Anti-disinformation activist Imran Ahmed is speaking out after the Trump administration tried to deport him over accusations that the British national promoted online censorship of American viewpoints.
Ahmed was one of five European technology regulators and researchers who last week were banned from entering the United States. In a post on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused European “ideologues” of leading “organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose.”
Shortly afterward, a federal judge halted the removal order, which Ahmed’s attorneys described as “the latest in a string of escalating and unjustifiable assaults on the First Amendment” by the Trump White House.
On Monday, Ahmed joined “Morning Joe” to discuss the administration’s deportation attempts.
“I worked with the Trump administration on antisemitism, and then you find yourself in this extraordinary position where, just before Christmas — and I’m married to an American citizen from Oklahoma, I have a child, an American child — being told that I’m being deported,” said the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
Ahmed, who is a legal permanent resident of the U.S., said he believes he was targeted by the administration due to his outspoken criticism against hate speech and disinformation on social media platforms such as X, which is owned by Trump ally Elon Musk.
Ahmed said his company’s mission has “pitted us against tech executives many times,” adding: “When you try and hold accountable some of the wealthiest — and I think the most arrogant and indifferent — people in this country, people who are not used to accountability and absolutely do not like it, you end up facing some tough times. … No one should be deported for being an advocate.”
He continued: “People shouldn’t be canceled for saying things that the government doesn’t like, whether it’s Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert or, and I don’t put myself in that vaunted company, but me.”
Ahmed said it was hypocritical for Trump officials such as Rubio to accuse him of censorship while actively trying to silence those who disagree with the administration.
“Individuals can’t censor anyone, small nonprofits in Washington can’t censor anyone — only governments can censor people because they have the threat of overwhelming force,” he said. “And then I wonder: What else is threatening to rip someone from their family for their speech, but censorship?”
You can watch Ahmed’s full interview on “Morning Joe” in the clip at the top of the page.
Allison Detzel is an editor/producer for MS NOW.