Social Media Posts Could Get Your Bank Accounts Shut Down. Here’s How to Get Ahead of It.
America has already received a preview of unprecedented censorship when Big Tech colluded with Democrats and liberal activists to ban certain people from their platforms. The financial establishment has taken a new tact following Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter: Shut down your financial lifeline if your “social credit score” doesn’t measure up.
Censorship is becoming normalized in America. The idea of political persecution, domestic spying, and Orwellian nightmares “never happening here,” is fading away.
Pushback from parents at local school board meetings, federal whistleblowers, and Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter signaled a potential change. Little did we know, the powers that be were working on a backup plan.
“Social credit scores” will now be used to intimidate and persecute Americans into silence. Here’s where the idea came from, how fast it’s moving into the U.S., and how to protect yourself.
Mirroring China’s Playbook
China began the implementation of a “social credit score” in 2014. This meant the government ranked people throughout different areas of life using data from court documents, official records, and information given to them by fellow citizens. Personal things like how long someone plays video games for, and if they posted “false news stories” is also considered.
Those deemed to have a lower score are blacklisted. They have trouble obtaining government aid, medical treatment, a job, or a bank account, while some are even prevented from traveling.
This nefarious system rewards higher scoring profiles with financial discounts, personal benefits, and other perks, echoing the Nazi Party’s political behavior from decades ago. China’s State Council made no secret of the program’s goal to ultimately:
allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step.
The biggest elements of this movement creeping into American life are punishments for posting content on social media and the unexplained shuttering of bank accounts.
Major banking institutions—some of which have funded far-left initiatives and forced ESG ideology onto society—have decided to shut down financial lifelines based on personal beliefs.
In 2022, Chase bank axed the account of the conservative National Committee for Religious Freedom and “stonewalled” the group when it came looking for answers. PNC took a similar tact when it ended its business relationship with Donald Trump Jr. “without cause.”
Last month Bank of America had several complaints of accounts being shut down without reason, but customers were forced to walk away without an explanation.
Other groups supporting social credit score systems and ESG ratings include: The World Economic Forum, World Bank, Corporate Finance Institute, BlackRock, United Nations Global Compact, the Value Reporting Foundation, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Global Reporting Initiative, Climate Action 100+, and the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative.
At a World Economic Forum meeting in 2022, J. Michael Evans—president of Chinese e-commerce and technology firm Alibaba—announced the company is developing an “individual carbon footprint tracker” as well.
In 2022, Standard & Poors—one of the top credit rating organizations in the world—announced ESG scoring would expand beyond company ratings to include U.S. states. Several months later, the consumer credit rating agency FICO predicted personal ESG scores would be the next phase of the process.
Media Attempts to Downplay U.S. Embracing Social Credit System
Like most power grabs, the liberal media is always ready to downplay any concerns.
Wired ran an article in 2019 labeling the idea of China’s credit score “complicated” while using murky language to avoid calling it out for what it is: A westernized caste system.
The Associated Press covered for Joe Biden’s executive order in 2022 that urged the Federal Reserve to develop a digital currency, by “fact-checking” claims that it would lead to a cashless society and social credit score systems. All concerns were labeled false and tagged as “unsupported theories.”
AP played apologist again in 2023, “fact-checking” a claim about the Federal Reserve greenlighting a program to give the agency more power to freeze, seize, and monitor private bank accounts, and to pressure people based on their way of life. Once again, the outlet depicted these fears as overblown and “false.”
The New York Times wrote a piece in 2023 attempting to calm suspicions about a social credit score system, while admitting that “most of the time the customers are probably innocent” when their bank accounts are shutdown. Despite this, the article defended the banking community.
Coming to a City Near You
Warnings about this problem have been issued by public figures and politicians for several years now.
Canadian psychologist and social media influencer Dr. Jordan Peterson said in 2022, that the chance of this system making its way to America is “highly probable” and it would take a “miracle” for the West to trade newfound convenience for freedom:
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could pay for everything with our phones? It’s like, wouldn’t it be nice if the central government — who is woke-oriented and makes carbon dioxide remediation the priority — knows exactly what you spend on everything, so they can target you tax-wise with precision? . . . We’re speeding towards that with an immense lack of care.
When asked how aware the public is of the impending chaos he replied, “They won’t even notice . . . You can’t believe how much people don’t know these things.”
Politicians have weighed in on both sides of the issue. Different efforts to ban social credit scores or similar systems have been undertaken in several states including: Arizona, Wyoming, Virginia, Alabama, Iowa, Idaho, Georgia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Ohio.
Thus far in 2023, high profile Democrat and Soros-backed Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed Arizona’s legislation, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an anti-ESG and social credit score bill into law. DeSantis also formed an anti-ESG and social credit score alliance which includes a signed policy that has signatures from 20 Republican governors.
West Virginia, Utah, Texas, Kentucky, and Wyoming have already passed—or plan to pass—similar legislation, while the remaining states have either a divided government, or are still working on bills.
Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself and Your Money
The first step is to spread your funds out over multiple banks and accounts. But how does one find a bank that isn’t driven by radical ESG policy?
This writer interviewed CEO Michael Seifert earlier this year, who formed a company called Public Sq. to do just that.
His product helps consumers find companies whose mission statements and investments align with their personal beliefs. As more consumers are forced to deal with monopolistic banks, Seifert’s platform provides local and more personal options of where to keep your money.
Vigilance is the price of freedom today, so being prepared with a substantial amount of cash on hand has become a necessity. Whatever you can afford to take out of your account, do it. Put it in a safe and secure place. One that only you and your family can access.
Supporting local and federal candidates who want to preserve the use of cash, while exposing those who are pushing for social credit scores, will also be key to winning this battle. A brief breakdown of where state leaders stand can be found here.
Above all, invest your money into something tangible like precious metals or anything you can resell that can’t be wiped away—or locked down—with the push of a button.
Scaling back the clock and realizing the cons of convenient technology is one of the few ways to avoid seeing this nightmare become a reality, as America morphs into something unrecognizable, with China leading the way.
