By Chris Menahan – Information Liberation
It’s an “anti-Semitic conspiracy theory” to quote the Wall Street Journal and members of Congress themselves stating that they’re banning TikTok to silence criticism of Israel, according to The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro.
Shapiro hailed the proposed ban/forced divestment on Thursday as a rare moment of “bipartisan sanity.”
UFC legend Jake Shields ratioed Shapiro in response stating, “Ben Shapiro stands against free speech when it helps [Israel].”
“I didn’t think you could somehow magic opposition to a Chinese-owned psyop into an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, but I underestimated you. Truly, you have a dizzying intellect,” Shapiro fired back.
“Your false claims of antisemitism no longer work Ben and the world sees through your lies,” Shields responded, ratioing Shapiro once again.
Just hours before Shapiro’s comments, the Jewish Federations of North America, which represents “over 350 independent Jewish communities across North America that raise and distribute over $2 billion annually,” called on Congress to ban TikTok to fight “antisemitism” and help Israel.
“The Jewish Federations of North America are supporting the full passage this bill to help address the proliferation of blatantly antisemitic content on social media, specifically on TikTok. It is time to urge our Senators to build upon this momentum and pass this bill,” the Jewish Federations said.
In just one year, antisemitic comments on TikTok rose 912%. This rhetoric, flooding onto the phones of Americans, is a major driver of the rise in antisemitism. Now is the time for action. Now is the time for leadership.
It is vital that you reach out to your elected officials in the Senate and urge them to support this bill. We need you to reach out and express how important this issue is for the Jewish community, and to highlight the urgency behind addressing this issue. There is no one answer to the rise in antisemitism, but Congress must act when it can – and this bill is a very important step that Congress can take today. A vote for the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act is a vote against antisemitism.
The Wall Street Journal reported explicitly on Monday that Congress took up the ban to advance the interests of Israel, not America:
[Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-WI)] efforts [to ban TikTok] appeared to stall in 2023, but were revived in part by the fallout from the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, according to people close to TikTok and people close to lawmakers. TikTok’s users quickly inundated the platform with videos about the attack and Israel’s war on Gaza. Some lawmakers said TikTok appeared to favor pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel content, and renewed calls to ban the app in the U.S.
TikTok’s spokeswoman said that the videos that lawmakers are concerned about were created by its users, and the company argued it has been fair in moderating pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian videos.
“Oct. 7 really opened people’s eyes to what’s happening on TikTok” and its “differential treatment of different topics,” said [Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)], adding that the coming election also fueled concerns. “People are concerned about interference using TikTok.”
The Wall Street Journal reported similar on Wednesday, as did the Economist, Glenn Greenwald noted on Twitter.
Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt — who Ben Shapiro lionized to his audience as a hero in the wake of Oct 7 — was caught on leaked audio freaking out late last year about the “TikTok problem” with “Gen Z” overwhelmingly supporting Palestinians over Israelis.
The idea this ban is being put forward to serve the interests of America is as laughable as the idea Ben Shapiro is working to serve the interests of America!