Why the ACLU is working with the NRA to protect Americans’ free speech rights A triumvirate of government, corporate and academic institutions are involved in efforts to control free speech by cutting off the funding for its exercise. Jonathan Turley
Biden administration tries to censor free speech
Under the Biden administration, there has been a consistent attack on free speech through the censorship and blacklisting of opposing groups. Even facts are now deemed dangerous “malinformation,” if used in a way that the administration deems misleading or harmful.
For example, according to an investigation by the Washington Examiner, the federal government helped to fund the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which discourages advertisers from supporting sites accused of promoting disinformation.
All 10 of the sites that GDI claimed were the riskiest are popular with conservatives, libertarians and independents. GDI warned advertisers that they were accepting “reputational and brand risk” by “financially supporting disinformation online.”
The “risky” sites included Reason, a libertarian-oriented source of news and commentary about the government. Conversely, HuffPost, a far left media outlet, was included among the 10 sites at lowest risk of spreading disinformation. (GDI included USA TODAY in this group.)
A triumvirate of government, corporate and academic institutions are involved in efforts to control free speech by throttling the funding for its exercise. If you want to be heard in a large context, you either stay within the lines set by these groups or face pariah status.
Efforts to control the funding of free speech are consistent with a larger campaign by this triumvirate. The Biden administration has relied heavily on what I have described as “censorship by surrogate” in using social media companies to silence opposing viewpoints. As I testified in Congress, the use of corporate agents still violates the First Amendment.
Indeed, a federal judge found that the Biden administration had operated a censorship system that was truly “Orwellian.”
NRA v. Vullo is critical free speech case
That is why NRA v. Vullo could prove to be one of the most important free speech cases of the decade. New York (and the Second Circuit) would allow the government to deny free speech by cutting off its financial oxygen.
As shown by the alliance of the ACLU and the NRA in this instance, this is a fight that most citizens should be able to embrace, regardless of our differences. For every Vullo on the Democratic side, there could be a dozen Vullos on the conservative side who use the same type of coercion against pro-abortion or environmental groups.
The Supreme Court could prevent this race to the bottom by imposing a bright-line rule against content-based discrimination by government agencies. The soft censorship in NRA v. Vullo will have hard consequences for free speech if New York prevails.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University. Follow him on X @JonathanTurley
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