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George Seldes: Speaking Truth To Power
In his autobiography,
Three SOBs, Seldes relates an interesting tale in chapter 22 of this book, “Lenin Speaks of His American Mentors.” Seldes was in Moscow for the fifth anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. He was one of the few American journalists who met V. I. Lenin and spent personal face-time with him. Lenin discussed the tremendous impact two Americans had had upon him. First, the Socialist politician and writer Daniel De Leon, who had shaped Lenin’s interpretation of Marxism, and second, former U. S. Senator Richard Pettigrew, author of
Triumphant Plutocracy, which Lenin was presently reading. Seldes made a note of the title of this work, which he wanted to promptly obtain when returning to America. Seldes put down the title as
Even in 1938, US media companies had stepped in to silence the hate speech of a public figure
Father Charles E Coughlin, a Nazi-sympathising Catholic priest with unfettered access to vast radio audiences, used to attack his enemies using falsehoods. Jan 19, 2021 · 11:30 pm Twitter, YouTube and Facebook have recently silenced false claims of Donald Trump and his supporters. | Olivier Douliery/AFP
In speeches filled with hatred and falsehoods, a public figure attacks his enemies and calls for marches on Washington. Then, after one particularly virulent address, private media companies close down his channels of communication, prompting consternation from his supporters and calls for a code of conduct to filter out violent rhetoric.
That Time Private U.S. Media Companies Silenced the Falsehoods & Incitements of a Major Public Figure … in 1938
(The Conversation) In speeches filled with hatred and falsehoods, a public figure attacks his enemies and calls for marches on Washington, D.C. Then, after one particularly virulent address, private media companies close down his channels of communication, prompting consternation from his supporters and calls for a code of conduct to filter out violent rhetoric.
Sound familiar? Well, this was 1938, and the individual in question was Father Charles E. Coughlin, a Nazi-sympathizing Catholic priest with unfettered access to America’s vast radio audiences. The firms silencing him were the broadcasters of the day.