UN: ‘Words Can Be Weapons’

A controversial tweet posted by the United Nations on Sunday is leading to sharp criticism from advocates for freedom of speech and human rights.

The UN posted a tweet with the hashtag #NoToHate that stated: “Words can be weapons. Hate speech online can lead to cruelty & violence in real life. Get tips for how you can say #NoToHate.” The post included a link to a page on the UN website that goes into detail on what it describes as “hate speech.”

The official page says that “hate speech occurs in all societies.”

The UN claims that especially when communication takes place online it can “sometimes be hard to assess when a comment is meant as hate speech.” It adds that it can “feel overwhelming” to deal with speech it considers to be “obviously hateful content.”

The global organization scolds readers to “take a stand, even if you are not personally the victim of hate speech.” In its effort to enlist readers in rooting out disfavored positions, it instructs: “To detect false and biased information, including hate speech propaganda, be sure to check the content’s origin with the help of search engines, fact-checking tools and other reliable sources.”

The UN’s anti-free-speech message led many commenters to question why the U.S. continues to fund the globalist organization that does not value the basic human rights protected by the American constitution.

The term “hate speech” has no legal meaning under U.S. law. The Supreme Court has regularly and consistently ruled that even offensive and hateful speech is protected against government interference under the First Amendment.

The decision in the 2017 case Matal v. Tam ruled that there is no “hate speech” exception to the right to free speech enshrined in the Constitution. No government official may discriminate against speech based on the point of view of the speaker.

PJ Media columnist Stacy Lennox responded to the UN’s “words can be weapons” claim by posting: “No they can’t. Just stop. You have member nations engaged in slavery & mass murder. How about you get some priorities?”