Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate and former U.N.
Ambassador, faced backlash for proposing social media verification in the name of national security.
During a Fox News appearance, she suggested revealing social media algorithms and verifying all users by name to combat foreign bots and promote civility.
Critics, including Republican rivals Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy, condemned her idea as unconstitutional and unhinged, likening it to an attack on anonymous free speech, a right exercised by historical figures like Hamilton and Madison in the Federalist Papers.
DeSantis labeled the proposal dangerous and doomed, while Ramaswamy and others underscored the importance of anonymous speech in democracy.