In September 2024, a video circulated on Telegram channels in which the former US Secretary of State said that Americans who publish false information should be held administratively and even criminally liable. We have verified the accuracy of such publications.
On September 17, 2024, Telegram channels distributed an excerpt from an interview with Hillary Clinton, in which she discusses punishment for “wrong” posts on social networks. According to one of the informal leaders of the US Democratic Party, some Americans are involved in the spread of disinformation, and the introduction of administrative or criminal liability for them may serve as the best deterrent. The authors of some viral posts noted that Clinton spoke about prison sentences for fellow citizens who share Russian propaganda on social networks.
The video was published by channels such as “Operation Z: Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring"(506,000 views at the time of writing the analysis), "Ne.Сaxap"(274,000), "Russia now" (210,000) and "Putin on Telegram"(178,000).
A few hours earlier, this video went viral in the English-language segment of the social network X. It was published there, for example, by accounts supporting former US President Donald Trump @EndWokeness (69.5 million views) and @WallStreetApes (3 million views). On the @EndWokeness profile, the video is accompanied by the caption “Hillary Clinton proposes jailing Americans for posting ‘disinformation,’” and @WallStreetApes clarifies that this measure is proposed to be introduced against Trump supporters. Captioned "Troubling" is the first of these tweets reposted and the owner of the social network Elon Musk. Also by a similar publication shared Republican US Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance. “Hillary calls for censorship, but in reality she calls for violence. Stop censorship. Refuse violence,” he said in the caption.
The logo of the American television channel MSNBC is visible in the lower right corner of the viral video. On September 17, Clinton gave a short interview to this media outlet ahead of the release of her new book. Ether fragment available on the MSNBC YouTube channel.
First, host Rachel Maddow asked her interlocutor a question about Trump's election campaign, which, according to the journalist, allows numerous insults, but continues to dominate the media sphere precisely due to provocative statements and actions. Clinton responded that the media, trying to be neutral, did not sufficiently articulate the danger posed by Trump, and he himself deliberately uses rhetoric, thanks to which people become less and less sensitive to his every statement. According to the ex-Secretary of State, Americans should remember all of Trump’s statements and take seriously the action plans he voices in the event of a return to power.
Next, the conversation turns to the topic of interference in the American elections. Asked by Maddow whether the US government is doing enough to combat the problem, Clinton thanked the Justice Department and State Department for the steps they have taken, but noted that the process of identifying the tools used to intervene is in the early stages:
“What the Russians started doing in 2015 and 2016, and what they continue to do... They have become more sophisticated, they don't even pretend anymore. Their international news service, Russia Today, is a tool of the Russian government, a tool of its intelligence. This is essentially a complement to their espionage efforts. They are using Americans, both those who are aware and ready, and those who are not aware and are simply surprised that they receive $400,000 a week or $100,000 for a podcast, to mindlessly parrot Kremlin propaganda.”
The excerpt from the interview, distributed on Telegram channels, begins at the 07:57 mark, but this is an incomplete version of Clinton's statement made at the 07:42 mark. It sounds like this in full:
“So I think it's important to formally indict the Russians, as [special counsel Robert] Mueller did with many of the Russians who directly interfered with the election and promoted Trump in 2016. But I also think there are Americans who are involved in this kind of propaganda. And if they were subject to administrative or even in some cases criminal prosecution, that would be the best deterrent because Russians are unlikely, with very rare exceptions, to ever face trial in the United States.”
In other words, Clinton did not say that all Americans who spread misinformation should be jailed. The politician said that potential prosecution could prevent those Americans who are willing to facilitate election interference for monetary rewards.
In her reasoning, Clinton refers to an investigation conducted following the results of the 2016 presidential election, during which she competed with Trump. Even before Election Day, the Barack Obama Administration accused Russia in an attempt to influence the outcome of the election by hacking into the computers of the Democratic National Committee and other political organizations in order to disrupt the Clinton campaign and strengthen Trump's position. Special Counsel Robert Mueller in 2018 put forward charges against 13 Russian citizens (including the founder of the troll factory, Yevgeny Prigozhin) and three Russian organizations responsible for conducting campaigns on social networks to influence voters. And although in the 448-page report on the results of the investigation, published in 2019, Mueller indicatedWhile the Trump campaign did not collude with Russian authorities, the special counsel concluded that the Republican candidate's team may have welcomed the intervention, knowing it would work to their advantage.
Clinton concluded her speech on MSNBC with the thesis that the US government must guarantee the right of Americans to choose their leader independently, and not under the influence of external forces. “I think we need to open up all the connections, make it as clear as possible that you can vote the way you want. But we will not allow any of our adversaries, be it Russia, China, Iran or anyone else, to influence Americans on how we should vote and choose our leaders.”
Discussions about the intervention of third countries (primarily Russia, but also Iran and China) accompany This is the third US presidential election in a row. At the beginning of September 2024, the US government imposed sanctions against RT and the non-profit organization Dialogue, which is close to the Kremlin, as well as ten individuals, including RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan. The responsible departments accused them, in particular, of paying $10 million to a company from Tennessee that was engaged in disseminating disinformation.
Thus, Hillary Clinton did not call for jailing Americans who publish “wrong” posts on social networks or support Kremlin narratives. The video used as evidence is an out-of-context excerpt from an interview with a politician. In it, Clinton put forward the idea that Americans who receive money to spread disinformation in order to influence the outcome of elections should be subject to administrative or criminal liability.
Cover photo: social networks
Taken out of context
- LeadStories. Fact Check: Hillary Clinton Did NOT Suggest Jail For Posting 'Misinformation' — She Meant Those Paid To Push Russian Propaganda
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