Last week, supposedly “free speech” X announced that it is partnering with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) “flagship” censorship project known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
“We’re excited to announce that X has reinstated our relationship with the @wfamarketers Global Alliance for Responsible Media,” X Safety posted on the platform. “As of today, X is included as a member of #GARM," wrote X Safety, adding that the company "is committed to the safety of our global town square and proud to be part of the GARM community."
As Daily Wire host Michael Knowles explained in May 2023, “The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) is a ‘cross-industry initiative’ (i.e., an agreement of the world’s largest and most powerful advertisers AND platforms) to demonetize what they consider ‘harmful content.’”
The “harmful content” subject to censorship and demonetization includes content that contains “hate speech” about “gender identity,” “insensitive…treatment of debated social issues,” and “misinformation.”
In other words, GARM is now the left-wing global arbiter of truth, wielding the power of the purse to intimidate and silence wrongthink. “Legacy media, new media, and even independent podcasters are subject to [GARM's] rules,” Daily Wire host Ben Shapiro warned. “If you violate them and say true things the elites don't like, they can blacklist you, demonetize you, or deplatform you.”
In May 2022, Klaus Schwab’s World Economic Forum took over GARM. At the time, Schwab said, “This partnership marks a significant step towards creating a safer and more trustworthy digital media environment for all users." By “safer and more trustworthy,” Schwab simply means the digital public sphere will be at the mercy of the censorship whims of global elites such as himself.
Notably, GARM is currently subject to an ongoing House Judiciary Committee investigation because the project, according to committee Chairman Jim Jordan, appears to “facilitate collusion” in a way that “may violate U.S. antitrust law.”
X has become essential to freedom of expression in the digital public square as other platforms have capitulated to the Censorship Industrial Complex. Moreover, “The Twitter Files” were instrumental in exposing the U.S. federal government for directing censorship on social media platforms.
Free expression on X has essentially become the regular citizenry’s only bulwark against the lies and manipulation tactics of global elites who seek to control everything we see, hear, and ultimately think. The news that X is now joining GARM is deeply troubling and could mark an end to the relative freedom X users have experienced since Elon Musk bought the company.
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