Is it any surprise that Republicans are targeting academics who study disinformation as the campaign for the 2024 election gets under way?
House Judiciary Committee chair, Representative Jim Jordan (and his now-weaponized subcommittee on the “weaponization of government”) are going after university professors, researchers and students who investigate disinformation online.
Yes, they are even hitting students who help in this research with subpoenas.
And if people don’t respond to the requests and subpoenas fast enough, Jordan—the guy who ignored a subpoena from the January 6th committee—threatens further legal action.
In a nutshell, House Republicans are trying to silence people who are fighting disinformation by scaring them with legal action.
“America First Legal,” led by former Trump aide and child-torturer Stephen Miller is getting in on the act as well, filing SLAPP lawsuits against the same defendants Jordan is targeting.
(If you’re not familiar with a SLAPP lawsuit, here’s an animation I recently created for a coalition fighting these attempts to silence people.)
Meanwhile, Jordan is styling himself as a free-speech defender of “disfavored speech,” which appears to be another way of saying election denialism, phony anti-vaxxer claims and other assorted lies.
I’m all for free speech, it’s the disinformation we could do without.