Expanding censorship European Style –– arrests, dire warning 'Face the Consequences'

It’s not just happening in the U.S. Europe is also seeing shocking battles over censorship of speech.

In August, the government of the United Kingdom issued an ominous “Think before you post” statement, saying social media posts that some consider hateful are harmful could get you arrested. 

“Remind those close to you to share responsibly or face the consequences,” the government warned. 

A new documentary titled “We Will Not Be Silenced” tells the true story of censorship of a UK-based podcast titled "London Real." Brian Rose hosts the podcast and he tells me what happened when a widely-viewed episode was deleted and banned by YouTube. 

Sharyl Attkisson: What was the episode about?

Rose: It was a conversation about Covid, asking questions about masks and distancing, and even talking about the "V" word – the vaccine. We were one of the very early people to be broadcast and then censored by YouTube.

Sharyl Attkisson: So those were rational questions to explore. And we later found a lot of people who were raising those questions were on the right track, whereas the government was on the wrong track. But you had an immediate backlash?

Brian Rose: Immediate. ...That was the first time I had ever heard or felt censorship. I thought it happened to the weirdos, until it happens to you. And my immediate reaction was to re-upload the video and to fight back.

Sharyl Attkisson: After that happened to you, what did you see happening on a broader scale?

Brian Rose: Well, it was weird, because I was subsequently de-platformed from Dropbox, LinkedIn, PayPal, all simultaneously. And when I started asking questions, you know, I almost felt silly to even imply there might be some type of coordination because it just didn't seem possible at the time ... We ended up having to create our own streaming platform ... just to prove that we could do it in the face of censorship by these trillion-dollar tech platforms.

Rose is, of course, far from the only one feeling the heavy hand of censorship. Elsewhere in England, police are arresting people in their own homes for posting social media content that allegedly hurts feelings or commits other supposed violations.

In one instance, a woman was repeatedly questioned by police and arrested for thinking silently about prayers in her head while in an exclusion zone outside an abortion clinic. 

"Are you praying?” asks a police officer while a bystander records the encounter.

"I might be praying in my head,” replies the woman, who is then told by police that she’s not allowed to silently think certain prohibited thoughts.

The woman took her case to court and recently won a $17,000 settlement and an apology from police after the multiple cases of harassment.

Rose's documentary on censorship can be seen on X, formerly Twitter, at the London Real TV account.

For the full report, watch “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” on Sundays. Attkisson is the NYT bestselling author of the new book, “Follow the $cience: How Big Pharma Misleads, Obscures, and Prevails."