International joke police

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The Malaysian government is upset about a U.S. comedian's joke. And they want Interpol to do something about it.

Did you know that Malaysia wants Interpol to be the world’s joke police?
It all started when Joceyln Chia, a U.S.-based comedian who grew up in Singapore, discussed the relationship between Malaysia and Singapore during a set at the Comedy Cellar.

She cracked a joke about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, adding that “some jokes don’t land.”

Clips of the set went viral on social media, resulting in outrage from internet users and government officials offended by the joke. TikTok took down the video, claiming it violated the app’s hate speech rules.
But it didn’t end there.

Malaysian police said she’s under investigation for insult, provocation and incitement.

And Malaysia’s national police chief also announced that he intended to ask Interpol, which coordinates the international response to criminal matters, to hunt down Chia’s location — in the United States.

This isn’t the first time governments have tried to use Interpol to crack down on free speech.

Countries including Russia, Turkey, and Iran have weaponized Interpol to track down their critics over the years.

Interpol is supposed to fight crime, not free speech. And it’s definitely not supposed to be the global joke police.