On this episode of Breaking Battlegrounds, host Sam Stone and guest host Sean Noble spoke with independent video creator Matt Orfalea about censorship, free speech, and how social media platforms shape public memory.
Orfalea described how his work over the years has focused on documenting and analyzing censorship, and he said the issue remains one of the most important challenges facing society today. He pointed to the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk as a key example: several Republican leaders called on platforms like TikTok to take down the graphic video of the attack. Orfalea argued that while the video is disturbing, removing it entirely risks erasing important evidence of what happened. Instead, he said, platforms should give users control to filter or opt out of graphic content rather than unilaterally removing it.
Stone and Noble agreed the situation raises difficult questions for conservatives. Stone noted he was troubled by Republicans joining calls for censorship, warning that this could set a precedent that mirrors the very content restrictions conservatives have long opposed.
The discussion also referenced earlier examples of controversial content being removed, including TikTok’s decision to block Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to America.” Orfalea said that while the letter contains extremist propaganda, it is historically significant because it outlines the stated motivations behind the 9/11 attacks. Suppressing such material, he argued, risks losing critical context for understanding major historical events.
The segment concluded with all three participants emphasizing that history is often uncomfortable but must remain accessible. They cautioned that limiting public access to difficult content — whether videos of political violence or historical documents — could distort public understanding and weaken accountability.
Transcript
**Sean Noble: **Well, and it's good work that has to be done. I mean, you obviously, over ensuing years, you've learned even more about why this work is important. What do you see as the most important issues facing us now in this respect?
**Matt Orfalea: **Well, I'm yeah, I mean, censorship is still a big problem and there's still a big, you know, there's a constant push for that. So people want control. Sometimes they, very often they argue for more censorship for reasons that most people could empathize with. For example, you know, in this recent case, of the Charlie Kirk assassination.
We have Republican, I believe was the JFK assassination committee. She's arguing, literally pushed TikTok and other social media platforms to censor the video of the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Now her reasoning is, you know, it's because it's so gruesome. And yes, it is. It's horrible.
But I would argue that the way to handle that is let people give people control of their own feed to choose whether to turn on or off graphic content because that content shouldn't be memory holed. The gruesomeness of this should not be memory holed. Its important to remember it and not to mention it could you know it there's the whole value of evidence. Everyone forgot about the the prudential stuff?
**Sam Stone: **Right. Well, I want to touch on something. We have just about two minutes left in this segment, and then we're going to be bringing you back for the next segment here. The Republicans reached out and got TikTok to start censoring this video of the graphic shot that took Charlie Kirk's life. I got to say, that made me incredibly uncomfortable. And I think as Republicans, people need to be very, very aware.
Not to head down the same slippery slope that the mainstream media and others have been pushing. Like, we have to stand on the Hill, I think, on this. Was that the first time you've seen an example of a Republican leader stepping up to demand that since you started doing this work?
**Matt Orfalea: **Good question. Actually recall having it just, you know, just passing the September 11th anniversary. Another example, previous example that was fresh in my mind is was the call to censor again from TikTok. It was Osama Bin Laden's letter to America.
**Sean Noble: **Yeah.
**Matt Orfalea: **Which it was his you know explanation for why you know the terrorists hate America you know were why they attack and why they attacked us. And I mean it it's just so, again this isnt, the rational we can't let…we can't support the terrorist like but again its a totally disingenuous argument that this is just by letting people see history in the you know stated motivation of a violent killer right yeah uh... that doesn't mean that people support that. Just cause you support um... you know the history being not being memory holed.
**Sam Stone: **But yeah, history being out in public is not, this is something we have to get comfortable with again. History is often uncomfortable and sometimes you have to be willing to have your, know, put in a position where you're made uncomfortable by seeing it. We're going to be coming back with more from Matt Orfalea. I got his name wrong there in just one moment.
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