Episode 560 Show Notes- Censored: The War on Free Speech in America

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Episode Description

In this episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast, Professor Giordano dives into the escalating war on free speech and the dangerous consequences it poses for our Republic. With elites in government, the media, and academia increasingly pushing to control the public narrative, free speech is being threatened like never before. He explains how terms like ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and now ‘malinformation’ are being weaponized to stifle dissent and why this dangerous trend mirrors authoritarian regimes like China. He also explores the Founding Fathers’ vision for free speech and why they believed it was essential to protect liberty.

Episode Highlights:

• John Kerry’s controversial comments about the First Amendment and its role as an obstacle to censorship.
• How government, media, and tech elites are using the concept of “malinformation” to silence Americans.
• The Founding Fathers’ warnings about the dangers of restricting free speech and how those warnings are more relevant today than ever.

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Show Notes- Censored: The War on Free Speech in America

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Welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast

[Intro Transcript] Welcome to another episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast. I’m your host, Nick Giordano, and I am glad you could join me today. If you’re not already a subscriber, consider subscribing and following the podcast so you never miss an episode. Also, visit The P.A.S. Report website, and share this episode with others to inform them of the issues impacting our great nation.

Today, we’re diving into one of the most fundamental principles that makes America truly unique, and that is our God-given right to free speech. There is a war on free speech.

As we look around at today’s landscape, that fundamental right is under assault. The left, the media, the Democratic Party, academia, but most importantly, the bureaucracy, are screaming about the need to control speech to preserve what they deem is our democracy.

They say that ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ are destroying the country, and to save it, we must grant them the ability to regulate speech. We must allow our overlords to determine what’s true and what’s false.

But it isn’t just about shutting down so-called ‘misinformation’ or ‘disinformation.’ It’s about controlling what we can say, what we can see, what we can hear, and ultimately, what we are allowed to think.

We hear terms like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ thrown around constantly, but there’s also another term some of you may not have heard of: ‘malinformation.’

According to the Director of DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Jenn Easterly, ‘malinformation’ is factually correct information that the government deems may cause harm. Yes, you heard that right – even factually true information can now be classified as dangerous, simply because it challenges the narrative that those in power want to protect. Think about the implications of that for a moment.

When did the truth become something we should fear?

The rise of this rhetoric should alarm every single one of us. We are being told that, for our own good, the government, the media, academia, and big tech need to “reign in” free speech. They tell us that certain ideas, even if true, are too dangerous to allow into the public square. That they could cause harm, that they could sow distrust, that they could lead to societal unrest.

But let’s be clear: once you start walking down the path of curbing free speech, the end destination is always authoritarianism.

You should be deeply suspicious of anyone calling for limits on speech, especially when they claim it’s for your protection. Censorship is the language of tyrants. They don’t come out and say they want to control you outright. Instead, they say they are protecting you. But what they are protecting is their own power and their own narratives. It’s about control.

It’s easy to think this is just another political issue. That it’s simply about Republicans and Democrats. That it’s something that will shift with the winds and ultimately Americans would never allow their right to free speech to be usurped by those in power.

But that is dangerously naïve, and listen, I was naïve too. Before the coronavirus, there were things I said the government would never do and the American people would never stand for. Well, I was completely wrong. It seems many Americans are just fine with regulating speech as long as they are only regulating the speech we don’t like, which goes against the whole intent behind the First Amendment.

This issue goes far beyond party politics because it cuts to the core of what it means to be an American. Our right to free speech is not just a policy preference – it’s part of the American identity that’s woven into the bedrock of our Republic. If we lose the ability to speak freely, to question those in power, to challenge prevailing wisdom, we lose everything.

Without free speech, the very concept of self-governance becomes impossible because the people are no longer trusted to govern their own minds, and that’s what this is really about. Control.

I will talk more about that when we get back from this quick break. So, everyone hang tight, and we will be right back.

Break

The Democrats, the Media, Government Bureaucrats, and Academics Declare War on Free Speech

Welcome back, everyone. So, what makes the United States unique is that we are the only country in the world that truly enshrines free speech in our founding documents. The First Amendment exists precisely because the Founding Fathers understood the dangers of concentrated power. They knew that for a Republic to survive, its people had to have the ability to express themselves without fear of government reprisal. The Founders would be aghast at what we are seeing today, at how elites have turned free speech into a problem to be managed rather than a freedom to be celebrated.

And make no mistake, these attacks on free speech are coming from elites. It’s the bureaucrats, the politicians, the media moguls, and the Silicon Valley titans who view free speech as a threat. They see it as an obstacle to their power, a hindrance to their ability to shape the narrative and control what you believe. To them, free speech is dangerous because it empowers you – it gives you the ability to think for yourself, to question their authority, and to resist their agendas.

Just listen to what John Kerry, aka Lurch, had to say about Free Speech. It’s a two-minute clip, but it is important to pay attention to what he is saying.

