NATURAL NEWS

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship in the United States.
• The order prohibits federal officials from engaging in conduct that "unconstitutionally abridges" free speech and bars the use of taxpayer resources for infringing on speech rights.
• The White House claims the previous administration had trampled free speech rights by pressuring social media companies to suppress certain types of speech.
• Tech giants like Meta are adopting a more hands-off approach to misinformation, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg ending the company's U.S. fact-checking program and easing restrictions on discussions around contentious issues.
• Some argue that the shift in tech companies' policies is driven partly by the desire to avoid confrontation with the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will restore the freedom of speech and end federal censorship in the United States. Trump had faced social media restrictions himself following the Jan. 6, 2021, incident on the U.S. Capitol. At the time, his supporters were protesting against the results of the 2020 election. Since then, Trump and his allies have been accusing the previous Democratic administration of former President Joe Biden of suppressing free speech on online platforms. They also argue that the Biden administration's push to remove misinformation about coronavirus vaccines constitutes illegal government interference in free speech. "Over the last four years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans' speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, de-platform or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve," the White House said on Jan. 20. "Under the guise of combating 'misinformation,' 'disinformation' and 'malinformation,' the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government's preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate. Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society," the White House added. After Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States on Jan. 20, he immediately signed an executive order that will restore the freedom of speech and end federal censorship. The executive order prohibits federal officials from engaging in any conduct that would "unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen." It also bars the use of taxpayer resources to infringe on Americans' free speech rights. These directives are intended to address conservative concerns that efforts to limit the spread of false information on public health and elections amount to illegal censorship. Furthermore, the executive order directs Attorney General William Barr to investigate whether the Biden administration has engaged in censorship of Americans' views. It also calls for a report from the Justice Department detailing its findings and recommendations for future actions.

Tech giants adopting hands-off approach to "misinformation"

As Trump prepares to sign this executive order, tech companies are increasingly adopting a hands-off approach to "misinformation" on their platforms. For instance, CEO Mark Zuckerberg of Meta Platforms (META.O) ended its U.S. fact-checking program and eased restrictions on discussions around contentious issues such as immigration and gender identity a few days before Trump took office. Under the new system, which affects Facebook, Instagram and Threads, Meta will no longer use formal fact-checking programs to address dubious claims posted on its platforms. Instead, it will introduce a "community notes" system, similar to that used by Elon Musk-owned X, formerly known as Twitter, to allow users to call out posts that are potentially misleading and need more context. Zuckerberg also announced that automated systems would focus on removing "high-severity violations" such as terrorism and illicit drugs, while stopping proactive scanning for hate speech and other rule-breaking. Content review will now occur only in response to user reports. The company will relocate safety teams overseeing content policies and review out of California, including to Texas, without specifying which teams would be moving. (Related: Zuckerberg's sudden censorship thaw is not free speech.) "We've reached a point where it's just too many mistakes and too much censorship. It's time to get back to our roots around free expression," Zuckerberg said in a video. Meanwhile, others claim that this shift is partly driven by the desire to avoid confrontation with the Trump administration.