The reason that the video streaming platform Rumble exists at all is because YouTube was so anxious to censor conservative viewpoints. And now the U.K. press is making noise about banning Rumble. Why? Because Russell Brand, who has been accused in the press of (but not charged with) sexual assault, makes money from the videos he posts on Rumble. As Twitchy reported, the CEO of Rumble received a letter from no less than Parliament expressing its concerns about Brand profiting off the platform. Rumble told them where they could shove it. But the U.K., armed with its just-passed Online Safety Bill, has its eyes on Rumble.
According to the U.K. government, the Online Safety Bill "will make the UK the safest place in the world to be online by placing new duties on social media companies – honouring our manifesto commitment."
Glenn Greenwald weighed in:
Not only is corporate media like @AP predictably running hit pieces on Rumble for its crime of not obeying censorship orders of the neoliberal establishment, but British media outlets are explicitly threatening that Rumble will be banned from the UK under its repressive new law: https://t.co/jIvf6QCVF9 pic.twitter.com/N4vMu12Ubi
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 25, 2023
Yes, that's the AP reporting that Rumble "is a haven for disinformation and extremism." Keep in mind that "disinformation" is itself disinformation — it's just a word for suppressing facts that aren't convenient to the elites, like the existence of Hunter Biden's laptop.
I can't emphasize this enough:
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 25, 2023
The top priority of western elites is internet control: the Snowden story was about online surveillance; since 2016, it is about censorship.
Ane platform defying this regime will not just be maligned, but threatened with *nationwide* banning.
The British press is now invoking the new and repressive "Online Safety Bill" not only to argue that Rumble can and should be banned entirely from the UK, but tabloids are also insinuating its executives could be subject to *arrest* when entering the UK.https://t.co/NNTNbtGD8b pic.twitter.com/0agoPjhlbc
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 25, 2023
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We watched the western press completely reverse itself when it came to @ElonMusk, turning him into public enemy number one for merely suggesting he'd refuse their censorship commands. He now faces all sorts of reprisals.
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 25, 2023
What's being done to Rumble is a new major escalation. pic.twitter.com/dvw4boClss
Don't forget that platforms like Facebook have promised to redouble their efforts to fight "disinformation" about the 2024 election. Thank God for Elon Musk and Community Notes.
As we've reported a couple of times before, police in the U.K. will arrest you for praying silently across the street from an abortion clinic. And now they've turned their focus to social media. It's absolutely crazy.
Don’t doubt it. Free speech is dead in the UK. 🙁
— Marc Landers (@marclanders) September 25, 2023
They let Rumble get too big.
— Jack Hudler (@JackHudler) September 25, 2023
Rumble: "We believe that we have a justice system and it should work first."
— Effendi (@shaikmasood40) September 25, 2023
AP: "This is extremism"
US internet companies may be forced to develop business models that don’t include countries with strict limits on free speech. The UK and Eurozone would either not have access or would only have access to a sanitized version.
— Gordon Browning🇺🇸 (@gdbrowning) September 25, 2023
The UK sounds more and more like Soviet Russia from the past. No way I would want to visit. Sounds completely repressive.
— StopWokeCulture 🇺🇸 (@MkayUokay) September 25, 2023
The Soviet Union fell in 1991 and its Politburo moved West to Brussels.
— The Legend of Rex (@LyonJewett) September 25, 2023
The EUSSR is alive and well with its Compatriot United Kingdom.
MI-6 enforces the New Orthodoxy.
This needs to be solved in the courts once and for all. This cannot go on like this.
— Sunshine State of Mind 🌈 ⛅️ (@foundinsunshine) September 25, 2023
There's no First Amendment in the U.K.
That’s all this is about. Going after Brandt is just a means to an end.
— LeftRightOut (@userIDtaken) September 25, 2023
I’d have thought that was fairly obvious if you’re paying attention.
We're not saying Brand's accusers are lying, but they did take their stories to the press rather than the police. As we said, he hasn't been charged with anything.
Totalitarianism rising.
— michael urban (@Michael_Urban65) September 25, 2023
They will do anything to control the narrative
— Dr Ken - e/acc (@ken_Kenobi1) September 25, 2023
This is not Rumbles problem to fix. This rests with the citizens of the UK to do something about their government.
— Robb Cheuvront (@CheuvrontRobb) September 25, 2023
Seriously … what is wrong with you Brits allowing things to get to this point? The government will ban you from watching Rumble and seeing contrary opinions about the coronavirus, the election, Ukraine, and more. They're making the internet "safe."
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