In preparation for the 2024 presidential election, the FBI is strengthening its repression efforts by strengthening its cooperation with social media platforms after beginning a silent functioning in February to judge information, according to a new memo.
A Department of Justice ( DOJ) memo dated July 12, 2024, from Associate Deputy Attorney General George D. Turner, states that following the Supreme Court’s decision in Murthy v. Missouri, the Biden administration has sought to censor information it deems to be “foreign malign influence” ( FMI ) information. That June choice obliterated the First Amendment’s right to free speech.
The DOJ “began developing a uniform method for sharing FMI data with social media companies that continued to properly account for First Amendment factors” following the Supreme Court’s be of a 5th Circuit order in October 2023.
The FBI began “actively sharing FMI risk data with social media companies on a continuing basis” in the letter, which states that it” will begin regular meetings with social media companies in the coming days to long and discuss possible FMI threats involving the companies ‘ platforms.”
The letter further states that the DOJ’s Justice Manual includes a “framework” for the Court to follow when deciding whether to “disclose FMI operations” — such as if alleged “foreign control operations” are apparently spreading” secret foreign state propaganda or propaganda”.
But alleged “foreign malign influence” often is n’t so.
Federal authorities uncovered accurate information in 2020.
Just days before the 2020 presidential election, 51 past “intelligence leaders” signed onto a text erroneously suggesting the bomb Hunter Biden laptop was Russian propaganda. The letter was” set in motion” by then-senior adviser to Biden’s campaign Antony Blinken, according to former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morrell.
The FBI confirmed the authenticity of the laptop in November of 2018, and it has since been used as evidence against the Biden son in a federal gun case.
Despite the FBI’s knowledge of the laptop’s authenticity, the agency warned social media companies of so-called” Russian propaganda” and “hack-and-leak operations” by” state actors”. Almost immediately, Twitter and Facebook began throttling the reach of the story. Following the FBI’s warning, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg later admitted that his platform had suppressed the story.
Supreme Court Guts First Amendment
In Murthy v. Missouri, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the federal government could continue to cooperate with Big Tech to censor and censor speech it detests. My colleague Shawn Fleetwood cited the Biden administration as having “began coordinating with social media giants to censor posts ]it ] was deemed unfavorable, even if said posts contained factually correct information,” as my colleague Shawn Fleetwood explained.
The Supreme Court wo n’t save you, read next.
The plaintiffs were found to lack standing by the court.
Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who authored the majority decision, falsely portrayed Facebook’s censorship efforts as “measures to counter foreign interference campaigns”. But there was nothing “foreign” about the laptop, nor was it the product of a Russian disinformation campaign.
In his dissent, Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the actions of the Biden administration are “blatantly unconstitutional, and the country may come to regret the Court’s failure” to rule in such a way.
” Officials who read today’s decision together with Vullo will get the message”, Alito wrote. ” If a coercive campaign is carried out with enough sophistication, it may get by. This Court should not be sending that message.
The Federalist’s election correspondent, Brianna Lyman. With a degree in international political economy, Brianna received her degree from Fordham University. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
