California Legislator Wants Government To Censor Internet Content on Bizarre Claim That Russian Bots Are Creating Fake News

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A strange piece of propaganda, in the form of a study from George Washington University, says that Russian bots and trolls are behind anti-vaccine posts on the internet designed to create discord and polarize conflict. There is no scientifically supported opposition to vaccines, just Russian bots, you know. California State Senator, Richard Pan, a pediatrician who introduced mandatory vaccines in his state, is proposing legislation that would require all Californians with a website or social-media account to verify news stories they share on the internet with so-called fact-checkers and to post warnings of ‘fake news” if the information is contrary to the views of government pronouncements or mainstream media. [This ploy to silence opposition is blatantly absurd, but the new totalitarians will solemnly  pretend that it is a reasonable proposal to protect the public.] -GEG

Well, well. The virulently pro-vax forces have just discovered their opponents are really, wait for it, Russian bots, launched to promote societal discord and polarize conflict.

That settles it. Nothing to see, move along. The arguments rejecting vaccine safety and efficacy were just bot-nonsense. No need to understand what they were saying. It was all a sham. Vaccines are wonderful. Everybody knows that.

On California Senator Richard Pan’s website—Pan sponsored the mandatory childhood vaccination bill in CA that became law—we find this:

“Dr. Richard Pan, a pediatrician and state senator representing the Sacramento region, responded to the study, ‘Weaponized Health Communication: Twitter and Russian Trolls Amplify the Vaccine Debate’, published in the American Journal of Public Health.”

[Senator Pan states] “This research provides evidence that foreign and domestic agents are manipulating social media through bots to discourage vaccination to promote their own agendas; Russian trolls for sowing political discord and commercial and malware distributors for marketing. In addition, the researchers concluded that a significant proportion of anti-vaccination messages are organized ‘astroturf.’ Manipulation of social media to promote anti-vaccine messages by outside agents poses a serious threat to the health and safety of Americans…”

The devious implication? There is no serious anti-vaccine research, it’s all bots and Russians.

I know at least a dozen serious independent vaccine researchers who have found huge holes in conventional vaccine mythology—but guess what? It turns out they’re non-human bots. Who knew I was sitting having coffee with a bot? Wow. Amazing what you learn when you listen to Authorities.

Senator Pan is pushing the envelope by sponsoring a new bill in the CA senate. Here is what I recently wrote about that:

California used to be trumpeted as the cutting edge of American culture.

It still is, except the culture is now all about censoring free speech.

California Senator Richard Pan, who was behind the infamous 2015 law mandating vaccinations for schoolchildren (SB277), has stepped up to the plate and introduced another bill.

This one would clamp down on criticism of ANY Official Story.

The bill is titled “SB1424 Internet: social media: false information: strategic plan.”

It targets social media based in California. But as you read the bill, you see it appears to define social media as any Internet blog, website, or communication.

SB1424 is brief. Read it:

This bill would require any person who operates a social media, as defined, Internet Web site with a physical presence in California to develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Web site. The bill would require the plan to include, among other things, a plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories, the utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories, providing outreach to social media users, and placing a warning on a news story containing false information.

(a) Any person who operates a social media Internet Web site with physical presence in California shall develop a strategic plan to verify news stories shared on its Internet Web site.

(b) The strategic plan shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) A plan to mitigate the spread of false information through news stories.

(2) The utilization of fact-checkers to verify news stories.

(3) Providing outreach to social media users regarding news stories containing false information.

(4) Placing a warning on a news story containing false information.

(c) As used in this section, “social media” means an electronic service or account, or electronic content, including, but not limited to, videos, still photographs, blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email, online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or locations.

Getting the picture?

It’s a free speech killer.

If it passes, agencies of the California government will develop numerous regulations for enforcement, including penalties for “speech criminals.”

Saying this bill violates the 1st Amendment of the Constitution is a vast understatement. The last time I looked, the Founders mentioned nothing about fact checkers or warnings attached to speech.

Can we look forward to this?

“Open borders and a flood of immigration into California are destructive to—wait. My statement has been precluded by warnings and fact-checker overrides…”

Or: “VACCINES ARE DANGEROUS. Ahem, I am making a debatable assertion and I must warn you that official experts strenuously disagree with me, and furthermore, the California Fact Checkers United, a division of Merck-Snopes Thought Police, has determined that my assertion is groundless and harmful to children’s health…”

There needs to be a relentless tsunami of protest in California over this Orwellian bill. I know of a number of Internet news operations in the state. They must jump in and lead the way.

Read full article here…

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