Left Ramps Up Attempts to Shut Down Conservative Speech

You are not signed in as a Premium user; you are viewing the free version of this program. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Click the button below.

See All Plans

The progressive Grundys of the American culture have found many reasons for clutching their pearls the past several weeks. In many recent instances, Hollywood actors, movie studios, journalists and social media and internet gatekeepers have attempted to shut down conservative and traditional religious views.

Perhaps the most egregious attempt to shut down the free exchange of speech and ideas is the revelation that search engine Google blacklists certain pages — mostly conservative in nature — from its users' results. The Daily Caller reported April 9 that it had received proprietary Google documents from an anonymous Google source that outline the company's policies to filter websites — backlisted from searches that violate the "good neighbor" and "misrepresentation" policies.

According to The Daily Caller, websites in violation of Google standards are conservative:

On the blacklist are a number of conservative sites, including Gateway Pundit, Matt Walsh's blog, Gary North's blog "teapartyeconomist.com," Caroline Glick's website, Conservative Tribune, a property of The Western Journal and the website of the American Spectator.

"You can't trust the human judgment of Google's Trust and Safety team," said the source at Google with knowledge of their practices.

The same news source reported last November that Google employees pondered in the wake of Donald Trump's 2016 election victory whether to hide from searches such conservative sites as Breitbart and The Daily Caller.

Last week, Google employees petitioned for the removal of Kay Coles James from the company's Advanced Technology External Advisory Council. The female African-American is also a prominent conservative and president of The Heritage Foundation. On April 5, she resigned.

According to The American Spectator, "Among other things the outrage mob of over 2000 Google employees accused Kay James of being a 'white supremacist.' Kay is an African-American. With a gay son. But Google quickly caved to the mob, dismissing Kay and then dissolving the board entirely."

The Wall Street Journal opinion page weighed in on April 7, "As a think-tank president Ms. James has expressed support for policies well within the norm of center-right ideas, such as more security at the border and skepticism about the more coercive elements of the transgender movement's political agenda."

Cartoonists Can't Be Pro-Life and Funny Too

In another instance, Casey Miller, a writer for Nylon magazine, attempted to dox — an act involving the malicious publication of information potentially damaging about an intended victim — Nathan Pyle.

Nylon identifies as a purveyor of beauty, fashion and entertainment for young women. The creator of the popular online comic strip "Strange Planet," Pyle boasts approximately two million followers on Instagram. The comic, according to libertarian Reason writer Robby Soave, depicts "aliens doing mundane tasks and describing them in overly literal terms that make them sound ridiculous."

In a post titled "We Should Be More Careful About What We're Sharing," Miller includes a tweet written by Pyle in which he praises his girlfriend:

The tweet prompted Miller to comment:

Cartoonist Nathan Pyle, whose Strange Planet alien drawings you've definitely seen everywhere, was discovered to be anti-abortion today, which serves as a valuable reminder that you should know about the person whose content you're sharing. ...

When looking at Pyle's personal Instagram, though, it's clear that we shouldn't have been surprised that he has such conservative views. The first line in his bio is "I follow Jesus," which should clue you in about his religious leanings.

Though you may not have followed Pyle's account, you've no doubt seen his drawings re-posted by others on social media, and maybe even shared some yourself. Finding out about Pyle's problematic views serves as a needed warning to make sure the content that you're sharing was created by someone who views you as deserving of autonomy over your own body.

Soave, associate editor of the often socially liberal Reason, nevertheless commented:

I have complained many times previously about the pernicious tendency in certain hyper-woke circles to gang up on anybody who expresses the slightest dissent from leftist orthodoxy. Here, I'll simply close by noting that Pyle's alleged pro-life views are not exactly a fringe position.

Soave links to a 2018 Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life that found a significant percentage of Americans surveyed oppose abortion in one form or another.

Constitutional Scholars From Hollywood

A group of Hollywood actors and other film industry workers have announced they will boycott Georgia over their stated objections to the state's House Bill 481, which prohibits abortions after a fetus' heartbeat is detectable.

Among the actors pledging to avoid working in Georgia once Gov. Brian Kemp signs what's been called "The Heartbeat Bill" are Alyssa Milano, Ben Stiller, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Mia Farrow, Sean Penn, Rosie O'Donnell and Alec Baldwin.

In a group letter sent to Gov. Kemp, they expressed their belief that HB 481 is "unconstitutional," perhaps referring to the constitutionally unfounded "right to privacy" justification provided by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun in his 1973 majority opinion in Roe v. Wade.

Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.

We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.