This article was originally published on American Greatness - Opinion. You can read the original article HERE
Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz has a complicated relationship with free speech and misinformation.
During his appearance on Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, Walz was asked about a statement he made in 2022 declaring, “There is no right to free speech on misinformation and hate speech.”
Bream first reminded Walz that the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous 2017 decision had declared that so-called “hate speech” is protected under the First Amendment.
When Bream then asked Walz to explain who gets to decide on what misinformation is, he danced around the question without ever providing a coherent answer.
Shannon Bream asks @Tim_Walz a very simple question: “Who gets to decide on what misinformation is?”
He flat out refuses to answer.
Because there’s no good answer to the question, and the censorship tyrants know it. pic.twitter.com/s9wA5L42dn
— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) October 13, 2024
Walz first sought to redirect the discussion to the topic of book banning attempts in schools where parents and community members have sought to restrict unfettered access to highly sexualized books by minor children. The governor boasted of his home state of Minnesota passing a law banning what he calls “book bans.”
However, the books in question, including titles like Gender Queer, Flamer, and All Boys Aren’t Blue, are still very much available for purchase by those who want them.
Next, Walz tried to shift the blame to “hate speech” which he characterized as “speech that’s aimed at creating violence, speech that’s aimed at creating threats to individuals.”
When Bream attempted to steer Walz back to the subject of misinformation rather than threats, the governor put on his tap shoes and began to extol the virtues of “robust discussion” and defending “your right to disagree” which brought him right back to the topics of book banning and threats.
The candidate’s non-answer regarding who gets to decide what constitutes misinformation belies his willingness to enthusiastically embrace censorship when it suits his purposes.
Walz has never walked back or denied his earlier statement.
Supporters of free speech would be wise to pay attention to what Walz is not saying, more so than whatever he is trying to say.
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