MRC Investigates Sen. Cornyns Effort to Save Pro-Censorship Program [Video]

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) ultimately was elected to lead Republicans as they took a majority in the Senate following the 2024 election red wave. But what transpired before today’s leadership vote surrounding free speech and censorship contextualizes the direction Republicans have chosen to take on the important constitutional issue. 

Recently, legacy outlets Politico and The Washington Post reported on, and appeared to sympathize with, an amendment co-sponsored by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) that would continue the work of an anti-free speech State Department program, the Global Engagement Center (GEC). In response, the Media Research Center relentlessly sought answers from the potential Senate majority leader candidates. The Media Research Center reached out to Cornyn, Thune and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). 

The GEC, for its part, was shown to have aggressivelyworked to censor free speech on social media platforms, including targeting users of platforms as being a part of foreign influence campaigns. For example, Twitter Files …