On 19 September 2025 US President for Life hopeful Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, “When 97 percent of the stories are bad about a person, it’s no longer free speech.” Trump asserts negative television coverage of him is illegal. We should probably check the 1st Amendment.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Britanica
He’s obviously wrong. But does he know he’s wrong? Frankly yes, and here’s why.
The truth is censorship isn’t really necessary to influence the US public. In a democracy it’s a numbers game; most people get their “news” on the TV. As pointed out last night, 90% of US media is owned by 6 corporations. The ultra wealthy are not only controlling the TV news but are breaking into social media as well. Trump’s “Truth Social” and Elon Musk‘s purchase of “Twitter”, now “X,” are examples.
On 13 March 2024 the House voted 352-65 to ban TikTok (H.R 7521). Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) commented
Gallagher says classified and unclassified national security assessments show that the app is a threat to user privacy and that it’s been used to target journalists and interfere in elections. Top officials from intelligence and national security agencies conducted a classified briefing on their analysis for all House members on Tuesday. Classified information is not made public, in part, because it deals with matters of national security. NPR
The top two lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) released a joint statement praising the House bill and urged Senate action. The Senate voted 79-18 (AP News) and President Joe Biden signed it. The US Supreme Court upheld the bill NPR.
Obviously there is something concerning about this app. It is a data collection tool that sells influence and is believed to be capable of affecting elections; the minds of it’s users. We don’t know what else TikTok can be used for. Consider; are all the influencers on TikTok legit? Could some of them be paid actors or even AI? Can this app tailor messages to influence people’s gumby brains?
Today, Trump announced a deal with People’s Republic of China’s President for Life Xi Jinping. The US will control 6 of the 7 board seats and have “control of the site’s algorithm.” ??? The site’s algorithm is partially what inspired the Congressional ban on TikTok.
“This deal means that TikTok will be majority-owned by Americans in the United States,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Fox News Saturday morning. “There will be seven seats on the board that controls the app in the United States, and six of those seats will be Americans.” Politico
American elites loyal to Donald Trump and god corp (LLC) will control the app is what she meant to say. This is in addition to control of 90% of the TV news, “X” and “Truth Social.”
But good ole Donald, he knows the deal; once disgraced one becomes the bearer of the blame – history will call it all the fault of one man and ignore those behind the scenes. He’ll be just fine, but have to lie low for a lifetime.