During one of his most recent visits to the Munich Security Conference in Germany, US Vice President JD Vance declared that European freedom of speech was in decline. Well, it’s worth taking a closer look at some of the most noteworthy examples and adding, if possible, more context to these cases.
After all, he is our Vice President, and what he says should definitely weigh something, right? Here are some of the most notable declarations he has made so far, and a well-rounded fact-check provided by DW analysis shows whether or not what JD Vance has claimed is true. What do you think?
Claim no. 1
According to JD Vance, the Scottish government warned its citizens that praying at home might become illegal.
“The Scottish government started distributing letters to its citizens, whose houses lay within the well-known Safe Access Zones, warning them that even the most intimate prayer within their own homes could amount to breaking the law,” as Vance stated.
He also added that, allegedly, the government urged readers to report any fellow citizens who might be seen as guilty of thought crime.
Fact check: misleading.
It is true that Scotland added a so-called Safe Access Zone within 200 meters (around 650 feet) of abortion clinics in September 2024, banning “silent prayers” and similar pressure-building activities meant to keep women from going through with abortions.
However, silent prayer at home with zero distress to others is under no circumstances included in the ban. But the law does stipulate that even activities that could be perceived or heard within the zone, and are “done intentionally or even recklessly” in a private space within the area between protected premises and the boundary of a well-established zone, can be seen as an offense.
This is known as a common tactic adopted by the US anti-abortion activists to organize gatherings in front of abortion clinics, hand out fliers, show photos of fetuses, or use the cover of prayer to try and intimidate women entering the clinics and pressure them into keeping the baby.
Claim no. 2
JD Vance has claimed that in Brussels, US commissars warn their citizens that they plan to shut down social media during times of civil unrest, as soon as they notice what they deem to be “hateful content.”
Fact check: misleading.
After a rapid research around JD Vance’s claim on EU commissars warning about shutting down social media in times of civil unrest, several other media reports have been discovered.
They all referred to the topic back in July 2023. These reports mention the former European Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton, regarding the option of a shutdown under the EU’s content moderation law.
But this action would be applied only “in extreme cases” and also following due process if they didn’t identify problematic content during riots.
His remarks include the Digital Services Act (DSA), which was adopted back in 2022, and it became fully applicable in 2024.
Breton’s comments were also a response to French President Emmanuel Macron, raising the possibility of blocking all social media platforms during civil unrest.
This comes after the tragic murder of a 17-year-old, Nahel Mezouk, in a Paris suburb.
Is it true that the DSA allows EU Member States to shut down social media in times of unrest, as JD Vance has claimed? Well, the DSA regulates online intermediaries as well as platforms, like social networks, content-sharing platforms, and app stores.
They also address issues such as illegal content, transparent advertising, and disinformation. According to the European Commission, the main purpose of the act is “to efficiently prevent illegal and harmful activities online, but also to stop the spread of disinformation.”
The DSA clearly establishes in its fourth chapter, under Article 51, the full capacity and powers of the Digital Services Coordinator, which is the authority designated by an EU Member State to supervise providers of intermediary services, as well as enforce their regulation.
JD Vance’s false claims about Social Security
Only a few weeks ago, Donald Trump’s quite controversial commerce secretary, Howard Lutnik, went on a very conservative podcast and pondered over Social Security beneficiaries.
As he rapidly discovered, that wasn’t a great idea. As the billionaire declared, “Let’s say Social Security didn’t send out their checks this month.
Well, my mother-in-law is 94, and she definitely wouldn’t call and complain about it. She wouldn’t, I just know it.
She would think something got messed up, and she will probably get it the following month. A fraudster is the one who makes the loudest noise, screaming, yelling, and complaining.”
It goes without saying that it was offensive and wrong for a wide variety of reasons. In fact, common sense would say that members of the White House team would try tackling the subject with more care, especially from now on. If that was the idea, it definitely didn’t last, that’s for sure.
Only a week later, the president’s new best friend, Elon Musk, declared, “One interesting statistic is that 40% of the calls into Social Security were fully fraudulent, which means that it was someone trying to get a Social Security payment that was going to a senior instead of a fraud ring.”
After all that, JD Vance made an appearance on Fox News, echoing the same line.
Making his own set of references to Musk and the Department of Government Operation, the Ohio Republican stated, “Look at all the fraudulent grants they discovered; look at people who are 150 years old, fraudulently collecting Social Security payments; look at our Social Security system; 40% of those people are calling in, committing fraud.
This also means that 60% of them who need their Social Security checks currently wait in line.”
At the moment, it’s worth putting aside the fact that DOGE didn’t, in fact, uncover a flood of fraudulent grants.
It’s also important not to dwell on the fact that the claims involving the 150-year-old Social Security beneficiaries have already been fully discredited. Instead, we can focus on the idea that 40% of citizens calling into the Social Security hotline are simply fraudsters.
Well, is that so? The New York Times released a fact-check report, explaining how the claim is deeply rooted in a misunderstood statistic from the Social Security Administration.
When Musk was wrong about it, he still had a plausible excuse. In reality, the Republican megadonor doesn’t have any real background in government or public policy, so it’s quite easy to understand why he would peddle a bogus claim about a system he fully failed to understand.
But what about Vance? After all, Vance is a former senator, now an elected national officeholder. He should know better, to say the least.
But a more important question is whether he knows better or not. Last fall, as Election Day approached, Vance decided to lie about Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio.
When this took place, he was pressed to explain exactly why he said things that were completely untrue about a community in his own state. Vance responded that he was “willing to create stories so the American media can actually pay attention.”
All of this to finally make room for a familiar question regarding the reality-challenged vice president: Was he simply wrong about the 40% claim, or was this the kind of instance in which Vance was just creating stories in pursuit of a political goal?
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