American support for the restriction of “false” information, even if it restricts freedom of expression, has fallen, according to a research survey.
Since 2018, Americans had increasingly supported the US government and technology companies censoring “false” online information, even if they would be rigistic of freedom of expression.
The support to stop false information had reached its zenith in 2023, with 55 percent of American adults saying that the United States government should limit false information, and 65 percent said technological companies should the same.
On the contrary, only 42 percent of Americans said in 2023 that freedom of information should be protected even if that meant that false information could be published, and 32 percent said the same about technological companies that protect free expression online.
Now, 51 percent of Americans said that the government should restrict false online information, a four percent drop of two years ago, and 60 percent say that technological platforms should restrict false information, represent a drop of five sizes.
It is much more likely that Democrats and independents of Democratic inclination be much more likely to support the restructuring of false information than Republicans and independent of republican inclination.
Forty -three percent of Republicans believe that the United States government should restrict false information, while 58 percent of Democrats said the government should limit false information. In 2023, 70 percent of Democrats said the government should limit false online information.
The survey comes at a time when the Trump administration moved to the governmental shutter agencies that worked to quell free expression online under the appearance of combating misinformation and/or false information.
The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, announced last week the closure of the Global Commitment Center (GEC), a subagency of the State Department that had served as part of the “industrial censorship complex.”
“During the last decade, Americans have been slandered, fires, accused and also imprisoned for simply expressing their opinions,” Rubio wrote. “That ends today.”
He continued: “I am announcing the closure of the @StatedepepCounteracting the manipulation and interference of foreign information, previously the Global Participation Center (GEC), which cost taxpayers more than $ 50 million per year and Activy silenced and censored the voices of the Americans who were supposed to be served. “
Sean Moran is Breitbart News policies reporter. Follow it in x @Seanmoran3.