New Zealand prime minister condemned for calling to regulate free speech as a 'weapon of war' at UN

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern asked the UN, "How do you ensure the human rights of others are upheld, when they are subjected to hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology?"

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was blasted for comparing free speech online to "weapons of war" in a recent speech to the U.N. that critics called "authoritarian."

At the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, Ardern announced a new initiative "to help improve research and understanding of how a person’s online experiences are curated by automated processes," saying the work, done in partnership with companies and non-profits, will be "important in understanding more about mis- and disinformation online - A challenge that we must as leaders address."

The prime minister acknowledged that calling to regulate speech online in any way can seem problematic.

"As leaders, we are rightly concerned that even the most light-touch approaches to disinformation could be misinterpreted as being hostile to the values of free speech that we value so highly," she noted. "But while I cannot tell you today what the answer is to this challenge, I can say with complete certainty that we cannot ignore it. To do so poses an equal threat to the norms we all value."

Ardern then asked the audience how they could tackle various challenges if people are allowed to share opposing narratives online.

"After all, how do you successfully end a war if people are led to believe the reason for its existence is not only legal but noble? How do you tackle climate change if people do not believe it exists? How do you ensure the human rights of others are upheld, when they are subjected to hateful and dangerous rhetoric and ideology?" she asked.

Ardern then suggested that online speech is a weapon often used by those with evil intent.

"The weapons may be different but the goals of those who perpetuate them is often the same. To cause chaos and reduce the ability of others to defend themselves. To disband communities. To collapse the collective strength of countries who work together," she claimed.

https://www.foxnews.com/media/new-zealand-prime-minister-condemned-calling-regulate-free-speech-weapon-war-un

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