California is now in the political censorship business

California Democrats have legalized campaign censorship.

The day before the White House press secretary reiterated the Democrat allegation Donald Trump is a threat to the nation, and that is why people are trying to kill him, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he signed three bills to give state bureaucrats the authority to review and censor political speech.

Americans are told to believe that political censorship is for your own safety. You are, it is suggested in the press material, too stupid to know when you are being lied to.

Of course, Newsom said AB 2655, AB 2839 and AB 2355 will keep the public safe from Artificial Intelligence manipulation and “remove deceptive content” from the internet. Who will judge the veracity of a political campaign? Democrats. Why Democrats? California is a one-party state and all the state-appointed department heads, commission members, top agency and bureau members are Democrats. So are most of the judges. It follows the people appointed to operate state government in California are Democrats.

To quote Newsom, “AB 2655 … requires large online platforms to remove or label deceptive and digitally altered content related to elections. …” As part of the attack upon political campaigns, the legislation signed by Newsom encourages candidates, elected officials, election officials, the state attorney general, local district attorneys and even city attorneys to seek injunctions to block political speech in California.

If the government does not like a campaign message, it can block it, and by the time the process works it way through the courts, the election is decided.

“AI-generated deepfakes pose a clear and present risk to our elections and our democracy,” according to Newsom. Censorship of the political process, apparently, does not pose a threat.

AB 2839 was passed as an urgency measure, so it took effect the moment Newsom signed it. As a result, today in the Golden State it is illegal for a political committee, or “other entity” to distribute “an advertisement or other election materials containing deceptive AI-generated or manipulated content.” The enforcers decide the legality of the content, and that “other entity” may be you.

This censorship will be attained by court injunction to block the distribution of campaign materials judged by the party in power, the Democrats, as “misinformation.”

AB 2839 sponsor Assembly member Gail Pellerin of Santa Cruz declared it is “a significant step in continuing to protect the integrity of our democratic process. With fewer than 50 days until the general election, there is an urgent need to protect against misleading, digitally-altered content that can interfere with the election.”

Translation: California is now officially in the political censorship business. And an army of Democrat political appointees will decide what voters may read, see and hear in this presidential election.

The final step in California’s look into the future of elections in America, AB 2355, wants all political communications to have a warning label if artificial intelligence is used in the production. A Photoshop enhancement of contrast fits that description.

Voters in the other 49 states may not realize it, but California has changed its election laws so the dominate Democrat Party cannot lose elections. There is zero chance Democrats will lose California in 2024, and so there really is no need for this state legislation. It is intended to manipulate all U.S. elections. If California can dictate to the internet providers, it can regulate election campaigns in Massachusetts and Florida and anywhere else.

Biden flack Karine Jean-Pierre basically told the nation this week that Donald Trump’s hateful speech was the reason he has twice been the target of an assassin. This is the level of Democratic thought when it comes to “mis” and “dis” information the party is intent upon censoring.

The headline on Gov. Newsom’s press release reads:

“Governor Newsom signs bills to combat deepfake election content.”

The real headline should read:

“Governor Newsom signs bill to combat election content.”

We are being shot at, and we are being oppressed. Draw your own conclusion as to where it will all end.

Mike Pottage

Mike Pottage has been a political reporter, columnist and newspaper editor headquartered in Los Angeles and Sacramento for more than 45 years. Read more of Mike Pottage's articles here.


Leave a Comment