In a time when mass media is part of the very fiber of modern society, it would be disconcerting to consider its various venues being manipulated by certain individuals or institutions. After all, media censorship is something we would typically assign to totalitarian countries such as China and Russia, with our sympathies being extended to their populaces for the suppression of free speech and for having their worldview narrowed by the bias of their leaders. The western world has long relished their freedom of speech and right to their own opinions – Charter or Bill of Rights our guarantee!
Well, folks, it is time to look again. The big boogeyman of CENSORSHIP is afoot in “the land of the free.” He lurks in Big Tech and, due to his corrupt nature, has a particular propensity to attack and destroy conservative values. This is becoming increasingly manifest.
Once upon a time, Google, Facebook, and Twitter forwarded their platforms as tools for social good. Former Twitter CEO Dick Costolo said, “We think of Twitter as the global town hall.” “We are the free speech wing of the free speech party.” Google’s original motto was “Don’t be evil.”
Peter Hasson of the Washington Examiner stated: “Although Facebook, Google, and Twitter once touted themselves as bastions of democracy and free speech, they are now openly moving toward direct censorship and media manipulation–and specifically targeting conservative ideas and personalities.” “We’ve gotten so accustomed to the role they play in our lives that we fail to notice that Big Tech is sifting through the available information and narrowing, and prioritizing our choices.” 1
Reader, there is cause for concern, for these are true words–the current coronavirus event being a clear example of Big Tech’s direct censorship. I have personally witnessed cases of YouTube (whose parent company is Google) removing videos of accredited doctors and other professionals that question the pandemic, the WHO agenda, or the government lock-downs. Apparently, freedom of speech will not be granted to dissenters.
In other cases, when search on tech platforms is made that is contrary to their narrative, a message with government COVID-19 information shows up.
The CEO of YouTube openly admitted that, “Anything medically unsubstantiated, like ‘take vitamin C, take turmeric to cure COVID.’ Those are examples of things that go against our policy. Anything that would go against World Health Organization recommendations would go against our policy. Remove is another important part.”2 This is blatant censorship, people! And really…is it important to remove a statement about vitamin C and turmeric?
Big Tech is also censoring some natural health and nutraceutical sites; some of this by soft censoring–manipulating search results. When one person asked Google why this is so, they replied, “It isn’t censorship, it’s consumer protection.” So Google is now a health expert and will make our choices for us?
Lifesite News reported that Facebook censored a Trump campaign ad that decried Antifa and far-left groups for causing destruction and mayhem in American cities. The social media giant claimed that the post violated their policy against organized hate.3
Lifesite News also reported that YouTube censored Walt Heyer, an ex-transgender, for medical information on gender dysphoria. He stated, “This is a childhood development disorder.” YouTube considered these words hate speech. Many who regret becoming transgender reach out to Mr. Heyer for help.
This same news site tells of Amazon censoring a book on transgender harm to children called “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters.” They deemed it to be “objectionable content.” We know how that goes. Promoting gender ideology is okay, questioning it is not.
More people are realizing that Big Tech is suppressing information on these and other lines. It would appear that they desire to shape public opinion to their left-leaning views.
Back in April, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg was asked about removing an events page for a political protest in Michigan. Zuckerberg stated, “Protests like these are no longer protected political speech, they are misinformation.”
When asked if it would be considered harmful if Facebook was used to plan a protest against social distancing, he said, “We do class that as harmful information and we take that down.”4
Whistle-blower Zach Vorhies, a former senior software engineer at YouTube/Google, is sounding the alarm regarding their censorship. He released 950 documents, including their blacklists, as evidence to the department of justice anti-trust division. He alleges that Google is guilty of election meddling, among other things.5 Considering both their censoring and their power over the entire information landscape, this would not be that surprising.
During Ireland’s abortion referendum in 2018, Google apparently blacklisted the 8th Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (which protects the right of the unborn).6 “Cure cancer” and “cancer cure” are also said to be on the list.
It is interesting to note that Vorhies also discloses that in 2018, Google did big algorithm updates which saw, among other things, many natural health sites deranked, seriously affecting traffic to them. In turn, medical sites connected with big pharma ranked at the top.
It seems tech giants have taken it upon themselves to police free speech. Kalev Leetaru, an American internet entrepreneur who writes about data and society, says the internet is evolving into a “corporate-controlled moderated medium.”
The censorship I have personally witnessed in recent months has been cause for alarm, and further research has exposed more. It raises the question: What is the agenda of these rich and powerful tech giants with their global reach? “Consumer protection?” “The good of public health?” God knows the driving force behind all things, of that we are sure, and, in a digital world, it would not be a strange thing for Satan to manipulate technology as one of his weapons to “deceive the nations” and suppress the truth. Evil is surely afoot!
Christians cannot be properly equipped for spiritual warfare in this end of time if they do not understand the undercurrents working to destroy righteous principles.
We are living in a world that is given over to corrupt lusts, and, in more recent years, the aggression against morality is rapidly accelerating … with the help of rich and powerful tech companies.
Sinner, save yourself from this untoward generation! Christian, keep yourself unspotted from this world and boldly defy the flood of ungodliness!
Footnotes:
[1] www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/blacklist-valley
Peter Hasson, Blacklist Valley: How Big Tech Reshapes Politics by Censoring Conservative Ideas
[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPrbGU0Wyh4
Big Tech Censors Dissent over Coronavirus Lockdowns
[3] www.lifesitenews.com/news/facebook-censors-trump-campaign-ad-decrying-antifa-and-far-left-violence
[4] www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPrbGU0Wyh4
[5] potkaars.nl/blog/2019/11/21/google-whistleblower-zach-vorhies-how-elections-are-decided-globally
[6] www.zachvorhies.com/blacklists.html
