This is the political season to be thankful for small favors of optimism, and in this edition of Scheer Intelligence, host Robert Scheer and guest Joe Lauria, editor of the Consortium News website, are excited to have found a gift of striking significance to what remains of the practice of serious journalism on the internet. It is Donald Trump’s delivery on a promise in his inauguration address that “After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all censorship and bring back free speech to America.” What Trump is referring to is summarized in his executive order, “Restoring Free Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” asserting: “Over the last four years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.” Under the guise of combatting ‘misinformation,’ `disinformation’ and ‘malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States.” Despite its presence In the egregious pile of Donald Trumps otherwise deeply frightening Executive Orders assaulting logic and decency, both Scheer and Lauria, who edit internet publications that have been targeted in this manner, argue that this particular executive order is a gem of sharp brilliance that should not be shunned for the
