Belgian Watchdog Punishes News Site for Printing Vance Speech
5th March 2026
A Belgian online news outlet has been reprimanded by the country’s press ethics body after publishing the full text of a speech by U.S. vice president J.D. Vance, sparking debate about censorship and media freedom.
The controversy stems from a speech delivered on February 14th, 2025, at the Munich Security Conference, a major annual gathering of Western political and military leaders. Speaking the day after a deadly attack in Munich, Vance sharply criticised what he described as a decline in freedom of speech and democratic values across Europe.
Among the examples he cited were censorship of social media, threats to shut down online platforms, the cancellation of a presidential election in Romania, and the criminalisation of prayer in the United Kingdom. The remarks were widely discussed in the international media.