Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley proposed social media reforms that would end anonymous posting.
“When I get into office, the first thing we have to do is social media accounts, social media companies, they have to show America their algorithms. Let us see why they’re pushing what they’re pushing,” she told Fox News.
She then called anonymous posting a “national security threat.”
“The second thing is every person on social media should be verified by their name,” Haley stated, noting, “It’s a national security threat.”
“When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say and it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots,” she explained. “And then you’re going to get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say, and they know their pastor and their family members are going to see it, it’s going to help our kids and it’s going to help our country.”
Her statements have been criticized on social media.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) tweeted, “You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers.”
“They were not ‘national security threats,’ nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional right to voice their opinions without fear of being harassed or canceled by the school they go to or the company they work for,” he shared. “Haley’s proposal to ban anonymous speech online — similar to what China recently did — is dangerous and unconstitutional. It will be dead on arrival in my administration.”
Journalist Glenn Greenwald similarly wrote, “Is Nikki Haley aware that the Federalist Papers were written by founding fathers using pseudonyms?”
Is Nikki Haley aware that the Federalist Papers were written by founding fathers using pseudonyms?
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) November 14, 2023
Nikki Haley may be one of the most war-mongering and authoritarian candidates for president in some time. She's completely unhinged. This is blatantly unconstitutional. https://t.co/irQwxsSTrI
“And then people will have to keep their conservative opinions private or risk being fired. Fantastic idea Nikki Haley,” journalist Carmine Sabia shared.
In a statement to Fox News, Haley’s campaign said, “We all know that America’s enemies use anonymous bots to spread anti-American lies and sow chaos and division within our borders. Nikki believes social media companies need to do a better job of verifying users so we can crack down on Chinese, Iranian, and Russian bots. That’s common sense.”
