Trump Is Now Denying Visas to People Who Worked in Content Moderation

The Trump administration may revoke H-1B visa eligibility from people who worked in content moderation, fact-checking, and online safety. Their family members would lose visa status as well.

A cable, dated Tuesday, obtained by Reuters moves U.S. consular officers to increase vetting for these individuals by looking into their résumés and LinkedIn profile pages.

“If you uncover evidence an applicant was responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the United States, you should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible,” the cable said. This includes working at “social media or financial services companies involved in the suppression of protected expression.”

“You must thoroughly explore their employment histories to ensure no participation in such activities,” the cable read.

The State Department, however, made it sound more like they were going after liberal cyberbullies more than free speech suppressors.

“We do not support aliens coming to the United States to work as censors muzzling Americans,” a spokesperson said. “In the past, the President himself was the victim of this kind of abuse when social media companies locked his accounts. He does not want other Americans to suffer this way. Allowing foreigners to lead this type of censorship would both insult and injure the American people.”

It’s hard to believe that the State Department is saying that about Donald Trump, who is infamous for his willingness to publicly verbally abuse people online. The policy, however, is very believable, as it aligns with the larger arc of the administration’s free speech suppression efforts, from disappearing Rümeysa Öztürk for writing an op-ed to requiring universities to vet for pro-Palestinian social media posts before awarding student visas.