WikiLeaks warned it could be “next” if “political pressure can be used to censor publishers,” as the controversial secrets-publishing organization on Tuesday defended its support of Infowars’ Alex Jones.
Several technology platforms, including Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, and Spotify, pulled years of Infowars content in recent days, citing violations of their codes of conduct relating to hate speech.
Calling the purge a display of “suspiciously simultaneous censorship,” WikiLeaks tweeted that it came soon after “hawk” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., the top Democratic senator on the Senate Intelligence Committee, circulated a policy paper in tech circles “threatening new regulation against those same media companies.”
[More: ‘Survival of our democracy’ depends on banning sites like InfoWars, Dem senator says]
The suspiciously simultaneous censorship of Infowars by Google, Apple, Facebook came just one week after U.S. Senate intelligence committee hawk Mark Warner (D) circulated this policy paper threatening new regulation against those same media companies: https://t.co/8kLI1GAedM pic.twitter.com/Qdo0frJbPJ
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 7, 2018
The tweet included a link to a draft copy of the white paper obtained by Axios, which contains proposals dedicated to fighting “disinformation.” While the paper prepared by Warner’s staff talks of the need to “ensure proper oversight, transparency and effective management of technologies,” it does not suggest creating a new federal regulatory agency focusing on the digital realm.
After the widespread takedown of Infowars content, some Democrats applauded the move. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called on other tech companies to ban more sites like Infowars, which is infamous for pushing conspiracy theories, including one that said the deadly Sandy Hook school mass shooting massacre was a hoax.
“Infowars is the tip of a giant iceberg of hate and lies that uses sites like Facebook and YouTube to tear our nation apart. These companies must do more than take down one website. The survival of our democracy depends on it,” Murphy tweeted Monday.
I know Facebook and Apple and YouTube have gotten so big they sometimes seem like the government.
But they aren’t.
They are private companies that shouldn’t knowingly spread lies and hate. They took a good first step today by removing Infowars.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 6, 2018
Meanwhile, Jones has lashed out at Democrats, looping them in with a “globalist” conspiracy to silence him and his allies. Jones also called on President Trump for assistance, urging him to make “censorship” a top issue before the 2018 midterm elections or risk impeachment.
So far Trump has been silent on the matter.
WikiLeaks acknowledged that Infowars has “frequent nonsense,” but stressed there is value in it as “a state power critique.”
“Which publisher in the world with millions of subscribers is next to be wiped out for cultural transgression?” WikiLeaks warned in one tweet.
In another, WikiLeaks said it could be next.
“WikiLeaks is a controversial publisher with stronger opponents than Infowars. If political pressure can be used to censor publishers, then WikiLeaks will be next,” WikiLeaks said.
WikiLeaks is a controversial publisher with stronger opponents than Infowars. If political pressure can be used to censor publishers, then WikiLeaks will be next.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 7, 2018
WikiLeaks is no stranger to controversy. During the 2016 campaign, it published hacked emails of top Democratic officials and afterward a U.S. intelligence community assessment found with “high confidence” that it was used by Russian intelligence to release the information as part of an effort to get Trump elected.
WikiLeaks, led by founder Julian Assange, denied this assertion.
