The New York Times editorial board declared on Friday that people should be able to express “unpopular” positions without being canceled or “shut out of public discourse.” A free flow of information is essential for democracy to function, the editors argued.
The Times declaration under the headline “America Has a Free Speech Problem” marks a stunning reversal. Soon after Donald Trump rode down the golden elevator at Trump Tower to announce his candidacy for president in 2015, the Times shifted from “All the News That’s Fit to Print” to “All the News That Fits an Anti-Trump Agenda.”
Times media columnist Jim Rutenberg announced in 2016, “If you’re a working journalist and you believe that Donald J. Trump is a demagogue, you have to throw out the textbook American journalism has been using” and reject “normal standards.”
Who would bother to read a newspaper that doesn’t subscribe to the tenets of honest journalism?
For years, the paper has also called for Big Tech to censor “misinformation,” like the Hunter Biden laptop story it helped to squelch before the 2020 election.
Bravo to the Gray Lady for Friday’s reversal — assuming the paper actually lives by its commitment. Time will tell.
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townhall.com/columnists/betsymccaughey/2022/03/23/dont-let-big-tech-hide-the-truth-from-you-n2604892