The five are being identified by the United States as "radical activists" because they allegedly tried to influence American tech companies to censor or prevent the spread of American positions.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not name the five people, but only wrote on X that “for too long, ideologies in Europe have led organized efforts to force American (social) platforms to punish American positions they disapprove of.”
The five individuals were later named by a senior US State Department official, Sara Rogers, who wrote on social media that they were Imram Ahmed, who heads a think tank that aims to prevent hate online; Josephine Ballon and Anna-Lena von Hodenberg of the independent German organization Hateaid; Clare Melford, who heads the watchdog organization Global Disinformation Index; and former EU Commissioner Breton.
The explanation for the decision was also announced by Rubio on X:
“The Trump administration will no longer tolerate these egregious acts of censorship from extraterritorial countries (outside the United States).”
Several of the individuals named work in organizations whose stated goal is to counter disinformation, hatred, and threatening messages on the internet.
