Summary
The German government accused Elon Musk of trying to influence its February 2024 general election by endorsing the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
It acknowledged Musk’s right to express his opinion but dismissed its potential impact, calling his remarks “the greatest nonsense.”
Musk described the AfD as Germany’s “last spark of hope” in an opinion piece for Die Welt, sparking backlash and the resignation of a senior editor.
Musk has also faced accusations of trying to sway the 2024 U.S. election in Donald Trump’s favor.
You can disagree as much as you want to, but that’s the fact. “Freedom of speach” refers to freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. Not to “freedom to spread lies to achieve political gains”
Indeed, if you say something that is wrong, but you believe it’s true then you should be protected.
But if you’re knowingly lying? Not so much.
The first amendment will simply not allow you to scream “FIRE!” in a crowded theater.
This logic crumbles as soon as an authoritarian government decides what is true and false and does not like your honest opinion. There is huge potential for abuse of power.
Edit: This is a reply to everyone who replied to me, not just you.
Sadly it is something I’ve already considered and something that the people who rally against Fact Checkers bring up as a good point.
Who gets to decide what’s true and what’s a lie? Not that I think fact checking is currently used in this manner, but, it is one of those “The strawman might have a point” moments
I guess independently verified scientific facts could be an exception. If you are going against vaccinations for example it would equate to calling for violence in some sense, anyways.