Donald Trump’s bizarre post-2021 revenge plot is finally exposed as he targets those that keep everyone honest

The State Department just issued a bizarre internal memo instructing staff to reject visa applications from people who have worked in fact-checking, content moderation, or any other activity the Trump administration labels as “censorship” of Americans’ speech.

The move is specifically focused on applicants seeking H-1B visas, which are crucial for highly skilled workers, especially those employed by major tech companies.

This directive, first reported by Reuters, tells consular officers to look for evidence that an applicant was “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States.” If they find that evidence, the applicant should be deemed ineligible for the visa, according to NPR.

I was a content moderator for TikTok, and it is more than just taking down hateful things. There’s a lot of murder, violence, and sexual exploitation that people try to upload to social media.

The era of truth is over

The State Department is doubling down on this position, stating that the administration defends Americans’ freedom of expression against foreigners who might want to censor them. A department spokesperson, who declined to give their name, defended the policy by referencing President Trump’s own past experience.

The spokesperson noted that the president “was the victim of this kind of abuse” when social media companies locked his accounts following January 6. While those bans have since been lifted, the administration frequently cites this as proof that tech platforms unfairly target conservatives.

This entire policy stems from an earlier restriction announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May, targeting foreign officials and other persons complicit in censoring Americans. The new memo focuses heavily on H-1B visa applicants because, as the memo notes, “many work in or have worked in the tech sector,” including social media or financial services companies that might have been involved in the “suppression of protected expression.”

If you’re applying for one of these visas, expect U.S. officials to thoroughly explore your entire work history. Consular officers are being told to review resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and media appearances for any involvement in activities like combating misinformation, disinformation, fact-checking, content moderation, or trust and safety work.

This is where the policy starts getting problematic for the tech industry and anyone who cares about online security. Trust and safety, or T&S, is the industry term for teams that actively work to prevent terrible things like abuse, fraud, illegal content, and other harmful behavior online.

Alice Goguen Hunsberger, who has worked in T&S at companies like OpenAI and Grindr, expressed serious alarm about the government conflating life-saving T&S work with “censorship.” She pointed out that trust and safety teams are responsible for critical work like blocking child sexual abuse material, along with preventing scams and sextortion.

Hunsberger emphasized that T&S workers are focused on making the internet safer, not censoring just because they feel like it. Bad actors who target Americans come from all over the world, so having global workers on T&S teams who understand different languages and cultures is absolutely essential for keeping Americans safer. Targeting these professionals is a massive oversight that will make the internet a dangerous place for you and your family.