When “Free Speech” Turns on Its Own: How America Became the Land of Doxxing

America’s “free speech”—once worn proudly like a badge—has, unbelievably, become a paper-thin test no one can pass.

Right now, the US is deep into a full-blown “doxxing fanfare”—and the rules couldn’t be simpler. Whether you’re a colonel or a teacher, a commentator or a random netizen—say the wrong thing about Charlie Kirk’s murder and you could lose your job, your future, or even land in much hotter water.

One Post, One Career Down: The Colonel’s Case Goes Viral 

Latest headline: US Army Colonel Scott Stephens just got the boot. His crime? On social media, he said the murder was tragic, but he remarked that Kirk had spent years spreading hate and discrimination on college campuses, and suggested that “We can’t make it political.”

Colonel’s words that sparked a storm

In other words: Kirk’s death is tragic, but the man bears some responsibility. Not exactly a flamethrower of a comment, yet the backlash was instant. Critics pounced: “Kirk did not deserve to be assassinated. What happened to freedom of speech?"

Stephens doubled down: Kirk had spent years inciting political violence, and now he’d become a casualty of what he started.

And it’s not just the military. A high school teacher in South Carolina posted: “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO [in my honest  opinion] America became greater today.” The price? Fired under pressure from Republican lawmakers.

New Rules: Welcome to America’s “Accountability Machine” 

In today’s America, “free speech” is being replaced by what can only be called an accountability machine. On social media, the hunt is relentless: spot someone making an “inappropriate” comment about Kirk, and immediately broadcast their name and workplace, demanding they be sacked.

Far-right influencer Laura Loomer was first to the megaphone, declaring that anyone “sick enough” to celebrate Kirk’s death should “prepare to have your whole future professional aspirations ruined”. Her warning: Gloat now, and your career is over.

Right-wing firebrand Laura Loomer on the attack

In this climate, new “doxxing” cases flood social media: military officers’ posts aired, teachers’ opinions exposed, even firefighters and commentators get the treatment. The scoreboard? Dozens already lost their jobs and counting.

CNN reports that this feeding frenzy is only picking up speed. Some are even curating live updates: “Who Got Fired Today?”—all in real time. There’s even been an anonymously-registered doxxing site named “Expose Charlie’s Murderers” that “gathered information about people who made posts about Kirk”.

What started as outrage has become a nationwide political purge.

Is There Any “Free Speech” Left To Defend? 

So you have to ask: can America’s legendary “free speech” even survive this?

US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem put it bluntly after Kirk’s murder: This is a turning point for America and the world. “It feels like a grief has settled on not just the country, but the entire world, something has changed.”

DHS Chief Kristi Noem

She went on with the criticism of the left-wing, stating that “Some of the rhetoric we’re seeing out of the left and out of political animals is ugly and it’s bitter and it’s seeking to seize this opportunity to turn it into evil.”

Elon Musk, never one for restraint, went even further—accusing the left of “celebrating it openly” after Kirk’s death, and branding them “the party of murder and celebrating murder”. In Musk’s world, it seems “the left” and “Democrats” are interchangeable.

This flood of statements from politicians and influencers is turbo-charging the movement. Once upon a time, Americans prided themselves on the motto: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” In today’s America, that sounds hollow.

The Exiles and the Internet Trap

Some of the sharpest changes are happening to America’s political exile community—people who once saw the US as a safe haven, some Democrat, some Republican. Previously, they’d disagree occasionally within their own circles, but that was it.

Now, after Kirk’s death, everything’s tense. Some may have voiced criticism of Kirk—even in their native tongues—never expecting to end up targets themselves. People are tagging Trump-era officials, demanding these “ungrateful” exiles be investigated.

For these folks, the internet simply doesn’t forget. Any statement, present or past, can be used against you. Lose US protection, get sent home—and real danger looms. Exiles facing exile, again. It’s an unsolvable maze.

How Do We Even Talk About This?

So how do we even make sense of all this? Mainland media veteran “Niu Tanqin” makes three observations.

First, America’s “speech purge” is now a mass movement. Republicans used to accuse Democrats of attacking dissenters as “homophobic” or “sexist.” Now the tables are turned—Democrats say Republicans have only doubled down. The result? Political feud is dragging everyone deeper into the mire.

Second, the American “enemy logic” is spinning faster than ever. Oregon scholar Whitney Phillips notes that collectively denouncing those “celebrating Kirk’s death” is just manufacturing new foes. Diverse groups get bundled together, turning into the “public enemy” in conservative circles—and this cycle just keeps fracturing society.

Third, peace and stability suddenly look priceless. The Middle East burns, Europe protests, Russia-Ukraine war slog through generations. And in America, political hate and division have made purges and violence normal. In contrast? China’s quiet stability—built on both system and environment—is something to treasure.

A divided America, Global Times graphics

From Warning to Witch-Hunt: What Kirk’s Murder Became

Charlie Kirk’s murder could have been a wake-up call to reject violence. Instead, it set off a doxxing circus. Now people of all stripes get reported, sacked, and cast out—free speech reduced to empty words.

When politics becomes the only yardstick, rationality is the first to go. America’s rifts and clashes have wrecked its cherished values of freedom—and proved that no society can thrive on endless hostility and purges.

A truly stable society is never a given. It’s those ordinary days—so easy to take for granted—that matter most.

