Meet the American who helped ruin the Albanian government’s censorship plan
A US freedom of speech campaigner was a ‘secret weapon’ in derailing the Albanian government’s disinformation law, but warns the fight against censorship is far from over.
After the Greens, Coalition and crossbench senators announced they would oppose the bill that would create a watchdog to monitor the internet for “harmful misinformation or disinformation”, the Albanian government was forced on Sunday to withdraw the legislation.
Visiting US activist Michael Shellenberger met with a number of senators in Canberra last week to lobby against the disinformation law, with some, such as Victorian independent crossbencher David Van, tweeting messages of thanks.
But even with the proposed laws defeated, Shellenberger said much work remains to be done to detox the institutions.
‘There is only one thing to counter disinformation, and that is accurate information. Censorship is not a strategy to combat disinformation, censorship simply suppresses. It is an act of power and oppression,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘There is a generation of young people who don’t realize that yet.’
He also warned against the Albanian government’s attempt to ban people under the age of 16 from social media, which would become law this week with the support of the coalition.
“I’m a father and have two children who are negatively affected by social media, so I’m very sympathetic to the cause,” he said.
US free speech advocate Michael Shellenberger (pictured right) met with Victorian Independent Senator David Van in Canberra last week to lobby against the Disinformation Bill
“But you have to wonder how they’re going to enforce this and whether they’re going to enforce it in a way that allows for backdoor censorship.
“I think the people of Australia should be suspicious of anything this prime minister is trying to do.”
Mr. Shellenberger, who founded the hugely successful news and opinion channel, Publicand has written three books on politics, said it was particularly creepy that the Disinformation Act had exempted governments from censorship laws.
“There is no greater purveyor of disinformation than the government, and if governments start censoring now, they will censor the truth,” he said.
‘You had governments saying Covid came from a wet market, but most intelligence agencies now think it came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
“The US government said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that led to the invasion of Iraq. That turned out to be disinformation.
“They want to censor accurate information because that compromises their ability to propagandize and get their way.”
Mr Shellenberger said freedom of expression is crucial but is under attack worldwide.
‘Free speech is the key to everything. It is the first freedom, and we must come to the fore again,” he said.
“All over the world you have swamp creatures from the deep states who think they have the right to decide what people can say.
Mr Shellenberger (photo left) debates on stage with American TV presenter Bill Nye
“When people realize what the deep state is trying to do, they rise up, they get angry, and that’s happening in Australia.”
Mr. Shellenberger, who has more than 1.5 million followers on his various social media platforms, first became involved in politics in the deeply progressive Californian college town of Berkeley.
After joining left-wing environmental groups, Mr. Shellenbeger ran as the Democratic candidate for governor of California in 2018, but he said he now struggles to understand why the political left has become the biggest threat to free speech.
“I’ve changed my mind on various issues over the years, but I’ve never changed my mind on freedom of speech. I have been a supporter of freedom of speech my entire life,” Shellenberger said.
‘The left is the heir of the civil rights movement, the gay rights movement. All of those movements required freedom of speech, and they all fought against censorship.
Mr Shellenberger said Elon Musk’s buying of Twitter (pictured left) and Donald Trump’s reclaiming of the US presidency were turning points in winning the war on censorship.
“Now the progressives’ care and compassion are only for so-called victims. They woke up and woke up is a victimhood theology and a victimhood theology divides all people into victims and oppressors, you are a victim or we are an oppressor.”
He warned and shared his belief that George Orwell’s predictions in the novel 1984 resonate powerfully with the current state of society today.
‘I re-read George Orwell’s 1984 a few months ago and it was shocking to me how relevant it was. It didn’t feel like an old book, it felt like a book that could have been written about what’s happening now.
‘Orwell said that totalitarianism would emerge from bureaucracy. The left controls the administrative state, the professional management class, and they want power.”
Mr Shellenberger and American podcaster Joe Rogan
Mr. Shellenberger said two catastrophic events have disrupted the left’s war on free speech: Donald Trump’s re-election and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now known as X.
‘It used to be that politicians could control the media, and the media could control the politicians. Social media has been a game changer,” Shellenberger said.
“The deep state’s control of Twitter was a lot like the Catholic Church’s control of doctrine.
“It took a while, but at some point Martin Luther came along and used the printing press against the church. That’s what Elon Musk is, he’s the Martin Luther of social media.
“He’s turning this powerful technology into a tool of the people.”
Mr Shellenberger was brought to Australia by right-wing think tank Institute of Public Affairs as part of its campaign against the Disinformation Act.
He has gone to England to challenge the British government’s hate speech laws, following a series of prosecutions over social media posts in the aftermath of the riots earlier this year.
