Senator Ben Ray Luján informed the public on April 19, 2021 that he, along with his Minnesota colleague, Senator Amy Klobuchar, sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urging them “to remove the accounts that have been identified by experts as responsible for producing the majority of this disinformation on social media platforms. A recent report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) identified a dozen specific content producers as the original sources of an estimated 65 percent of coronavirus disinformation online.” 

As Luján and Klobuchar called for Dorsey and Zuckerberg to remove the 12 individuals from their social media platforms, their justification for censorship of constitutional speech was the promotion of their own public policy preferences in their statement: “A crucial step to increase vaccine confidence is to address primary spreaders of this vaccine disinformation, including the twelve accounts — referred to as the “Disinformation Dozen” and are responsible for a majority of disinformation — in a swift and decisive manner.”

The Senators failed to note that the individuals targeted for censorship are highly respected professionals, researchers, and health freedom leaders in our country who are trusted by a large number of citizens for providing valuable sources of information often not available by other sources.  The 12 trusted leaders are: Joseph Mercola, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Ty and Charlene Bollinger, Sherri Tenpenny, Rizza Islam, Rashid Buttar, Erin Elizabeth, Sayer Ji, Kelly Brogan, Christiane Northrup, Ben Tapper, and Kevin Jenkins.

The Senators are well aware that there are laws against fraud, and that truth is a defense to fraud.  They use the terms “disinformation” and “misleading”.  Yet they do not solicit an avenue where truth as a defense can be heard.  They do not call for a Congressional hearing or public forum that would include a time for leaders to answer any questions they might have about the content of their work and messaging.  They do not discuss the profound impact of Senators calling for censorship in the face of a constitutional issue of freedom of speech.   Instead, they want to prohibit the conversation of truth as a defense and are calling for outright censorship. 

The great strength of America is our Constitution, including our sacred Bill of Rights.  The Bill of Rights includes the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution.  The 1^st Amendment protects free speech.  Protecting freedom of speech and of the press is our powerful shield, essential in preventing abuse of power by any government.  

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”  U.S. Const. Amend. 1.

Without freedom of speech, a single source of government-endorsed information (whether from legislators, government agencies, or government-endorsed corporations) could eliminate truth and cause the takeover of our country and the hearts and minds of its people.  We must protect our First Amendment Freedom of Speech!!!

Tell your elected members of Congress to stop any requests for censorship and acknowledge that the 12 leaders listed above have First Amendment rights that deserve to be protected!  Click here now.