Media Freedom… If We Can Keep it!
Last week, I had the opportunity to once again appear on Tucker Carlson’s well-known show. Although the program airs on multiple platforms, the episode alone has been viewed by over two and a half million people on X. This number does not account for the numerous clips and highlights that viewers have shared independently.
The growth in influence and reach of independent media over the past decade is truly remarkable.
As I have repeatedly emphasized, despite many negative elements online, we possess unparalleled tools today to spread the unfiltered message of liberty.
Even though Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show was the top-rated program nationwide, the network still removed it because they disapproved of certain content he shared.
Today, Tucker and other independent media personalities answer not to corporate executives with hidden agendas but directly to the American public through the marketplace of ideas. In fact, Carlson’s independent platform arguably offers him a broader reach than his former position at Fox.
Many others, both with large and smaller followings, communicate directly to their audiences without intermediaries controlling what they can say. While some expressions may be unpleasant, free speech isn’t meant only for safe or trivial topics.
Big media and government are closely intertwined and resent our ability to connect without their filtering or control. They wistfully recall the era when they could dictate exactly what information was presented and believed.
Though we are making progress defending free expression, we must not be complacent and assume the fight is over. Recall that just a few years ago during the COVID pandemic, platforms could vanish overnight if one dared challenge the “wisdom” of Anthony Fauci.
Even now, certain groups still attempt to wield government authority to silence views they oppose.
In Europe, free speech faces assaults through authoritarian laws like the Digital Services Act, effectively creating a surveillance state under the guise of protecting citizens from “disinformation.” Naturally, “disinformation” refers to any facts the authorities or elites want suppressed. Posting on X could land you in jail, while violent offenders may go free.
Rest assured, many in the United States would welcome a similar framework to safeguard favored speech and punish dissenting voices. We’ve witnessed efforts to intimidate—or even deport—those protesting recent mass killings in Gaza, for example. The forced sale of TikTok was no triumph for free speech either.
It’s important to understand that “cancel culture” permeates the left, the right, and everywhere in between. To preserve and expand independent media’s freedom to communicate, remaining vigilant is essential.
“Free speech for me but not for thee”—where government force is employed to silence opposing opinions—ultimately results in free speech for no one. Once lost, reclaiming it will be extraordinarily difficult.
Editor’s note: Find more of Ron Paul’s content at the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.
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