MAGA’s Imaginary Censorship-Industrial Complex
The conspiracy theory that persists even though no evidence supports it
For nearly a year and a half, the Trump administration prepared its case. Political appointees combed through old files and databases, seeking information on various figures associated with the Global Engagement Center, a now-dissolved agency that once aimed to expose propaganda campaigns by Russia, China, Iran, and other countries.
The investigation was meant to expose the Biden administration's "censorship-industrial complex," a shadowy network allegedly dedicated to mass suppression of American free speech. However, neither Beattie nor anyone else has managed to prove that such a plot ever existed. Despite filing multiple lawsuits, no evidence has been produced.
The failure to provide evidence is not due to lack of effort, as MAGA allies and politicians have made numerous attempts. One lawsuit made it to the Supreme Court, but the answer was no. Other cases were settled without finding any evidence of "censorship." Now, the Trump administration's most dedicated ideologues have also failed to prove the existence of this "censorship-industrial complex" within the State Department.
After months of searching, the undersecretary for public diplomacy, Sarah Rogers, leaked unimpressive results to an internet troll, claiming there was no evidence of conspiracies or censorship. However, the documents she leaked contained no proof, merely an excerpt of congressional testimony and misleading information about the Stanford research project.
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