US Official Cites NGOs Hate Speech Label for Residential School Denialism When Announcing Free-Speech Sanctions

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a news conference at the State Department, in Washington on Dec. 19, 2025. AP Photo/Julia Demaree NikhinsonThe U.S. Department of State has announced sanctions against a number of individuals including the British head of the Global Disinformation Index (GDI) Clare Melford, whose organization issued a report this summer listing “digital denialism” of Canadian residential schools as one example of “hate speech” that harms democracy.Undersecretary of State Sarah Rogers linked to a Sept. 25 GDI report on hate speech in Canada in an X post to announce Melford’s travel ban, saying that GDI has interfered with speech on American platforms, including by labeling opinions that “question” the nature of Canadian residential schools as hate speech.