Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) just made some shocking allegations, and he didn’t pull any punches in his assessment of government plans that potentially affected the top right of Americans. This will likely be disturbing to every citizen who cares for the Constitution.
The plans in question involve the State Department, FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the National Science Foundation. Cruz is demanding all of them turn over information about their role in what he called a coordinated effort to undermine Americans’ rights.
Cruz has been investigating the issue for months and announced his discovery that alleges censorship against content moderation practices in Big Tech companies. Cruz said the Biden administration “funneled” more than $66 million in taxpayer dollars to nonprofits and academic institutions for “misinformation research,” according to Fox News.
Cruz has labeled this relationship as the federal government working to “censor Americans” while attempting to separate itself from any liability for “helping facilitate the censorship of Americans’ constitutionally protected speech online.”
The senator’s office said his ongoing investigation has exposed the suppression of free speech on social media. That suppression, his office stated, has been driven by government agencies and non-governmental third parties that receive funding from taxpayers. Cruz believes this is an infringement of Americans’ First Amendment rights, and he is demanding answers.
“Just because the government hires a hitman to kill speech does not absolve the government of guilt,” Cruz wrote in the letters to federal agencies. “By laundering taxpayer dollars through third parties, government agencies tried to absolve themselves of liability for infringement of Americans’ First Amendment rights.”
Cruz provided examples for his allegations, including one in which the State Department made an effort to “counter foreign state and non-state propaganda and disinformation efforts.” He stated that the agency sent social media companies lists of individuals that they identified as “inauthentic.” But, according to Fox News, Cruz’s investigation exposed the lists as including “everyday Americans” among foreign actors.
Another example, Cruz said, was the National Science Foundation sending millions of dollars to support “Election Integrity Partnerships” at Stanford University and the University of Washington. Cruz said the programs influenced social media companies into “moderating” millions of tweets flagged by CISA and the FBI.
“Regrettably, the examples described above appear to be just a handful of numerous instances of third parties being awarded taxpayer dollars and other government support to suppress speech,” Cruz said. “It has also become apparent that our nation’s higher education institutions were often used as conduits through which the government could police speech online.”
Cruz wants the agencies to provide detailed information regarding taxpayer-funded grant-making and non-governmental partnerships efforts. He set a deadline for the agencies to respond as Dec. 19, 2023.
Key Takeaways:
- GOP senator says that multiple Biden federal agencies supported censorship of Americans.
- Cruz wants answers regarding $66 million of taxpayers’ money used to “police speech.”
- Cruz equated agency efforts to hiring a “hitman” to avoid liability for censorship efforts.
Source: Fox News