Democrats have fired a new round in the ongoing push to control social media speech, now citing “misinformation” tied to Hurricane Helene and Milton relief efforts in the Southeast. Seven members of Congress are demanding investigations by the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Energy & Commerce Committees into what they allege was an online spread of “misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and scams” during these disasters.

Platforms like X, Meta, TikTok, and Discord are accused of failing to curb misleading content that supposedly hindered rescue and recovery. This move follows a familiar script – the same censorship calls we saw for pandemic “misinformation,” with emphasis on “algorithmic amplification” and the alleged harm of unregulated info streams.

The lawmakers’ letter is clear: they want hearings on platforms’ “inadequate solutions” to control content and protect “public trust.”

Funny, though, how this “concern” doesn’t extend to investigating how censorship was weaponized around COVID, elections, and more. Instead of self-reflection on past suppression, this new letter digs in harder – pushing for an even tighter grip on speech in the name of “public safety.”

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well they're not wrong

a bigger question is what to do about such bad information that's dangerous

not sure I like their approach but I don't argue with their interpretation of the facts on the ground