With Musk, Trump and Farage all thundering on about FREEDOM OF SPEECH I thought I’d like to wade in.
I’m all in favour of freedom of speech.
I am against censorship.
I don’t want to see anybody shut up or deprived of a platform.
I want to be free to comment on politics and religion without limit.
Freedom of speech is essential in a civilised country.
Freedom of speech is necessary in a democracy.
No religion or politician should be above being given a good dollop of criticism or even abuse.
I am in favour of causing offence! Indeed, I enjoy causing offence to all those I despise – religious bigots, right-wing zealots, political nutcases, despots, misogynists, racists and their ignorant supporters should all be fair game.
However – the likes of Trump, Farage, Banion and Musk are not really talking about FREEDOM OF SPEECH. They want the right to spread outright lies as fact, to spread propaganda as news and to brainwash the gullible with misinformation. They want the right to distort and spread conspiracy. They was to discredit science and rational thought, fact and figures and replace it with their own deliberately untruthful fake news. Ironically, if they receive criticism they are the first to shriek ‘FAKE NEWS!!’ That is real irony.
Now I don’t mind opinion. I express enough of that. I don’t mind evidence being put forward to debate. But I do think that all information put forward as ‘Fact’ show be truth tested! I do believe that the blatant lies put out by Trump, Banion, Farage, Musk and the like (with clear political intent) should be fact tested and called out. I believe that Twitter, GB News and Fox News (along with the likes of the Express, Mail and Sun) are nothing more than lying propaganda machines pumping out a stream of lies and propaganda. That’s my opinion.
Musk is now wading in to British politics with his war on Labour. That’s not freedom of speech – that’s political interference from a snotty spoilt brat of a billionaire! The profiteering, self-promoting bastard should keep his nose out and stop trying to cause division and hate!!
Fuck Musk!! Fuck Trump!! And Fuck Farage!!