“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert recently sat down with former CNN reporter — and Nobel Peace Prize winner! — Maria Ressa, and, naturally, the subject of freedom of speech came up. Or, more specifically, the subject of why freedom of speech is so dangerous came up.
Watch:
Former CNN reporter Maria Ressa told Colbert "there’s a reason why 60% of the world today is now under authoritarian rule" and that is "social media has…come in, and used free speech to stifle free speech, right?" Um, no. pic.twitter.com/GcT1u00d3i
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 30, 2022
Throughout the interview, Ressa would also cite academic studies to give her argument more validity, but this cherry-picking of evidence ignores that countries that were dictatorships prior to 1989 and ones like Russia and Venezuela that did not relapse because of social media and that those regimes hate social media and freedom of speech and that Duterte is no longer president of The Philippines.
After also blaming social media for January 6, Ressa added, “Three sentences have I said repeatedly since 2016, if you don’t have facts, you can’t have truth. Without truth you can’t have trust. Without these three we have no shared reality. We can’t solve any problems. We have no democracy. That’s what social media has done. It has come in, and used free speech to stifle free speech, right?”
Does this lamentation over not having a shared reality include revulsion at the idea that men can become pregnant or was the previous Twitter leadership right to label that hate speech?
Oh, no. Of course not. Twitter leadership was definitely right to label that as hate speech. Because it’s speech that Colbert and Ressa would disagree with. Do try and keep up.
But wait, there's more. In 2021, Maria Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize for "efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace"https://t.co/mVfrBh1QVS
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 30, 2022
Further proof that the Nobel Prize Committee has a wicked sense of humor.
But wait! There’s more:
Nobel Peace Prize winner @mariaressa, who faces decades in prison in the Philippines, says we are living in the age of “exponential lies,” as fast-moving disinformation online weakens democracy globally.
She says fighting for integrity is like “hand-to-hand combat.” pic.twitter.com/RlDLtBXnCp
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) November 28, 2022
She’s really been making the rounds lately:
Ressa was also on CNN This Morning and said that the idea that the answer to free speech is more free speech "Doesn't work today. Not in the age of exponential lies." Again, Nobel Peace Prize winner pic.twitter.com/XGiofqazSR
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) November 30, 2022
Her reminder that “frankly, journalists bear the brunt of this” free-speech-caused “information warfare” is just the cherry on top.
And this is the cherry on top of that cherry:
https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1597990752524861441
You couldn’t parody this stuff. Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby.
https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1597986420660273152
https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/1597986560305401856
In the minds of people like Maria Ressa, the whole point of democracy is silencing dissent.
https://twitter.com/micsolana/status/1597992217490378752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1597992217490378752%7Ctwgr%5E1249aa890073f16287ed8fac64c1d5146e57dcaa%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fwordpress%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Faction%3Deditpost%3D2258378
These people aren’t just deranged; they’re utterly broken.
And extremely dangerous.
The rise of anti-free speech tendencies among powerful elites and media classes is quite alarming. https://t.co/9eC04IBJXJ
— Anthony Abides (@AnthonyAbides) November 30, 2022
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