time among members of Congress and the hearing witness.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p><strong>Democrats condemn RFK Jr. over \u2018reprehensible\u2019 COVID-19 remarks<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on censorship started with some early demonstrations of the partisan divide on the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) made a motion to move the committee into executive session \u2014 closing the hearing to the public\u00a0 \u2014 over concerns about Kennedy\u2019s recent statement on COVID-19. <\/p>\n<p>She argued that testimony from Kennedy, who said in a video published by the New York Post that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jewish and Chinese people, could \u201cdefame\u201d or \u201cdegrade\u201d people.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Republicans successfully blocked that motion.<\/p>\n<p>Ranking member Del. Stacey Plaskett (D-Virgin Islands) also raised concerns with the committee giving Kennedy 10 minutes to deliver his opening statement\u00a0instead of the usual 5 minutes allotted to witnesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cIf you want to cut him off and censor him some more, you\u2019re welcome to do it,\u201d House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said, eliciting laughs in the room.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy\u2019s extensive history of sharing anti-vaccine views online was the center of Thursday\u2019s debate over how <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> companies moderate content.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Jordan says RFK Jr. post on Hank Aaron was \u2018just pointing out facts\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Before his recent comments suggesting COVID-19 was \u201cethnically targeted,\u201d the long-shot presidential candidate spread vaccine-skeptical content on his social media accounts.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy faced suspensions and removal of content<strong> <\/strong>in line with companies\u2019 policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy said during the hearing that he has \u201cnever been anti-vax,\u201d even though he has frequently been critical of vaccines and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/tech\/social-media\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-rfk-vaccine-video-rcna90703\">shared debunked claims<\/a> about links to autism.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m subjected to this new form of censorship, which is called targeted propaganda, where people <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ly pejoratives like \u2018anti-vax.\u2019 I\u2019ve never been anti-vaccine,\u201d Kennedy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut everybody in this room probably believes that I have been because that\u2019s the prevailing narrative.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats slammed Kennedy for his role in boosting Republicans\u2019 allegations that companies are censoring content with a political bias.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cNo matter what you may think, Mr. Kennedy \u2014 and I revere your name \u2014 you\u2019re not here to propound your case for censorship. You are here for cynical reasons, to be used politically by that side of the aisle to embarrass the current president of the United States,\u201d Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>House Democratic leader calls RFK Jr. a \u2018living, breathing false-flag operation\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re an enabler in that effort today. And it brings shame on a storied name that I revere. I began my political interest in your father. And it makes me profoundly sad to see where we have descended today in this hearing,\u201d Connolly added.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Along with Kennedy, Republicans featured testimony from former New York Post editor Emma-Jo Morris. She testified about when social media platforms suppressed the outlet\u2019s October 2020 story about the contents of a hard drive copied from a laptop that Hunter Biden, the president\u2019s son, purportedly left at a Delaware repair shop.<\/p>\n<p>Morris laughed when she addressed a <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> story that said more than 50 former intelligence officials had said the story had hallmarks of Russian disinformation. She noted that the contents of the hard drive were later authenticated by other news organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Jordan took particular issue with government officials communicating with social media companies about potential election-related misinformation and influencing the platforms\u2019 enforcement actions.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cAfter being repeatedly told a hack-and-leak Russian info operation is coming for a whole year, it arrives on October 14th in the form of Ms. Morris\u2019s story \u2014 an accurate story,\u201d Jordan said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur government knows the laptop is real; it\u2019s not a Russian information op, and they know this story is true, but when directly asked, they say no comment,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n<p>House Republicans also used a federal judge\u2019s decision earlier this month in Missouri v. Biden to limit the Biden administration\u2019s communications with social media companies as ammunition for their allegations of online companies censoring conservative voices online.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Along with Kennedy, lawmakers heard testimony from Louisiana Department of Justice Special Assistant Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> D. John Sauer, a lawyer involved in the case.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last week a three-judge appeals court panel issued a brief pause on the lower court\u2019s ruling limiting the Biden administration\u2019s communications with social media companies.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Maya Wiley, the president and CEO at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, questioned why the House Republicans are trying to make it \u201cmore difficult for companies to keep racist, antisemitic, and scientifically baseless conspiracy theories off their platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cesspool of bigotry on social media has fueled a sharp rise in hate-motivated violence,\u201d she testified during the hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>She also called out the decision by U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty, a Trump appointee, to limit the Biden administration\u2019s communication with social media platforms.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe federal district court\u2019s opinion was so flawed that the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of appeals reversed the ruling and vacated the preliminary injunction,\u201d Wiley said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat said, despite the policies these platforms claim to have, we have tracked a systematic failure to enforce them. And as detailed in my written statement, the platforms are in fact cutting staff in this area,\u201d she added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Democrats said the GOP is using the allegations of censorship to limit tech companies from moderating \u201charmful\u201d content that helps Republicans politically.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMAGA Republicans are trying to scare social media companies into not taking down blatantly false information in the lead-up to our 2024 presidential election. Chair Jordan knows as we do that when conspiracy theories succeed, so does Donald Trump,\u201d Plaskett said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Republicans countered that Democrats were simply afraid of the information that GOP investigations were uncovering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s really ironic this hearing is covering the left\u2019s censorship of opposing viewpoints. You\u2019ve all seen it on display all day long,\u201d Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) said. \u201cThey\u2019ve been trying to bully and defame our witnesses and try to cover up their opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/technology\/4108865-rfk-jr-hearing-puts-censorship-misinformation-fights-at-center-stage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A House hearing Thursday featuring Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought the complicated debate about balancing free speech with fighting misinformation to center stage. Some of the debate played out in real time among members of Congress and the hearing witness. Democrats condemn RFK Jr. over \u2018reprehensible\u2019 COVID-19 remarks The House Judiciary Select&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":583643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/07\/kennedyjrrobert_072023gn06_w.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134417,139252,1356,144606,109923,139529,133498,89113,71613,115,91516,134345,4965,71041,144607],"class_list":["post-583642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-blog-briefing-room","tag-business-economy","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-misinformation","tag-debbie-wasserman-schultz","tag-defense-national-security","tag-in-the-know","tag-jim-jordan","tag-misinformation","tag-news","tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","tag-state-watch","tag-technology","tag-vaccines","tag-weaponization-of-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}