"Zoom out: The push to seek punishment is in line with Trump 2.0's free-speech restriction playbook. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Monday that visa revocations "are underway" over non-U.S. citizens celebrating Kirk's killing. The State Department will use AI technology to identify foreign students that it perceives as "pro-Hamas" and revoke their visas, Axios reported in March. The Trump administration has targeted student protesters for pro-Palestinian activism as well."
"Even the self-proclaimed free speech "absolutist" Elon Musk has weighed in, asking Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella in an @ alert on Friday what's going on in a repost on X by a user claiming that developers at Microsoft's game developer Blizzard were "trashing" Kirk. Microsoft said soon after on X the same day it was "aware of the views expressed by a small subset of our employees regarding recent events" and was "reviewing each individual situation.""
"A South Carolina public school teacher is no longer employed after posting that "America became greater today" following Kirk's death, according to a local Fox outlet. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) had encouraged the firing after the teacher's post circulated. "Greenville County Schools, we believe you may have some explaining to do," Mace wrote in a post on X. Following similar social media posts, other teachers have been placed on leave across the country."
Visa revocations are being enacted against non-U.S. citizens who celebrated Kirk's killing, and the State Department plans to use AI to identify foreign students labeled "pro-Hamas" for visa revocation. The Trump administration has previously targeted student protesters for pro-Palestinian activism. Challenges to free speech complicate Republican anti-"cancel culture" rhetoric. Elon Musk publicly questioned Microsoft about employee reposts accusing Blizzard developers of "trashing" Kirk, and Microsoft said it was reviewing individual situations. Educators have faced rapid disciplinary actions: a South Carolina teacher was fired after posting "America became greater today," Rep. Nancy Mace urged action, and multiple teachers nationwide were placed on leave.
Read at Axios
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