One presidential election cycle<\/a> after\u2063 Facebook “reduced” the distribution\u200c of \u2062The New York Post’s reporting on \u2064Hunter Biden’s laptop and suspended \u2063the accounts of former President Donald Trump on \u2063Facebook and Instagram, a member\u2064 of Meta’s oversight board says \u200cthe Big Tech platform \u2062”had not done enough” to\u2064 control users’ speech.<\/p>\n

In an interview<\/a> with Wired published Friday, board member\u2062 Pamela \u2062San Mart\u00edn\u2064 claimed that as the tech platform enters 2024, “even though we’re\u200c addressing the problems that arose in\u200d prior elections as a starting point, it is not enough.”<\/p>\n

“Between the U.S. election [in 2020] to the \u200bBrazilian election [in 2022], Meta\u2062 had not done enough to address the potential\u2062 misuse of \u2062its platforms through\u200d coordinated campaigns, people organizing, or using\u200c bots on the platforms to convey a message to destabilize a country, \u2063to create a\u2063 lack of trust or \u200dconfidence on electoral processes,” she added.<\/p>\n

Really? \u200cWith the\u2063 encouragement<\/a> of intel agencies, Facebook engaged in plenty of\u2062 election interference in \u200d2020.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the same day The New York Post published bombshell\u200b emails \u2064recovered from a laptop Hunter Biden left at a Delaware repair shop, Facebook’s policy\u2062 communications director Andy Stone tweeted<\/a>, \u200c”While I will intentionally not link to\u2063 the New \u2062York Post, \u200bI want\u2064 be clear that this story \u2062is eligible to be fact \u200dchecked \u200dby Facebook’s third-party fact \u200cchecking \u2064partners. In the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform.”<\/p>\n

NPR admitted<\/a> “that means the platform’s algorithms\u200b won’t place posts linking to \u200dthe story as highly in people’s \u2063news feeds, reducing the number \u200bof \u2062users who see it.” The platform had also removed a Trump campaign ad<\/a> \u200c earlier that year, and would suspend Trump’s account in\u2062 January 2021.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
When a Republican staff report<\/a> from the House Oversight Committee and Judiciary Committee \u200cdescribed “How Democrats Are Attempting to\u200b Sow\u2064 Uncertainty, Inaccuracy, and Delay in\u2063 the 2020 Election,” another\u200b staff report weeks<\/a> \u2064later notes Facebook “flagged the Judiciary Committee Republicans’ post about the \u2063report, and linked\u2064 to a website that\u200c Facebook describes\u2062 as containing ‘official\u2063 election\u200d resources.'” However, as the latter report \u200cinsisted, “the content Facebook presents\u2062 as ‘official’ is not always \u2062neutral. Instead it amplifies certain points of view and undermines others.”<\/p>\n
Ahead\u2064 of \u2063the 2020 election, \u200cFacebook also promised<\/a> to ban \u200dpolitical ads that\u200b it deemed to be making false claims<\/a> about \u200bsuch things \u2064as\u2063 “voter fraud.”<\/p>\n
Two\u200d months before the\u200c election,\u2062 bemoaning<\/a> North \u200cCarolina’s mail-in voting systems, Trump said absentee voters were “going to have\u2063 to go and check their vote\u200c by going to the poll and voting that way,” out of \u200da concern that absentee \u200bvotes might not be tabulated. “Let them \u200csend it in and let them\u2064 go\u00a0vote,\u2063 and\u200d if the system is\u200c as good \u2064as \u2064they\u2063 say it is, \u200dthen obviously they won’t \u2064be able to\u200d vote,” Trump said. <\/p>\n
Soon after, \u200dFacebook told<\/a> USA Today “that \u2064it will remove any videos supporting the president’s suggestion, as well as any videos without captions \u200cor context.” The Big Tech platform would, \u200dhowever, allow\u2064 posts from “those who share the video criticizing the suggestion or noting that voting twice is illegal.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Aside from meddling with election-related content to control voters’ access to information, Facebook also spent \u2062the months and years leading up to the election censoring conservative voices<\/a>, including\u200b the sitting president.<\/p>\n
