Latin America Should Be Worried About Social Media Censorship

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade to convert to compel.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

If Mark Zuckerberg and Big Tech can censure a sitting president, it can happen to anyone. That’s been the consensus among many conservatives & opponents alike in response to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter banning President Trump from his social media accounts. Google and Apple also jumped into the fray removing alternative social media platforms like Parler, from their app stores until they meet their “robust” standards. 

After the incident on the 6th, the major tech companies systematically banned President Trump after accusing him of inciting the violence and rioting that occurred at the Capital. President Trump and the White House Administration both condemned the violence but are still being labeled an instigator by the media and the Democrats. This is what President Trump actually said, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.”Mark Zuckerburg and Big Tech are using the incident to silence a sitting president. This should concern everyone regardless of what political party they are involved in. 

I have written before how the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) condemns censorship on social media platforms but last Thursday, he spoke again on this issue, saying:

“I don’t like anybody being censored or taking away from the right to post a message on Twitter or
Face(book). I don’t agree with that, I don’t accept that,

Furthermore, he states,

“I call attention to this issue, because if not, then if nothing else we would reform here (Mexico) universally with the televisions and radio stations, and that’s it. And columnists out there will say whatever the Washington Post says, and whatever the New York times say and what the big television channels say but what about the people?”

In reference to cellphones, he continues,

“With what you have in your hand each citizen becomes a means of communication, but if you can’t
anymore if they censor you if they shut you up, and silence you then this is not a matter of just for
Mexico, but for the entire world. We all have a right to exercise our freedoms.”

When a Mexican President comes to speak out against blacklisting the U.S. President who has been falsely labeled as a racist time and time again (especially against Mexicans) should be a wake-up call. The whole world should be appalled by this and condemn such actions, but specifically, Latin America should be really worried.

It’s no secret that South & Central America are riddled with corrupted governments that consistently take advantage of their own people. Most of these countries are republics in name only and do not grant their citizens the same access to the freedoms we have here in the USA.

Hence, why so many Latino people make great sacrifices just for the opportunity to live in the land of the free. What happened to the U.S. means it can happen to Latin American Countries as well. Who will be blacklisted next? The President of Mexico? Colombia? Honduras? Brazil? Do all the presidents of the world now submit under the authority of Facebook’s regime? Latin America has many individuals who are working hard to make their countries better and now they can face censorship if what they say does not meet”community standards.”People, this is dangerous. Whether you love or hate Trump, you should be condemning any censorship of the freedom of speech. It is not just Trump’s speech that Big Tech being infringed on here, it is yours too!