Staff Reports
On Tuesday night, two establishment news personalities demonstrated how free speech is now increasingly perceived as “right-wing” in a mere thirty seconds. This was in reaction to Tucker Carlson announcing that he was bringing his popular television program to Twitter. Tom Costello, guest host of MSNBC’s ‘Hallie Jackson Now’, suggested that Twitter was under fire for “misinformation, disinformation, all-out lies, anti-semitism, racism” and asked if anyone would be able to “police what Carlson says?” His guest, former CNN personality Brian Stelter, then reinforced Costello’s illiberalism by proclaiming that this move by Carlson “may cement the idea of Twitter as a right-wing website.”
In reaction to Tucker Carlson taking his show to Twitter, it took exactly 30 seconds for MSNBC’s @tomcostellonbc and @brianstelter to demonstrate how free speech is now increasingly perceived as “right-wing.”
What a time to be alive. https://t.co/GvEFnHFlKR
— Jack Hunter (@jackhunter74) May 10, 2023
This exchange is reflective of the current state of free speech in America. The First Amendment protects the right to free speech, even if it features the craziest “lies” and the worst kinds of racism. This is a principle that has been upheld since the Constitution was ratified and was once a bedrock value for American liberals. In 2015, former Democratic President Barack Obama defended free speech in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. He spoke of the importance of upholding the freedom of expression and warned of the consequences of self-censorship.
We’re back. pic.twitter.com/sG5t9gr60O
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) May 9, 2023
Establishment journalists worry Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson want a “free for all” for speech.
Um… what do they think free speech is?
Brian Stelter says Twitter allowing and desiring free and open speech cements the platform as “rightwing.”
Free speech is now rightwing. https://t.co/agPfFCNTgp
— Jack Hunter (@jackhunter74) May 10, 2023
After spending a decade or so insisting that American liberals no longer believe in free speech — in fact, they believe it's a dangerous and crypto-fascist value — it's bizarre but weirdly gratifying to watch them have to explicitly admit it:https://t.co/P0szv6nUdI
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 30, 2022
Unfortunately, by 2022, seven years after the political rise of Donald Trump and post the COVID-19 pandemic, Obama had joined the same anti-First Amendment Democratic mindhive Costello and Stelter expressed in their half minute clip. He defended Biden’s proposed Disinformation Governance Board and said that current “content moderation” by social media companies “doesn’t go far enough” in tamping down on “clearly dangerous content.” This was an admission that Obama believed the government must intervene and that speech must be regulated.
The new Left consensus is that speech should be regulated, censored and “policed” according to central authorities’ definitions of what’s true and not. For today’s Left, the First Amendment is now outdated and the principle of freedom of expression is dangerous. This is in stark contrast to the spirit of the First Amendment and what Obama promoted in 2015. It is also an accurate reflection of how Costello and Stelter now view the parameters of allowable speech in America.
Not all right-wingers are consistent supporters of free speech and there are examples of Republicans actively working against this all-American value. However, merely upholding free speech is now considered right-wing. This demonstrates how far we have come from the old pro-free speech consensus on the Left and how important it is to protect this fundamental American value.