In \u2062August 2020, Facebook took down<\/a> a clip Trump \u200dposted of \u2063himself saying children were “almost immune from this \u2064disease,” speaking about \u200dCovid-19. But it was \u200btrue that \u2063children were far \u200dless likely to become\u2063 seriously sick from Covid, with the Centers for Disease Control \u2062 noting<\/a> that pediatric \u2062hospitalizations\u200c were “much lower” for Covid \u200bthan for the \u2063regular flu.<\/p>\n
After\u2064 race riots\u200b ravaged \u2062the\u200d country in summer 2020, Facebook nuked<\/a> any\u2062 “praise and support”\u00a0or donation \u200bpage links for Kyle \u200cRittenhouse, \u2064the young man who shot three men in what a jury agreed<\/a> was self-defense in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
Since then, the\u2064 platform has worked with the Biden White House to censor the \u200cadministration’s dissenters. \u200cFacebook \u2062removed\u200b posts sharing heterodox \u200cbeliefs about Covid-19 because, as \u200ba\u2063 Facebook \u2063VP\u2063 put it<\/a> in\u200b an internal \u200demail, \u200c”we were under pressure from the\u200c administration \u2063and others \u2063to do \u200cmore.” The platform also nuked<\/a> a page belonging\u200d to an organization\u2064 run by\u2062 Robert F.\u2064 Kennedy Jr., who is running for president against Biden.<\/p>\n
But San\u200c Mart\u00edn told Wired \u2063for\u200b last week’s story that Facebook needs to \u200cdo more. “Social media platforms need to learn from past mistakes\u200b to be able \u2063to address them better this year,” she said, acknowledging that since 2020 “we’ve seen an advance in Meta using more tools \u200bto address election-related \u2062issues.”<\/p>\n
She also listed “election-specific initiatives” \u2014 read:\u200d censorship techniques\u2062 \u2014 that Meta has \u2064tested out “in\u2064 different countries.” These\u2062 have included “working with electoral\u200c authorities, \u200dadding labels \u200bto posts that are related to elections, directing people to reliable information, \u2062prohibiting paid advertisement when it calls\u2064 into question the legitimacy of elections, \u200band \u2062implementing\u2063 WhatsApp forward limits,” San Mart\u00edn casually explained to Wired.<\/p>\n
San Mart\u00edn acknowledged “how [Meta’s] own algorithms, \u200btheir\u200d own newsfeeds, their own recommendation systems, their \u2062own political ads can play \u2064a part” in what she euphemistically called “protection” of “electoral\u2063 processes.” And as she told \u2063Wired, it’s\u2064 something she\u2062 wants to see more of, not less.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n
rnrn <\/p>\n
In what ways has Facebook been accused of \u2063interfering in the 2020 election and \u2062censoring conservative voices<\/h2>\n
One presidential election cycle after \u200cFacebook “reduced” the distribution of The New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop and \u2062suspended \u200cthe accounts of former President Donald Trump on Facebook and Instagram, \u2063a member of Meta’s oversight board says “had \u2063not done \u2063enough” to control users’ speech.<\/p>\n
In an interview with\u200b Wired published Friday, board member \u200dPamela San Mart\u00edn claimed that as the \u200dtech platform enters\u200b 2024, “even though \u2062we’re addressing the problems that\u2064 arose in prior elections as a starting point, it is\u200c not\u2064 enough.”<\/p>\n
“Between the \u200bU.S. election [in 2020] to the Brazilian election [in 2022], Meta\u2062 had not done enough\u2064 to\u2064 address the potential misuse of \u200dits platforms through coordinated campaigns, people organizing, or using bots on the platforms to \u200cconvey a message to\u200d destabilize a country, to create a lack of trust or confidence on electoral processes,” \u200bshe added.<\/p>\n