Sound Clip 1- John Kerry

Did you hear what he said?

Sound Clip 2- John Kerry

Kerry refers to the First Amendment as an obstruction to eliminating what he calls ‘disinformation.’ The fact that he views the constitutional protection of speech as a ‘block’ reveals the little regard he has for the Constitution and the American people.

Our First Amendment is not a hindrance. It’s actually a safeguard. A safeguard designed to protect speech that may be deemed unpopular by those in power. It’s a safeguard to protect dissent, and as Americans, our number one priority is to ask questions, especially when it comes to the government. It is our job to be skeptical and question the policies and the policymakers.

When you don’t ask questions, you get failures like Afghanistan, and not a single official was held accountable for those failures. When you don’t ask questions, you get little Mussolini wannabes pushing authoritarian mandates, and when their lies are exposed and after enormous damage has been inflicted, again, not a single person is held accountable.

This is not to say that misinformation and disinformation don’t exist. It certainly does, but two things. First, in free societies, especially one like ours, open discourse through free speech is how misinformation and disinformation are challenged. We don’t need less speech, we need more of it.

Secondly, as I always say, throughout history, governments have been the largest purveyors of misinformation and disinformation. Free speech is one of the ways we challenge the government, and without it, we will lose that ability because before we know it, dissent will be outlawed.

Every time someone talks about “reigning in” free speech, they are not doing it for your benefit. They are doing it to protect specific narratives and to prevent them from being challenged. More on that when we get back from this quick break.

Break

If the War on Free Speech is Successful, Soon Other Freedoms Will Follow

The suggestion that some government bureaucrat should have the power to “hammer out of existence” certain viewpoints runs contrary to everything this country is supposed to stand for. Kerry and the overlords like him are the exact reason why the founders established the First Amendment.

They are doing it because they want to control you. And if we let them succeed, if we allow ourselves to be lulled into thinking that some speech is too dangerous to allow, we will lose everything that makes this country great. We will lose our ability to speak freely, to debate, to question, to dissent. And when that happens, the Republic is gone.

Once the government begins to regulate speech under the guise of protecting the public from disinformation, it creates a slippery slope. And Lurch’s statement reflects a broader trend where elites view free speech not as an inherent right meant to be protected, but as a privilege that can be managed or revoked. They want an authoritarian state where only the government-approved narrative is allowed.

Kerry’s comments reflect a dangerous mentality and a growing trend that is not only shared by him but by many of those in power. If it was just him saying it, it would be irrelevant, but we are hearing this from all corners, including Democrats, the media, the bureaucrats, academics, and even some Republicans. Just think about how Senator Mitt Romney criticized Rand Paul because he introduced an amendment to a bill that would have prevented the government from pressuring social media companies to silence and censor Americans.

And I want to remind everyone that Kerry and his ilk are the same ones who criticize our energy usage and way of life as they fly around on their private jets. They want to dictate what cars we must own. What type of stove do we cook with in our homes? What type of straw we can drink from? They want to end single-family housing and force us to live in fifteen-minute cities. They want us to give up eating meat. Instead, they want us to eat bugs and lab-grown meat.

They seek to regulate all aspects of our lives, and if we give up our right to speak freely, do you believe that it ends there? It will simply be the beginning.

This trend toward controlling speech and behavior is eerily reminiscent of China’s social credit system, where the government assigns scores to its citizens based on their compliance with state-approved norms and behaviors. In China, individuals with low social credit scores can be barred from accessing basic services, including travel, education, and employment, all because they engage in activities the state deems undesirable.

This system is designed to ensure compliance, with speech and behavior tightly controlled by the government. If Kerry and others in power had their way, the United States would slowly inch toward a similar system, where free speech is suppressed, and those who deviate from the approved narrative could face consequences. These people envy China.

Think about what that would mean for us. Today, they target what you can say about climate change, the coronavirus, and even elections. Today, we are witnessing several states trying to eliminate parental rights. I encourage everyone to look at Prop 1 in New York, and if you’re in New York, I encourage you to vote no when it comes to women’s and parents rights.

But it’s not just blue states we are witnessing this in. We are seeing this happen even in red states where Christians are being denied adoption because they only recognize two genders. There was a case in Montana where the state’s child welfare services took a child because the parents refused to recognize the child’s preferred gender. It’s insane, but the intent is clear.

In a world where speech can be curtailed in the name of public safety or societal harmony, the consequences of stepping out of line could go beyond just having your social media posts censored. It could mean the loss of access to essential services, employment opportunities, the ability to participate in public life, and even your children being taken from you. This isn’t far-fetched.

Just look at how it’s been happening in China for years, and the elites here are studying that model closely.

I’ve brought up the National Strategy for Countering Domestic Terrorism numerous times on this podcast. They already laid out what they want to do. Don’t believe me, read the document for yourself. It’s only 31 pages. They openly admit it, and yet so many remain silent. Why? I don’t even understand myself, but we will come to regret that silence.

