Russell Brand SLAMS US Leadership for Equating Misinfo with Terrorism

Comedian, actor and commentator Russell Brand called out the American government for criminalizing misinformation, despite the government’s deep record of pushing misinformation itself.

Brand is well-known for being a comic and free-thinker. But he warned of the dangers from government policy. “Misinformation has newly been labeled as ‘terrorism’ by the Department of Homeland Security, so I am going to speak very carefully now,” Brand said in a Feb. 22 video. “Now let’s just be very careful how we talk because misinformation ain’t just now an inconvenience. If you’re the wrong person and the misinformation is the wrong type of mis-information, mal-information, dis-informaton, then you’re, uh, actually the same as a terrorist.” 

The clip featured a screenshot taken from the Biden DHS Terrorism Advisory Bulletin, February 7, 2007. The bulletin claimed that “The United States remains in a heightened threat environment due to “false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories.” DHS also warned against “misleading narratives” that can “undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions.” In other words, questioning the credibility of the powers that be is forbidden.

Brand mocked the credibility of the American government, noting its history of misinformation: “if you are anti-misinformation, and you’ve got a rich history of spreading the stuff, people might think you’ve got another agenda at play.” 

A clip from a well-known liberal commentator was shared by him former Daily Show host Jon StewartHis podcast criticizes the idea of misinformation. “In the Iraq War, I was on the side of what you would think on the mainstream is ‘misinformation.’ I was promoting what they would call ‘misinformation,’” Stewart said. 

Brand riffed on Stewart’s commentary. “Like Jon Stewart said, that at the time of the Iraq War when he was anti-war, he was accused of spreading misinformation, but we now know that the reasons that we went to war over Iraq have proved to be erroneous.”

Brand also objected to the wide-ranging terms DHS used when defining misinformation about topics such as elections, the COVID-19 Pandemic and other related subjects. “What misinformation about COVID? What about the shifting information that I believe all of you experienced? What about election fraud? Which election and what fraud? There’s no consideration that there might be legitimate mistrust in government,” he said.

He commented also on the slippery slope Westerners had fallen down during the war against free thought. “[L]abeling misinformation as ‘terrorism’ – I mean look at the root of it. First, they are simply saying things. Then the term ‘misinformation’ appears. Then the term ‘terrorism’ starts getting applied to the label ‘misinformation.’ I mean, havent we got the right to make mistakes without being regarded as terrorists? I hope so.”

Conservatives are being attacked. Contact your local representative and demand that Big Tech mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives. If you have been censored, contact us using CensorTrack’s Contact formHelp us to hold Big Tech responsible.