Deep Throat

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Last Friday, Trump flat-out torpedoed a much-anticipated zero-emissions deal for the global shipping industry, smashing it apart at the United Nations' International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Financial Times lays it all bare: to kill the net-zero shipping pact, Trump didn’t just lean on the usual diplomatic muscle—Washington went full gangster. Think raised port fees, outright bans on ships passing through America, and direct threats, and even personal intimidation of diplomats and their families, with entry bans waved in their faces like warning flags.

The Financial Times lays it out: over a dozen diplomats, foreign officials, and industry insiders watched the US throw diplomacy in the mud at last month’s London summit. Washington came armed with bullying tactics, determined to smash the net-zero shipping pact by brute force.

US Bullying Blocks IMO’s Green Shipping Deal—Vote Delayed a Year. IMO website image.

US officials didn’t bother with backroom deals—they stalked the halls, cornering diplomats from Africa, the Pacific, and the Caribbean. The message was simple: cross the United States, and your ships might not reach America. Rock the boat, and your family could be locked out. These weren’t idle whispers. The intimidation played out in broad daylight during coffee breaks.

Social Media Taunts, Policy Upends

Trump didn’t bother hiding his true feelings. On social media, he slammed the agreement as a “global green shipping tax scam.” But this wasn’t just venting. In April, most countries had already green-lit the framework. It was set to become real policy—until Trump’s team blew it up, forcing a one-year “pause.” The global momentum froze on the spot.

One diplomat cut to the heart of it: “It’s like the streets of New York.” His country got the warning firsthand—keep backing the deal, and watch your sailors’ visas disappear. US port fees? Those would rise too. Another attendee was even more blunt: IMO bigwigs were left gobsmacked. “It’s like dealing with the mafia,” they said. “You don’t need details. You just know: cross us, and you’ll pay.”

The US State Department kept mum on the intimidation claims. Instead, American officials handed out praise to Greece and Cyprus. Those two broke rank from the rest of the EU—they cast abstention votes in the big one-year adjournment, even after they already gave the framework the green light back in April.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, ahead of the IMO meeting in London, issued a joint statement with senior Trump officials warning that the administration was "evaluating sanctions on officials sponsoring activist-driven climate policies that would burden American consumers, among other measures under consideration." As Greece and Cyprus sided with the U.S., much of Europe—and the world—reacted with surprise.

Global Rules or American Muscle?

Chatham House’s head of global economy Creon Butler didn’t mince words. The US, he said, has ditched long-standing diplomatic etiquette. Instead, Washington's now muscling countries into backing its stance—especially on climate.

America Threatens: Support This, Your Crews and Ports Pay.

“In the very short term this might work, but in the medium term it increases the chances that non-US countries will conclude they cannot work with the US, making agreements independently among themselves which simply work around the US,” he said. Sooner or later, the rest of the world will ink deals that leave America in the dust.

The pushback reached fever pitch at the IMO. Brazil, among others, called out the methods “that should not ever be used among sovereign nations”. Washington wasn’t just rattling individuals—entire capitals, from Bangladesh to Japan and Indonesia, got notes threatening diplomatic smackdowns.

But let’s step back. The drive for a net-zero shipping pact isn’t about feel-good climate slogans.

As Niu Tanqin from Xinhua puts it: The pact itself is a brass-tacks response to global warming’s mounting cost. Whether you like it or not, global warming is simply an undisputable fact. Everyone is scrambling to stall off the climate catastrophes looming on the horizon.

So, in order to squeeze carbon emission: if your ship emits less than the set limit, you’re rewarded. Above the cut-off, you pay. China, the EU, Japan, India, Brazil—all were in. Even the big shipping companies joined the chorus.

Only a handful of oil states—think Saudi Arabia, Russia, the UAE—pushed back. Pacific island nations, unconvinced the pact was tough enough, simply abstained.

Trump Says Global Warming’s a Scam—US Walks Out.

Then, everything changed. Once Trump 2.0 manifested, the US flipped from supporter to saboteur. In his mind, climate change is a hoax—or worse, a Chinese plot to corner American interests. Stopping this agreement wasn’t just policy—it was personal. He didn’t mind stooping low—pulling out every trick in the high school bully’s playbook: pressure, threats, and outright intimidation to make sure America got its way.

One official wasn’t shy: “It was completely exceptional. I have never heard of anything like this in the context of an IMO negotiation. These people [being threatened] are just bureaucrats, they are civil servants.”

If international law becomes a mere cheap disguise, you can bet real power will be the one pulling the strings.

Pause Button Pressed—World Left Reeling

Now, the deal waits on ice for another year, while “the world stares, shell-shocked”—witnesses to a new era of American brinkmanship.

Not the first time, either. Just look at tariffs: if Washington’s unhappy, it writes its own tax bill—no debate required. Venezuela and Nigeria have both fielded threats of military action; Canada and Panama know the taste of territorial intimidation. Lawless? That’s par for the course.

  

But payback, as always, has a funny way of coming due. Today, the US bullies island nations and slaps down climate claims. Tomorrow, who’s next? When “might makes right” replaces rules, every nation that depends on order will lose out. True justice may come late—but it never skips its date. Chip away at the pillars of fairness, and sooner or later, you bury the very house you live in.

The real question: how long can America’s strong-arm show go on before the world walks out?