RESTON, VA – The Media Research Center (MRC) released an extensive report Monday documenting the censorship of conservative voices by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google. The release of this report follows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony last week where he was questioned about the growing concern that Facebook engages in political bias and censorship.
CENSORED! How Online Media Companies Are Suppressing Conservative Speech details the overwhelming liberal bias within these tech giants and how it influences the way they flag and remove content, rank search results, curate trending news, and select outside fact-checkers to combat “fake news.” For more, go to http://stopcensoringconservatives.com.
Here are some of the key findings of the report:
Twitter Leads in Censorship: Project Veritas caught Twitter staffers bragging aboutcensoring conservatives through deceptive techniques like “shadow banning.” In 2016,Twitter was exposed for attempting to manipulate election-related tweets by limiting useof hashtags “#PodestaEmails” and “#DNCLeak.”
Facebook’s Trending Feed Hides Conservative Topics: A 2016 Gizmodo storydetailed claims by former employees that Facebook’s news curators hid conservativecontent from the “trending” section.
Tech Firms Rely on Groups That Hate Conservatives: Top tech firms like Google,YouTube and Twitter partner with leftist groups like the Southern Poverty Law Centerattempting to censor conservatives.
YouTube Removes Conservative Content: YouTube moderators have shut downentire conservative channels and removed videos that promote ring-wing political views,often without any warning.
Liberal Twitter Advisers Outnumber Conservatives 12-to- 1:Twelve of the 25 U.S.members of Twitter’s Trust and Safety Council – which helps guide its policies – areliberal, while only one is conservative.
Media Research Center President Brent Bozell issued the following statement today concerning the MRC's findings:
“Voices are being silenced, opinions are being censored and conservative media are beingsuppressed. These tech companies claim they provide platforms to connect people and shareideas. However, when the only ideas permitted are from one side, any prospect of intellectualdiscourse dies. If these platforms merely serve as an echo chamber of liberal talking points,everyone loses. Our country is divided and limiting free speech only makes matters worse.
“Facebook, Twitter and the rest of the social media giants must allow political expression fromboth conservative and liberal voices. Just last week, Mark Zuckerberg told Congress that he isworking to ensure Facebook is “a platform for all ideas.” This report is evidence that what littleeffort they have made is not nearly enough. Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube mustmake real, concrete changes to guarantee conservative voices receive a fair shake. We cannotallow our thoughts and ideas to be barred from the global public conversation.”
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Contact: Tom Buchanan
(703) 683-5004,