Rep. Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) the top Democrat on the Weaponization subcommittee called out Chair Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) use of the committee to force social media companies to promote conspiracy theories to help Trump.
Video:
Plaskett brutally lays out what Jordan is doing, “They want to force social media companies to promote conspiracy theories because they think that’s the only way their candidate can win the 2024 election. They want to bully experts into abandoning their work on disinformation.” pic.twitter.com/XjvrvfpYcW
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) July 20, 2023
Plaskett said:
If Maga Republicans agree with you. You’re given a platform to spread any conspiracy theories, no matter how harmful and if they disagree with you, you get death threats until you have to go away. These folks have a plan. They want to force social media companies to promote conspiracy theories because they think that’s the only way their candidate can win the 2024 election.
They want to bully the experts into abandoning their work on disinformation to pave the way they want to give expression to the most vile source of speech here in this committee room. Because it prepares the ground for their own conspiracy theories and apparently don’t care how many people are hurt or die as a consequence of their actions, either through lies about vaccines or threats to the safety of witnesses, because nothing is more important to them than power.
Jim Jordan and House Republicans are using the subcommittee that they created to force social media to promote conspiracy theories to help Donald Trump. The goal is to recreate the same social media environment that existed in 2016 which will allow Trump, Republicans, and hostile foreign governments like Russia to spread lies and misinformation that will help the GOP win in 2024.
Kevin McCarthy has admitted that the point of the weaponization subcommittee is to help Trump.
The hearings are a farce. The only censorship that Republicans are interested in is the limits that prevent them from spreading lies and misinformation.
Jordan is trying to pave the way for Trump in 2024, and Rep. Plaskett called him out.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association