Europe’s real censorship problem isn’t what Trump claims
Much has been said about the US National Security Strategy, which leans hard into far-right talking points, arguing that Europe faces “civilisational erasure” because of migration and that the USA must “cultivate resistance” within the continent to “Europe’s current trajectory”. The strategy also references censorship.
Europe’s free speech record is a bugbear of Donald Trump and JD Vance’s. I’ve written about my thoughts from the perspective of the UK, arguing that they’re right. There are issues. Just not the ones they usually point to. And of course I’ve arguing about the chutzpah: a case in point being Wednesday’s announcement of plans to comb through US visitors’ social-media histories which we consider censorship pure and simple.
Here’s another story from the continent that won’t be flagged across the pond: a Hungarian rights campaigner, Géza Buzás-Hábel, has been placed under investigation and is facing potential criminal charges for organising a peaceful Pride march.
Back in March the Hungarian government, governed by Viktor Orbán – a “great leader” according to Trump – voted to ban Pride events. They still went ahead. In June tens of thousands of people marched in Budapest, which we reported on; in October some 8,000 attended Pécs Pride, organised by the Diverse Youth Network, which Buzás-Hábel runs. Days later Buzás-Hábel was summoned by police for questioning. His case was forwarded to the prosecutor’s office with a recommendation to press charges. Buzás-Hábel could face a suspended prison sentence of up to three years. He was recently dismissed from his state teaching job and from a music centre where he'd worked as a mentor.
This is an egregious free speech violation. But let’s be honest, it’s exactly what Trump and his cohort want. A Europe where minority voices – Buzás-Hábel is Roma as well as queer – aren’t free to organise peaceful protests and don’t have an equal voice.
One of the most important things that this moment demands is to not fall through the looking glass and land in a place where left means right and right means upside down. That’s sadly what is happening to free speech if you spend too long in the Trumpian vortex. At its heart free speech is about pluralism – the great marketplace of voices and ideas – which is the opposite of the ambition of the US’ National Security Strategy and Europe’s far-right parties. They are all adopting the idea of free speech in order to shut down every other voice except their own. By all means we should call out censorship as and when it occurs. But it is vital to do it across the board. After all, free speech isn’t worth a dollar if it only applies to one group and not another.
Jemimah Steinfeld
CEO, Index on Censorship
