Foreign fact-checkers, online safety staff face US visa ban under new Trump admin directive

The Donald Trump administration has instructed US consular officials worldwide to deny visas to foreign fact-checkers, content moderators, and other professionals accused of “censoring the free speech of US citizens,” according to a leaked State Department memo reported by NPR and Reuters. 

The memo — circulated to American missions overseas this week — directs visa officers to refuse entry to any applicant “responsible for, or complicit in, censorship or attempted censorship of protected expression in the US” A State Department spokesperson, while acknowledging the leak, did not dispute the document’s authenticity. 

“The Administration has made clear that it defends Americans’ freedom of expression against foreigners who wish to censor them,” the spokesperson told NPR. “We do not support aliens coming to the United States to work as censors muzzling Americans.” 

The spokesperson linked the shift to President Trump’s long-standing grievances with social media companies, whose platforms suspended his accounts following the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. “In the past, the President himself was the victim of this kind of abuse… He does not want other Americans to suffer this way,” the spokesperson said, adding that allowing foreigners to oversee content moderation “would both insult and injure the American people.”

Sweeping new standard for visa ineligibility 

The memo calls for enhanced vetting of applicants with prior or current work involving “misinformation, disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, compliance and online safety, among others.” Consular officers are instructed to examine work histories, LinkedIn profiles, public social-media activity, and media mentions to determine whether an applicant has participated in what the administration deems censorship. 

If an officer finds evidence of “censorship activities,” the applicant should be ruled ineligible for a visa, the memo says. 

The scope of the directive appears broad enough to include a wide range of online-safety professionals — including those working to curb child sexual-abuse material, antisemitism, violent content, or self-harm risks. Experts warn that even officials involved in implementing the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023, which empowers Ofcom to penalize platforms for carrying harmful material, could face restrictions. 

Part of a broader clampdown 

The visa crackdown is the latest in a series of moves by the administration that critics say target the press, civil society, and information-safety ecosystems. This year alone, the government has: 

• restricted visas for foreign journalists 
• removed climate-change references from federal websites 
• banned certain reporters from White House briefings 
• and initiated lawsuits against media organisations 

The ideological framing was reinforced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrote in May: “Foreigners who work to undermine the rights of Americans should not enjoy the privilege of travelling to our country… The days of passive treatment… are over.” 

The policy could impact thousands of professionals employed at tech firms, fact-checking initiatives, regulatory agencies, and NGOs worldwide. Industry groups say the memo blurs the line between censorship and content-safety work, potentially chilling international cooperation on tackling online harms. 

For now, the State Department has not issued public guidance — but the leaked memo makes clear that consular scrutiny of “trust and safety” roles abroad is set to expand sharply, with potential consequences for cross-border hiring, global digital-governance frameworks, and relations with key allies.