Nikki Haley Demands Everyone Online Be 'Verified'

Nikki Haley claims to be a conservative, but she recently found herself on the side of the left when it comes to free speech. Earlier in the week, the former UN Ambassador announced that she supports getting rid of anonymity while using social media. During a Fox News interview, she claimed that “national security” would compel her to see that every user on websites such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram were “verified by their name.”

NEW: Nikki Haley says if she's made president, every social media user will be "verified by their name" for "national security" purposes. pic.twitter.com/iIy7C0pno3

— Reclaim The Net (@ReclaimTheNetHQ) November 14, 2023

Haley’s ridiculous claim received pushback from both conservative activists and GOP rivals.

You would think with all the evidence, court decisions, congressional hearings demonstrating the federal government's abuses of free speech, censorship, monitoring, and all the rest, a Republican running for president would have some concern about further empowering the federal… https://t.co/XNHDfsf4yy

— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) November 15, 2023

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called Haley’s proposal “dangerous and unconstitutional,” saying it was similar to China’s policy of control over the internet.

He continued, “You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers.

They were not ‘national security threats,’ nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional right to voice their opinions without fear of being harassed or canceled by the school they go to or the company they work for.

Haley’s proposal to ban anonymous speech online — similar to what China recently did — is dangerous and unconstitutional.

It will be dead on arrival in my administration.”

You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers.

They were not "national security threats," nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional… https://t.co/YkAGMhUVCX

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 15, 2023

Vivek Ramaswamy joined DeSantis in condemning Haley’s totalitarian streak. She has been criticized for being a little too friendly and receiving a significant portion of her wealth from firms that do business with China.

.@NikkiHaley is *openly* pushing for the government to use private tech companies to censor speech. This is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and straight out of the Democrats’ playbook. Any politician who thinks it’s OK for the government to use the private sector as its… pic.twitter.com/Cb1847r6CA

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) November 14, 2023

Former President Donald Trump, on the other hand, previously stated that he supported something similar to Haley’s scheme.

It should be mandatory that all haters and losers use their real name or identification when tweeting – they will no longer be so brave!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 24, 2013

CNN noted that “pushed further on whether she was against complete anonymity on social media platforms, Haley said on Wednesday that she believes ‘life would be more civil’ under such a scenario but added that she is only against anonymity for foreign adversaries.

Political speech on social media has become a flash point for conservatives, who have argued that tech companies, in coordination with the federal government, have targeted them for censorship over their views.”