Why We’ve Committed Ourselves to Fighting Online Censorship

“We believe this question of censorship is a non-partisan concern that will deeply affect the ability of our country to achieve fairness and progress going forward.”

What could make three longtime friends from Iowa suddenly discover a shared concern about free press and free speech? It turns out that censorship is impacting and turning off more people than just conservatives.

My friend John Quinn, who is active in Democratic Party campaigns and liberal causes, found that his Facebook posts regarding Ivermectin as a potential Coronavirus (COVID-19) medical treatment (one being widely used by doctors in South Africa) were being blocked. Facebook offered no explanation and provided no avenue for John to explain that his posts were not dangerous. As John put it, “This is a clear case of Facebook censoring different views on medical science from medical researchers and doctors, and now even hospitals in Houston are treating COVID patients with Ivermectin as well.”

In late February, Amazon discontinued the sale of the book When Harry Became Sally by Ryan T. Anderson without explanation. In response to a letter by four Republican Senators expressing concern about the company’s decision, a spokesman responded that “All retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer and we do not take selection decisions lightly…” My second friend Brian Jackson, who is generally left-center and has no personal opinions about the book, felt this action was wrong for a veritable monopoly like Amazon to take. After two weeks of public backlash, Amazon offered a carefully edited opinion that the book described transgender persons as mentally ill. To this, Brian said, “Amazon offered no path for dispute resolution to the author who vehemently refuted Amazon’s characterization of his book.”