Unpopular: How the Federal Government Censored Social Media

Cleveland State University
2121 Euclid Avenue
Student Center, Atrium
Cleveland, OH 44115
United States

Aaron Kheriaty, MD, is a psychiatrist, author of five books, and Director of the Program in Bioethics, Technology, and Human Flourishing at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. In this talk, Dr. Kheriaty will discuss his role as a plaintiff in the landmark free speech case Missouri v. Biden, which challenged the federal government’s involvement in the censorship of constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms.

The case, known as Murthy v. Missouri when it reached the Supreme Court, uncovered what plaintiffs describe as a coordinated network of government agencies and affiliated institutions pressuring social media companies to suppress particular viewpoints. According to findings cited by a federal judge, the scope of this activity amounted to “arguably the worst free speech violation in United States history,” affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans and silencing dissenting voices tens of millions of times online. Those impacted included not only ordinary citizens, but also physicians and scientists who challenged the government’s preferred policy positions.

Drawing on legal discovery, public-policy analysis, and philosophical foundations of free expression, Dr. Kheriaty will examine what this case reveals about government power, free speech, and democratic life in the digital age. Journalist Matt Taibbi has called Dr. Kheriaty “the most ambitious theorist of the censorship-industrial age.”

Join us after the program for a luncheon.