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This is only the latest example of government officials worldwide using the power of their offices to shut down any dissent or criticisms related to transgender ideology as “hate speech.”
A Canadian dad who quit his job to travel the world and call out gender ideology as harmful to children has filed suit after Australia’s eSafety Commissioner forced the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to remove his post criticizing transgender activist Teddy Cook’s appointment to a World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts.
Chris Elston was working as a financial advisor when in 2019 he learned that gender transitions were being performed on minors. He continued to research what he calls “the greatest child abuse scandal in the history of modern medicine.”
In September 2020, following the lead of a woman previously censored in Edinburgh, Scotland, Elston put up a billboard in Vancouver that said, “I love J.K. Rowling.” Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, has become a target of the transgender lobby due to her criticisms of transgender ideology and its effects on children.
The next day, government authorities had his billboard taken down for being “hate speech.”
Following that censorship, Elston decided to make it his mission to inform the world of the horrors of gender ideology and gender transitions on minors. “Billboard Chris,” as he is now known, left his finance career and devoted himself to traveling the world to protect children from child abuse.
Earlier this year, Elston shared an article from the Daily Mail about Teddy Cook, a biological female who identifies as male, who was appointed to a WHO panel of experts to advise on transgender policy.
Billboard Chris was critical of Cook’s inclusion on the panel.
Cook is not a medical professional but a transgender activist.
Cook, however, filed a complaint with Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Grant, about Elston’s comments. Grant then asked X to remove the content. X refused to remove the content, but when the Commission gave them a removal order, it geo-blocked the content in Australia.
Elston, with the help of Alliance Defending Freedom International, has filed suit challenging the censorship. X, owned by free speech proponent Elon Musk, has also appealed the order.
In a video discussing the lawsuit, Chris stated,
“There is no such thing as a transgender child. They’re called girls and boys. And the positive message we should be sending is they’re perfect just as they are, no drugs or scalpels needed, and I’m not going to stop until this is the prevailing opinion all over the world, because we have the truth on our side.”
Robert Clarke, director of advocacy for ADF International, issued a statement that read:
“We’re used to hearing about governments punishing citizens for their ‘wrong’ speech in parts of the world where strict blasphemy laws are still enforced — but now, from Australia, to Mexico, to Finland, we see Western governments increasingly take authoritarian steps to shut down views they don’t like, often by branding them as ‘offensive’, ‘hateful’, or ‘misinformation.’
In a free society, ideas should be challenged with ideas, not state censorship. We’re proud to stand with Billboard Chris — and others around the world punished for expressing their peaceful views — in defending the right to live and speak the truth.”
Clarke’s comments about Mexico and Finland are references to other ADF cases. Former Mexican Congressman Rodrigo Iván Cortés and current Congressman Gabriel Quadri were both charged with “gender-based political violence” for social media posts that call out transgender ideology, and Cortés was convicted due to statements he made refusing to adopt the official language of transgender ideology.
In Finland, Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen and Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola have been placed on trial three times due to a pamphlet they published explaining their church’s views on homosexuality and marriage. The pamphlet was written in 2004, but arrests were made and charges brought in 2021.
Räsänen faces other charges for a radio interview and social media post in which she shared the biblical view on homosexuality.
The left likes to say that free speech isn’t without limits. “You can’t yell ‘fire’ in a theater” is one of their primary arguments. They make these statements as justification for silencing any belief, policy position, or scientific evidence that goes against their preferred policies and ideologies.
The Standing for Freedom Center has written numerous articles detailing the censorship industrial complex and the government’s efforts to coerce social media companies to silence those it disagrees with.
On Wednesday, Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the use of proxies such as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which label conservative news organizations as harmful for advertisers.
The government also funds groups such as the Global Disinformation Index, which works to manipulate advertisers into believing that conservative organizations are peddlers of misinformation.
Sadly, the Supreme Court had two opportunities to rectify this assault on free speech but failed. Thanks to two faulty decisions this term, America’s highest court essentially upheld the right of the government to compel private companies to censor those it disagrees with and to bar the government from telling social media companies that they can’t censor those they disagree with.
Here’s the bottom line: Many government officials and others with power in the West do not think people should be allowed to share their views if those views contradict the left’s current goal or narrative on that issue.
Don’t think masks stop transmission of COVID? “Science denier!”
Think that the COVID vaccines aren’t thoroughly tested, won’t stop people from contracting or transmitting the COVID virus, and could actually harm those who take it? “Dangerous disinformation!”
Saying that a man who wears a dress isn’t a woman? “Hate speech!”
Governments are censoring content, even content that is true, as turned out to be the case for the first two statements, or was never in question (as seen in the last statement).
But if governments and their partners who engage in censorship, no matter how sophisticated, are allowed to continue, Americans will no longer be able to speak freely. Worse, they’ll be living in an alternate, delusional environment.
Our Constitution was written to ensure that governments could not be the final arbiter of truth. That’s because our rights come from God, not government.
Making sure that government adheres to this reality requires vigilance and a willingness to legally challenge any government effort to infringe on our God-given rights — which is why Christians should consider supporting legal organizations, such as Alliance Defending Freedom, First Liberty Institute, Liberty Counsel, and others, who are fighting to protect free speech, religious liberty, and other constitutional rights. If you would like to donate specifically to Chris Elston’s legal defense you can donate here.
But how should Christians generally respond to censorship efforts and cancel culture? For starters, keep speaking the truth, especially if you are speaking biblical truth.
And as it relates to Billboard Chris and his fight, the truth is that all human beings are created male and female in the image of God (Genesis 5:2). It is also true that some children get confused, especially as they approach puberty, but the solution is not to tell them that they were somehow born in the wrong body and that the only “fix” is to try to change the body through experimental injections and surgical mutilation. As seen in numerous studies and research, the harms of such an approach are life-altering, permanent, and lead to more, not less, suicidal ideation.
One of the worst things anyone can do in the face of lies or mob pressure is to self-censor, whether out of fear, a desire to “go along to get along,” or because they believe it’s more compassionate to tell others what they want to hear.
It’s not. Those seeking to control narratives and speech can only succeed if they ultimately convince the people to silence themselves.
So don’t be silent. Do your own research. Ask questions. Think critically. Debate respectfully. Speak up at local government and school board meetings (or go and support others who are willing to speak out). Share the Gospel. Talk to people and explain how biblical principles still apply to today’s issues. Pray for courage and guidance. And if necessary, be prepared to use the legal system and other outlets to publicize and challenge any efforts to censor you or those you know.
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