In this September 22, 2022, comment published by The Telegraph, Fraser Nelson reflects on the series of deplatforming from Paypal experienced by two groups: the Free Speech Union (FSU) and UsForThem.efn_note]Incidentally, both of these organizations are connected with the anti-lockdown movement. Investigative journalist Toby Young is the founder of FSU and the Daily Sceptic. USForThem campaigned for keeping schools open and other issues connected with children.[/efn_note]

Nelson points out that Paypal’s censorship is just one example of the many censorship efforts conducted by Silicon Valley. The problem is that no one, not government authorities, has called on Big Tech to explain itself, leading to abuse. Nelson said, “If this were a supermarket using local monopoly powers to raise prices, the Government would break it up in a heartbeat. But with tech giants, it’s different. They are offering to put their huge power at the service of governments….It’s as if they’re saying: if you don’t regulate us too much, we’ll make sure accidents keep happening to your enemies”.

Nelson raises caution against the passing of the Online Safety Bill and Prime Minister Liz Truss’ current stance on censorship. He says, “this self-styled defender of free speech may very well be about to usher in a censorship law. It might start with denial of the right to publish but could quickly turn into denial of access to digital financial services”.

Editor’s Note: Here is another example of institutions being coopted to promote certain propaganda. Considered one of the largest corporations offering financial services in the world today, PayPal holds unprecedented power over a number of daily transactions of people. By starting to deplatform law-abiding organizations that do not subscribe to the mainstream point of view is a sign of darker times to come.

News of Paypal’s censorship is also important because it gives us a clear example of how central bank digital currencies (CBDCs)could be weaponized against us. While PayPal is regulated by governments and is dependent on the global economic market for its value, CBDCs are the government’s own financial tool.

Only governments will be able to determine its use and value. If the government determines that CBDCs can only be used to purchase certain products, they can very easily make this a reality [Read Bank of England propose to use digital money to put “restrictions on people’s freedom”].

And just like Paypal, if governments want to stop people from speaking against it, they can easily make accounts of law-abiding citizens who are only exercising their freedom of speech, inaccessible [This has already been done. See Trudeau ends use of Emergencies Act: Why?, CCLA warns against normalizing emergency legislation threatens democracy, civil liberties].

As of the publication of this article, Paypal has already reinstated the account of the Free Speech Union, Daily Sceptic, UsForThem, and Toby Young’s personal accounts after receiving widespread backlash. It wasn’t just the reports on mainstream media that have caused PayPal to “change its mind”. It was also the massive boycott launched against the company following the censorship report. This would not have been possible if it was the government that had control over the funds of these organizations.

Another organization, the Gays Against Groomers was also de-platformed in the same week as the FSU and UsForThem. Apart from Paypal, the group was also banned by Google, Twitter, and Venmo, another payment network. Unlike FSU and UsForThem the Gays Against Groomers account has not been reinstated. The group is also receiving bad press and is being tagged as “extremist” and a “hate group” for opposing the “recent trend of indoctinating, sexualizing, and medicalizing children under the guise of LGBTQIA+”.^[1]You will remember that this is one of the culture wars happening to us now, as discussed in Public Seminar Episode 49. We will discuss more of this in future articles.

This example shows us the power of the mainstream media narrative. Whereas in the UK, the censored groups were given a platform by The Telegraph, one of the largest news networks in the country, in the US, mainstream media has built the narrative that any opposition to the transgender agenda are “sexist, racist, and homophobics”. Gays Against Groomers needed to be silenced because they are members of the LGBT community who are standing up against the sexualization and abuse of children. It is difficult to paint them as the enemy, and hence, they are standing as a beacon for an alternative narrative in the cultural war.

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