By Andrew Day
The Russo-Ukrainian War is part of a cosmic showdown between autocracy and liberal democracy—at least, according to President Joe Biden. Yet, the Western response to Russia’s invasion is eroding liberal values across the democratic world, including in America. Those eroding values include the freedoms of information and expression, the principle of non-discrimination, economic openness, and the belief that diplomatic compromise can secure global peace.
In April, the White House introduced the Orwellian-sounding Disinformation Governance Board to combat Russian propaganda. This is concerning since government officials have labeled legitimate news stories, such as the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, as Russian disinformation. “Instead of installing a Truth Politburo at DHS, the government should leave the job of policing disinformation to the competitive organs of the press,” writes Jack Shafer of Politico.
As a result, some press organizations are being censored. The European Union banned Russian outlets RT and Sputnik, and YouTube blocked access to their channels globally. PayPal suspended the accounts of independent outlets propounding alternative views on the war in Ukraine, threatening to keep their money as “damages.”
Tech giants cannot be trusted to censor fairly. Facebook altered its policies to allow praise of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, which Urooba Jamal of Business Insider called “the armed wing of the country’s white nationalist Azov movement.”
This piece was originally published in The National Interest on June 16, 2022. Read more HERE.