A US federal institution is getting dangerously close to advocating for restrictions on speech. We have learned a lot about this from Twitter and Facebook Files, but this time pressure is expressed openly, albeit in a careful and subtle way.
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP), funded by Congress and promoting the country’s interests worldwide on the declared premise of opposing violent conflict, is now taking on the task of helping preserve election integrity by censoring speech.
In its post, USIP is careful not to talk about the elephant in the room, the US election, instead mentioning a number of other votes about to take place in 2024 across the planet.
But it’s easy to see how “recommendations” here – for public and private sector and think tanks to come together in fighting “election disinformation” – once having taken shape and one put in practice in, say, Taiwan or India, can easily be replicated at home.
