Interview with Suleyman Aslami
By Aleksandra Osina, Charahja van Broekhoven, Taeyun Kim, Longrui Deng, Peace Ojoma Idoko, Ayat Alkhdour, Lauren van Laarhoven-Hargreaves.
Facts Over Fear: Suleyman Aslami on Free Speech in the Digital Age
Freedom of speech remains one of the cornerstones of democratic societies. Yet in an age of artificial intelligence, social media, and rapidly spreading misinformation, protecting this right has become increasingly complex. According to Dutch politician Suleyman Aslami (D66), safeguarding free speech today means not only defending the right to speak, but also ensuring that public debate is grounded in facts and political responsibility, not just defending the right to speak.
Having grown up alongside the rise of the internet, Aslami has watched digital platforms transform political communication. “The same systems that amplify participation also amplify outrage,” he says, “and those aren’t always the same thing as democratic debate.”
Asked about the greatest threats to free speech, Aslami points to two very different realities. The first is found in authoritarian states, where governments silence dissent and restrict basic freedoms. Drawing on his experience at the Dutch Embassy in Cuba, he recalls how citizens were prevented from expressing their opinions freely.
The second threat exists within democratic societies themselves. Rather than direct censorship, Aslami warns of misinformation amplified by social media platforms and the growing influence of algorithms on public opinion.
He cites the Dutch childcare benefits scandal, where an algorithm meant to detect welfare fraud disproportionately targeted families with migrant backgrounds, wrongly accusing thousands of innocent parents.
“You can compensate people financially,” he says, “but you cannot fully compensate for years of suspicion and broken trust in government. The real question is not how to fix the algorithm, but whether it should have been used at all.”
That question is one Aslami has worked on directly. As Chief of Staff to a D66 Member of the European Parliament, he was closely involved in working on the EU AI Act, working on transparency obligations for high-risk automated systems. He now brings that experience to Amsterdam’s city council.
For Aslami, responsible political communication begins with a simple principle: facts matter. He rejects the idea of “alternative facts” and insists that politicians must base public debate on evidence and science based facts. “Politicians have a louder microphone than most citizens,” he says. “With that comes a responsibility not to distort the facts just because it’s convenient.”
At the same time, Aslami stresses that responsibility should never become censorship. Democracies must remain open to difficult discussions on migration, inequality and social tensions. The line is crossed when speech promotes hatred, discrimination or violence.
Aslami welcomes European efforts, such as the EU AI Act to improve transparency and platform accountability while emphasising digital literacy. His message is clear: democracy depends not only on protecting free speech but on choosing facts over fear. In a political climate that often rewards outrage over substance, responsible speech remains essential to keeping democracy strong.
About the authors:
Aleksandra Osina, Charahja van Broekhoven, Taeyun Kim, Longrui Deng, Peace Ojoma Idoko, Ayat Alkhdour, Lauren van Laarhoven-Hargreaves are participants in the Bright Future Foundation, as part of the European Union’s “Participate & Promote Democracy” Youth Participation project, in cooperation with Diplomat Magazine, Embassy of the Netherlands in Armenia and young members of the Armenian partner organization Promising Youth.
