Report on the Censorship-Industrial Complex: The Top 50 Organizations to Know

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Introduction by Matt Taibbi

 

On January 17, 1961, outgoing President and former Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower gave one of the most consequential speeches in American history. Eisenhower for eight years had been a popular president, whose appeal drew upon a reputation as a person of great personal fortitude, who’d guided the United States to victory in an existential fight for survival in World War II. Nonetheless, as he prepared to vacate the Oval Office for handsome young John F. Kennedy, he warned the country it was now at the mercy of a power even he could not overcome. 

Until World War II, America had no permanent arms manufacturing industry. Now it did, and this new sector, Eisenhower said, was building up around itself a cultural, financial, and political support system accruing enormous power. This “conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience,” he said, adding:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. 

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes… Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. 

This was the direst of warnings, but the address has tended in the popular press to be ignored. After sixty-plus years, most of America – including most of the American left, which traditionally focused the most on this issue – has lost its fear that our arms industry might conquer democracy from within. 

Now, however, we’ve unfortunately found cause to reconsider Eisenhower’s warning.

 

 

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Facebook Temporarily Suppresses Journalist Matt Taibbi’s Report On Censorship That Mentions The Company 31 Times

Social media giant Facebook temporarily suppressed journalist Matt Taibbi’s new report on organizational censorship on Wednesday, causing the post to be obscured from public view.

Taibbi’s report titled, “Report on the Censorship-Industrial Complex: The Top 50 Organizations to Know,” mentions Facebook 31 times. In notifications that Taibbi screenshotted and posted on Twitter, Facebook said, “Your post goes against our Community Standards on hate speech,” and then prevented anyone besides Taibbi from being able to view the post.

Facebook also threatened Taibbi saying that if he posts content that violates their standards again, his account could be “restricted or disabled” from the platform.