Emboldened anti-censorship movement takes on 2024
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Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
An anti-censorship movement born from the chaos of COVID and cultivated on platforms like X is increasingly aligning with the Trump campaign — and scoring some big wins.
Why it matters: Championed by Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and disaffected liberals, this loose network of dissenters views censorship — real or perceived — as the existential question of the 2024 election.
- Axios has reported in the past on the growing movement of wealthy, anti-establishment renegades united mostly by their hatred of DEI policies, mainstream media and elite consensus.
- Presented with a binary choice this November, many, like Musk, are now explicitly supporting the candidate who hews most closely to their view of free speech: Donald Trump.
Zoom in: This week alone has produced two of the anti-censorship movement's biggest political breakthroughs.
1. On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that the Biden administration had "pressured" Facebook in 2021 to "censor certain content" related to COVID-19 as part of its efforts to crack down on misinformation.
- Zuckerberg expressed "regret" over the situation, and also said Facebook had erred when it "temporarily demoted" a story about Hunter Biden's laptop in late 2020 out of concern that it was Russian disinformation.
- Conservative media and free speech advocates erupted over what they saw as an admission of Big Tech censoring "dissent" at the government's request.
2. On Tuesday, Trump named RFK Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, both former Democrats who have endorsed him, as honorary co-chairs of his presidential transition team.
- The new alliance was celebrated by elements of Trump's base, including Tucker Carlson, who has long sought to forge connections with anti-establishment voices on the left.
- With RFK Jr. by his side, Trump is making a more concerted push for independent, politically homeless voters who are inherently skeptical of the government and mainstream science.
The other side: Some conservatives expressed discomfort at the notion of ceding influence on policy and personnel to two longtime progressives — regardless of their evolution and newfound celebrity in MAGA world.
- Some anti-vaccine RFK Jr. supporters are also unhappy with his Trump endorsement, seeing the former president's championing of Operation Warp Speed as an unforgivable sin.
Reality check: RFK Jr. was polling only around 5% before endorsing Trump, and many of his most vocal online boosters were already in the former president's camp.
Between the lines: Some of the anti-censorship movement's most prominent leaders — Musk included — have been prone to spreading baseless conspiracy theories and misinformation about a range of topics.
- RFK Jr., for example, responded Monday to an X account claiming military pilots are pumping "chemtrails" into the atmosphere: "We are going to stop this crime," Kennedy wrote.
The big picture: Trump has always attracted anti-establishment support. But his heightened hostility toward the Justice Department, Big Tech and government bureaucrats since leaving office has deepened his populist appeal.
- Vice President Kamala Harris is expanding her coalition in her own ways, winning the endorsement this week of more than 200 former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers who fiercely oppose Trump.
What to watch: The anti-censorship movement views its enemies on a global scale, and has rapidly mobilized in support of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov after his arrest by French authorities this weekend.
- Durov has not been charged officially, but he faces allegations related to complicity in crimes associated with child exploitative material, fraud and drug sales on his messaging platform.
- "#FreePavel," Musk tweeted along with a clip of Durov praising X's commitment to free speech in an interview with Carlson.
