‘If you can frighten people, you can control them’: Journalist Alex Berenson warns about fear-based tactics after securing $150K First Amendment settlement

Journalist Alex Berenson secured a major victory for free speech, settling his lawsuit against the federal government for $150,000. The settlement stemmed from allegations that the Biden administration pressured Twitter, now called X, to suppress Berenson’s speech and ultimately ban him from the platform in violation of the First Amendment.

Berenson joined “The John Curley Show” on KIRO Newsradio to discuss the settlement and what he sees as a pattern of fear-based tactics in American politics.

“They didn’t necessarily want to settle this case, and I think eventually they looked at our evidence and what we had brought, and they decided to settle it. And as part of the settlement, I got a substantial payment, not in the millions of dollars, but $150,000 which is real money and was important to me, but what was really important to me — and what I was not going to settle unless they agreed to — was that they did agree to this line about how they put pressure on what was Twitter at the time to ban me, and I think it’s important to have that in the record going forward,” Berenson said.

‘Don’t panic’: Berenson says fear drove COVID-19 response, urges calm when next crisis hits

When asked about the role of fear in driving public policy, Berenson pointed to COVID-19.

“In the middle of 2021, with the vaccines, I would say to people, and I think this is true — I used to think that love or hate were the strongest emotions, but they’re not. Fear is the strongest emotion, and if you can frighten people, you can control them and get them essentially to do what you like,” he responded. “I mean, that was 100% what happened during COVID-19.”

Berenson cited 9/11 as another example of fear leading to what he believes most people would say were overreactions, including wars and policies that harmed civil liberties. He advised people not to panic when something bad is happening.

“Yes, you need to respond, but don’t panic, and I just hope we can all — on the left and the right — think about that,” he said. “And again, my Substack Unreported Truths is not super partisan, but I do think, if I could be emperor for a day, that would be the one I’d try to convince people, don’t panic.”

Berenson sues two Pfizer officials, says company helped censor him during COVID-19

Berenson is currently pursuing a lawsuit against two Pfizer officials, who he said were part of the effort to censor him in 2021.

“I’ve certainly seen the power that Big Pharma has, and this is something that has not gone away. The FDA commissioner resigned, essentially under pressure, less than a month ago, because he had gotten too far sideways with Pharma,” he said. “Whatever you think of President Trump, I think we can all agree he hasn’t done enough to take on entrenched corporate interests in the last year, and maybe that’s just impossible, maybe that’s just our system right now, but that’s been disappointing to me, I would say. So, seeing that Pfizer actually did get involved in this effort to censor me, I wouldn’t say it’s radicalized me, but it’s disappointing to me, and it’s evidence of how the system really works.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

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