(OPINION) Faithwire – Freedom of speech is becoming a COVID-19 casualty in America, especially in the public square of social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. These privately-owned companies are freely censoring certain information.

Just look at a recent protest at Michigan’s statehouse over re-opening the state’s government. The demonstration is protected by the First Amendment, but a post encouraging people to participate was silenced by Facebook.

The social media giant reportedly yanking it because the event didn’t urge participants to stay in their cars or wear masks as state guidelines require. Another case involves a video of a press conference given by two California doctors that went viral.

After testing 5,000 patients for COVID-19, Dr. Dan Erickson and his colleague concluded California’s lockdown policies were creating more damage than the disease in their part of the state.

“Do we need to still shelter in place? Our answer is emphatically no,” Erickson said during the press briefing. They suggested only the vulnerable should be quarantined while other Californians go back to work using guidelines like social distancing, wearing masks, and avoiding large crowds. READ MORE