Trickle-Down Censorship Chilling America's Institutions
Take a deep breath. That smell in the air may be McCarthyism 2.0, where the winds of censorship and adversarial communication standards waft together to blow in a strange era for both media and institutions.
The thing is, whatever happens happens first to the news media, which is why keeping close tabs on it can help people spot emerging trends and prepare for what's about to hit at gale-force strength. The reality is, anytime there's a movement to restrict freedom of the press, the trickle-down effect is that businesses and nonprofits are the next to take the hit.
Last week we mentioned it's a good time to be a lawyer. This week, it appears all of America needs either a good therapist or a free-pouring bartender. Perhaps both.
Compounding the problem is the distorted notion that “everyone must have a voice,” even when that voice lacks the expertise needed to navigate complex issues. Consider influencers like Belle Gibson —now the focus of a Netflix show —who falsely claimed to have cancer and touted a self-cure through diet, or the queen of fraud herself, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos. She is promising a return to healthcare when she is no longer behind bars. The defense of folks like these? They had a “responsibility” to speak out. Not that they had a responsibility to be truthful, just vocal. And that turns the act of communication into an act of betrayal.
Social media only amplifies these issues. Once heralded as a tool for democratized expression, it has devolved into a battleground of misinformation. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025, the one thing that may be safe to say today is that communication has been weaponized. Advocacy has become aggressive and demeaning—a far cry from the respectful, informed debate that leadership requires. As Richard Edelman noted in?Time?magazine:
"Institutional leaders themselves may have also dropped the ball. Globally, two-thirds of respondents worry about journalists, government officials, and CEOs intentionally lying to them.
“And there are fewer and fewer agreed-upon facts. Nearly two-thirds of respondents find it difficult to differentiate between news from a reliable source and disinformation."
We’ve been ensconced in an era where self-interest is celebrated, truth has been stripped of purpose and social media postings are meant to punch out opponents rather than inform.
Much of what happens next depends on whether the news media steps up to fight against a chilling effect that is now, in real time, impacting every institution. Then, we all play a role in restoring a commitment to responsibility—where the right to speak is matched by the duty to be informed. A return to measured, expert-driven communication is not just desirable; it’s essential for the future of our society.
- Jaci Clement, [email protected]
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