KEEP YOUR EYES ON THIS ONE, FOLKS: The SCOTUS has granted cert to hear what (IMHO) may be one of the most important First Amendment/Media cases since Times v. Sullivan. The outcome of the case may open the gates for those voices who have been suppressed by the government. In his dissent to taking the expedited case, Justice Alioto wrote:
“At this time in the history of our country, what the court has done, I fear, will be seen by some as giving the Government a green light to use heavy-handed tactics to skew the presentation of views on that increasingly dominates the dissemination of news.”
The matter has repercussions going beyond the “mere” right to dissent. There is a strong argument to be made that there is a connected campaign to demonetize web platforms that don’t toe the government line, and on personal information I can say with absolute certainty that many of the “right-leaning” news sites have seen dramatic revenue drops, less connected to traffic than a blacklist forced upon advertisers.
Naturally, faux liberals continue to support censorship. Look at the dog-whistles in NPR’s take from Nina Totenberg:
“The case has profound implications for almost every aspect of American life, especially at a time when there are great national security concerns about false information online during the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and further concerns about misinformation online that could cause significant problems in the conduct of the 2024 elections. And that is just the tip of the iceberg […]The case is part of long-running conservative claims that liberal tech company owners are in cahoots with government officials in an attempt to suppress conservative views.”
Note the prioritization on “national security” and “election integrity.” Also the cynical language “long-running conservative claims” (conspiracy theory!) and “cahoots” (disbelief!)
The fact is that depending on how the SCOTUS rules, there may be (and ought to be) many cases brought where government influence pushed a blacklist, and the discovery in those cases will be telling indeed.
Stay tuned…