Free speech advocates to X (formerly Twitter) to voice their support for American principles and against censorship following the 2024 vice presidential debate on CBS News.

Multiple free speech advocates took to X the day after the debate to call out Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for deceptive comments concerning free speech and government pressure to silence speech the left disagrees with. These reactions echoed both Sen. J.D. Vance’s defense of the First Amendment as the “most sacred right in America” and his subsequent challenge of Walz over Democrat support for censorship, particularly Vice President Kamala Harris’s part in the censorship industrial complex.  Twitter Files journalist Michael Shellenberger, MRC President Brent Bozell and MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan Schneider, Elon Musk, TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, The Daily Signal Managing Editor Tyler O’Neil and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya were among those who spoke out. Musk predicted Walz and Kamala Harris would “absolutely implement censorship” if elected, and MRC’s Bozell predicted “maximum government censorship of free speech.”

Shellenberger called out Walz for asserting a legal standard for free speech that does not exist. “Tim Walz just spread misinformation in service of making the case for government censorship. He said it’s illegal to yell fire in a crowded theater. That’s a myth. The expression refers to a *nonbinding* claim in a 1919 Supreme Court opinion that was *overturned* in 1969,” Shellenberger clarified. X owner Elon Musk commented on a Shellenberger post, “The Dem machine will absolutely implement censorship if given another four years to do so.”

Highlighting the dangers of censorship, Shellenberger continued, “Tim Walz had previously claimed that it was illegal to spread misinformation about elections. It’s not. How could it be? If you let the government to censor disfavored views on elections, how would we ever know if the government stole an election?” 

Echoing Shellenberger’s sentiments, MRC’s Schneider wrote that Big Tech censorship, especially in collusion with government officials, is un-American. “The vice presidential debate clarified the choice Americans have in this election: between a pro-free speech ticket and an anti-free speech ticket,” Schneider said. “Vance defended the First Amendment as sacred, while Walz justified censorship. This difference highlights the dramatic shift in the political landscape. It is no longer about Democrats versus Republicans or even liberals versus conservatives. It is about American ideas versus un-American ideas.” MRC’s Bozell criticized, “Walz’s idea of ‘democracy’ is maximum government censorship of free speech. He’s starting to sound like Putin.”

The Daily Caller addressed Walz’s “fire” analogy too, but by quoting Vance’s reply. “Tim... you guys wanted to kick people off Facebook for saying  that toddlers shouldn't wear masks.” Voicing opposition to government mandates, as Vance and Daily Caller emphasized, is protected free speech.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk slammed Walz’s self-excusing claim after Vance’s accusation that he did not “run Facebook.”

Kirk stated: “FACTS: [Meta CEO] Mark Zuckerberg, in a letter to Chairman Jim Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee, wrote that he ‘regrets’ working with the Biden-Harris administration, which ‘repeatedly pressured’ Meta's teams ‘for months’ to censor COVID posts, including satire and humor, ‘I believe that government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.’” He shared screenshots of Zuckerberg’s letter to counter Walz’s line of defense.

The Daily Signal Managing Editor Tyler O’Neil likewise commented, “‘I don't run Facebook’ is an embarrassing response when the administration you're essentially running to extend engaged in a pressure campaign to force Twitter, Facebook, and other social media companies to silence people.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who sued the federal government over COVID-19 censorship, posted about Walz, “I'm still having trouble processing the fact that an actual American presidential ticket, that might actually win office, openly embraces censorship, suppression of speech, and mass violation of the first amendment. And the old civil liberties groups are fine with it.”

President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris’s administration pressured and coordinated with Big Tech to crush free speech, according to the Murthy v. Missouri lawsuit, the Twitter Files and Zuckerberg’s letter.

Conservatives are under attack. Contact your representatives and demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s contact form, and help us hold Big Tech accountable.