“This is not a counter-intelligence operation,” I tell my friend Adam Baldwin, “it’s an anti-free speech operation.” Adam and I discuss the implications of the program revealed by The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein and Lee Fang operated by the Department of Homeland Security to police “disinformation” on line. Merging government power with private-sector incentives and pressure, DHS has plans to “shape” American debate on a wide range of issues on a national-security predicate — including “racial justice,” climate change, and Joe Biden’s disgraceful retreat from Afghanistan — especially in the 2024 election cycle.
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Welcome back to my VIP video series “The Amiable Skeptics,” featuring my friend Adam Baldwin! Adam is well-known for his long and storied Hollywood career, starting with My Bodyguard, and especially for his roles in Full Metal Jacket, Firefly, its film sequel Serenity, Chuck, and The Last Ship.
“It’s all of those things,” Adam observes, but “it’s also a cozy social cocktail-party synergy between people like the heads of the boards, the FBI, the CIA … and like Vijaya Gadde at Twitter.” The social-media platforms and the mainstream media have gone all-in on this emerging new censorship regime because they agree with the politics of the outcomes, Adam points out — it marginalizes conservatives and Republicans.
Adam is more sanguine than I am about the American people’s response to this outrage. He believes that the common sense of the electorate will force an end to these practices. As for me, I’m amiably skeptical, and wonder if we’re seeing the emergence of an American version of China’s social-credit system.
Be sure to watch it all, and join us in the comments! On Monday, we’ll tackle the midterms — not so much on polling and horse-race analysis, but on the issues and meaning behind this year’s election cycle. Stay tuned!