The first step toward authoritarian control is always to regulate speech. They label dissent as misinformation, malinformation, or harmful content, but in reality, it’s a way to silence opposition and maintain power.

You know how many on the left will accuse me of pushing misinformation in this episode, but I challenge anyone. Tell me one thing I said that’s inaccurate. They’ll scream that I’m taking Lurch out of context or that I’m exaggerating. They will justify the censorship of millions of Americans because they disagree with them on policy issues and label them as dangerous.

But if we continue down this road, I will guarantee even those on the left, and I am talking about ordinary people on the left, they will come to regret this.

Once the government succeeds in controlling what we can say, the next step is controlling what we can do and you have no idea who is going to be in power a year down the line. 5 years. 10 years.

The frightening part is that, unlike in China, where this system is forced on people, here in America, many are willingly handing over their rights, convinced that it’s for their own good.

Alright, we need to take a quick break. When we get back, I want to get into the heart of why free speech was so crucial to the Founding Fathers and why they enshrined it in the First Amendment. They understood, perhaps better than anyone, the dangers of allowing those in power to determine what could and could not be said. They knew that once speech was restricted, all other freedoms quickly follow. We’ll explore their vision for America, the role free speech plays in preserving liberty, and how they would be horrified at what’s happening today. So, hang tight and we’ll be right back.

Break

The Founders on Why Free Speech is Essential

Welcome back to The P.A.S. Report Podcast. In this final segment, I want to focus on why free speech is essential to the very survival of the American experiment, just as the Founding Fathers intended. The attacks on free speech that we’re seeing today would have been unthinkable to them, as they understood that once the government can control what people say, they can control every other aspect of their lives. The Founders didn’t view free speech as just another policy preference—it was a cornerstone of liberty, a fundamental right without which self-governance is impossible.

Take Thomas Jefferson, for example. He famously said, “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” Jefferson, like many of his fellow Founders, knew that speech wasn’t just about words; it was about the flow of ideas. A society that can’t discuss, debate, and disagree openly is primed for authoritarian rule. Limiting speech means limiting thought, and once the government can restrict ideas, they can dictate what you’re allowed to think, just as they control what you’re allowed to say.

James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, also recognized the critical importance of free speech. He stated, “The right of freely examining public characters and measures, and of free communication among the people thereon, has ever been justly deemed the only effectual guardian of every other right.” Madison understood that if the government can limit speech, it can strip away all other freedoms. Without the ability to critique our leaders, to question their policies, and to demand accountability, all other rights crumble. The freedom to express dissent ensures that no single entity or group can accumulate unchecked power.

This is precisely why the First Amendment was placed at the very top of the Bill of Rights. The Founders didn’t do this by accident. They knew that every other right—whether it’s the right to bear arms, the right to due process, or the right to assemble—depended on the ability to speak freely. The moment we allow speech to be restricted, all of those other rights are put in jeopardy. And let’s be clear: this isn’t just about protecting speech that we agree with. It’s about protecting the speech we disagree with, the speech that challenges us, the speech that forces us to think.

Benjamin Franklin once warned, “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech.” His words ring true today. The elites who seek to limit speech under the guise of protecting us from misinformation are doing exactly what Franklin warned about: they are eroding our liberty by controlling the public discourse. It’s not just speech that is being censored; it’s the very foundation of our Republic.

When the Founders envisioned this country, they knew it would be messy. They knew people would argue, debate, and passionately disagree. But that’s what makes democracy work. It’s precisely through the free exchange of ideas, however uncomfortable or inconvenient, that we grow as a society. When we hand over control of speech to the government or powerful elites, we abandon the core principle that has allowed the United States to flourish for over two centuries.

In a free society, citizens are responsible for sorting through ideas, weighing evidence, and coming to their own conclusions. The notion that the First Amendment is an obstacle because it allows disinformation is a thinly veiled attempt to consolidate control over what is deemed “acceptable” speech. If the government begins to decide which ideas are permissible, it could spell the end of free speech as we know it, paving the way for an authoritarian regime where dissent is stifled, and only approved narratives are allowed.

These people pose a real threat to the very foundation of America, where free speech is the cornerstone of political freedom. This is not a partisan issue. It’s a fundamental question about whether we, as a society, will continue to uphold the values that make the United States a beacon of freedom, or whether we will allow elites to determine what we can and cannot say.

Free speech is not just a right, it’s a responsibility. It’s up to us to defend it, even when the voices we’re defending are ones we don’t agree with. Because if we lose that freedom, we lose the very essence of what it means to be an American. The Founders knew this and it is up to us to not allow their warnings to go unheeded.

Thank you for joining me today. I’ll be back next week with another great episode of The P.A.S. Report Podcast.

To listen to the full episode, click play above or visit your favorite podcast platform!

Click here to read Professor Giordano’s latest piece at Campus Reform

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Don’t miss Professor Giordano’s interview with Dinesh D’Souza

 

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