In the past two weeks a handful of major services like YouTube, Facebook, Apple and Spotify decided to ban the conspiratorial Infowars and Alex Jones from their platforms. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) applauded the move.
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.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 6, 2018
While most agreed that Jones's rhetoric is not their cup of tea, both liberals and conservatives condemned the social media platforms for stifling his constitutional freedom of expression, noting that it was setting a "dangerous precedent." Other concerned individuals shared those same sentiments on Murphy's Twitter account, accusing him of "hating" the First Amendment.
The Washington Examiner editorial board, who concluded that when Murphy says “lies,” he "really means opinions he wants stamped out," suggested the senator get a taste of his own medicine.
Murphy, as is typical of a progressive, wants to create a country in which government protects us all from ourselves. He thinks that we don’t need virtue to keep this Republic (as its founders insisted explicitly) so long as we have the right rules, and we keep people from hearing the wrong messages.
Murphy's idea is foul and un-American. Maybe we should take down his tweets. If we don't, we might end up with Murphy's law.
Donald Trump, Jr. was similarly shocked by Murphy's tweets.
"A Democrat Senator openly admitting that Big Tech's censorship campaign is really about purging all conservative media," the president's son wrote.
Following Trump Jr.'s criticism, Murphy called out President Trump for his attempt at silencing the press.
1. Uh, POTUS is engaged in a DAILY bullying campaign to try to censor the press.
— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 7, 2018
2. The "slippery slope" argument is right wing tripe. No company is compelled to smear the reputations of dead kids' parents, and no elected official (even Democrats) are required to stand idly by. https://t.co/N14bpvFSXh