A recent terrorism bulletin from the federal government warned that false information about election fraud and COVID-19 is contributing to a heightened threat of domestic extremist attacks.
Some are using that February document to falsely claim that President Joe Biden is trying to criminalize free speech.
A Facebook post by former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin shows a video with the caption, “Sen. Blackburn exposes the Biden admin’s attempt to criminalize free speech.” The video shows a speech delivered on the Senate floor by Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
In the video, Blackburn railed against the Department of Homeland Security’s bulletin, saying it shows Biden’s “desire to police the speech, thoughts and opinions of American citizens and to deputize the public to help keep dissenters in line.” Blackburn said she sent a letter to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about her concerns.
It’s possible such a bulletin could chill citizens’ speech if they think the government is monitoring their Facebook posts, but the bulletin makes no statements about criminalizing free speech, experts we spoke with said. And while it’s not spelled out in this bulletin, the DHS and the White House have expressed multiple times in other documents the administration’s intent to protect...
Turkish base fake news in Armenia For several days, a video has been circulating on social media claiming that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan allegedly signed a “secret agreement” with EU ...