Comedian and actor Rob Schneider spoke out on Twitter last Saturday, May 4, about the censorship perpetrated by some IT giants like Facebook, Google, and Twitter and news checking sites like Poynter.
The actor, known for films “The Waterboy,” “The Animal,” and TV show “Real Rob,” reposted a Twitter post by Sharyl Attkisson, an investigative journalist, who warned about such censorship.
“When did we decide, as Americans, that it’s ok for government & 3d parties to censor/curate our info?” Attkisson wrote. “That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info? That we should only be able to find info that *they* tell us is true on matters that are opinion or in legitimate dispute? #SlipperySlope”
When did we decide, as Americans, that it’s ok fo govt & 3d parties to censor/ curate our info? That we cannot be trusted with unfiltered info? That we shd only be able to find info that *they* tell us is true on matters that are opinion or in legitimate dispute? #SlipperySlope
— Sharyl Attkisson????️♂️ (@SharylAttkisson) May 4, 2019
In his repost, Schneider pondered: “We are in a real world Orwellian nightmare of censorship. Be careful who you label and smear today. You will be the smeared tomorrow.”
We are in a real world Orwellian nightmare of censorship. Be careful who you label and smear today. You will be the smeared tomorrow! https://t.co/3LNe7pkF1d
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) May 4, 2019
He more specifically called out the progressive left in another message on Twitter: “Just bizarre,” Schneider wrote. “Progressive Democrats, who once stood for Civil Rights, Liberty, Free Speech now stand for censorship & removing parent rights.”
Just bizarre. Progressive Democrats, who once stood for Civil Rights, Liberty,Free Speech now stand for censorship & removing parent rights
— Rob Schneider (@RobSchneider) May 4, 2019
On Sunday, Schneider shared his concerns about the latest move by Facebook to permanently ban several far-right and far-left figures and organizations. Among those banned organizations and personalities were Louis Farrakhan (leader of Nation of Islam), Alex Jones (Infowars), Laura Loomer, and Milo Yiannopoulos, who were all labeled “dangerous.” In the past, Twitter had taken similar steps.
Schneider also referred to a post on Twitter by Stephen Miller, who remarked that Poynter, a left-leaning website, which describes itself as specializing in reporting, fact-checking, and developing leaders in journalism, published a list of 515 “unreliable” websites on April 30.
Poynter gonna need to make another list that only includes Poynter. https://t.co/EhHbmJ2PJP
— Stephen Miller (@redsteeze) May 3, 2019
The list was “built from pre-existing databases compiled by journalists, fact-checkers, and researchers around the country. Our aim was to provide a useful tool for readers to gauge the legitimacy of the information they were consuming,” wrote Poynter’s managing editor Barbara Allen in a letter to readers.
However, soon after publishing the list, the complaints came flooding in, noting that a number of right-leaning and openly conservative websites were targeted for allegedly being unreliable, while a number of left-leaning and openly liberal websites that have promoted conspiracy theories, such as Russian President Vladimir Putin controlling President Donald Trump, were not labeled as unreliable.
Update: We’ve taken this list down after finding inconsistencies in the methodology. We regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication. https://t.co/vc1TEIjeOZ
— Poynter (@Poynter) May 3, 2019
Poynter posted a response on Twitter: “We’ve taken this list down after finding inconsistencies in the methodology. We regret that we failed to ensure that the data was rigorous before publication, and apologize for the confusion and agitation caused by its publication.”
NTD Reporter Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