Really? With\u200d the encouragement of intel agencies, Facebook engaged in plenty of election interference\u2062 in\u2063 2020.<\/p>\n
On\u200d the same day The\u2062 New York Post published bombshell \u2062emails recovered from a laptop Hunter\u2062 Biden left at a Delaware repair shop, Facebook’s policy communications director Andy Stone tweeted, “While I will intentionally not link to the New York Post, I want be clear that this story \u200bis eligible to be fact checked by \u2063Facebook’s\u200d third-party \u200cfact checking partners. \u2063In the meantime, \u200cwe are reducing \u2062its distribution\u2063 on our\u200c platform.”<\/p>\n
NPR admitted “that means the platform’s algorithms won’t place posts linking to the story as\u200b highly in people’s news feeds, reducing the number of users who see it.” \u200cThe platform had also removed a Trump campaign \u2062ad earlier that \u2063year and would suspend Trump’s account in January 2021.<\/p>\n
When a Republican staff report from the \u200cHouse \u200dOversight Committee and\u2063 Judiciary Committee described \u2063”How Democrats Are Attempting to Sow Uncertainty,\u200b Inaccuracy, and Delay in the 2020 Election,” another staff report weeks later notes Facebook “flagged the Judiciary Committee Republicans’ post about the report and linked to a website that Facebook describes as containing\u200b ‘official election resources.’ However, as the latter\u200b report insisted, “the content Facebook presents as\u2062 ‘official’ is not always neutral.\u2063 Instead, it amplifies certain points\u2064 of view and \u200cundermines others.”<\/p>\n
Ahead of the 2020 election, \u2064Facebook \u200balso \u2064promised to ban political ads<\/a> that it deemed to be making false claims about\u200c such things as “voter fraud.”<\/p>\n
Two months before the election, bemoaning North Carolina’s mail-in voting systems, Trump said absentee voters were “going to have \u2062to go and check \u2062their vote by \u2062going to \u200bthe poll \u2062and voting that way,” out of a concern that \u200babsentee votes\u200c might \u2063not be tabulated. “Let them send it in and let them go vote, and if the system\u2062 is as good as they say it is, then\u200b obviously they won’t be able to vote,” Trump said.<\/p>\n
Soon after, Facebook told USA\u200d Today “that it \u200dwill remove any videos supporting the president’s suggestion, as well as any videos without captions or context.” \u200cThe Big Tech platform would, however, allow posts\u2062 from “those who share the\u200d video criticizing the suggestion \u200bor noting \u2063that voting twice is illegal.”<\/p>\n
Aside \u200bfrom meddling \u2064with election-related content to control voters’ access to information, Facebook also\u2064 spent the months and years leading up to the election \u200dcensoring conservative \u2063voices, including \u200cthe sitting president.<\/p>\n
In August 2020, Facebook took down a clip Trump\u200b posted of himself saying \u2063children \u2064were\u2064 “almost immune\u2062 from this disease,” speaking\u2063 about Covid-19. But it was \u200dtrue that children were far less likely to become seriously sick from Covid, with \u200dthe \u2063Centers for Disease \u200bControl noting that pediatric hospitalizations were\u2062 “much lower” for Covid than for \u200cthe regular flu.<\/p>\n
After race\u200d riots ravaged the country in\u2063 summer 2020, Facebook nuked any “praise and support” or donation page links for Kyle \u200dRittenhouse, the young man who shot\u200d three \u200dmen in what a jury\u200d agreed\u200d was self-defense in\u200d Wisconsin.<\/p>\n
Since then, the platform\u2063 has worked with the Biden White House \u2062to censor the administration’s dissenters. \u200cFacebook has acted as a\u2062 arbiter \u200dof \u200ctruth, deciding what information\u200d is allowed to be seen and\u200b shared on its platform, effectively controlling the narrative and limiting\u200d free speech.<\/p>\n
While Facebook may claim to address the problems that arise during elections, the evidence suggests\u200c a biased approach that favors certain viewpoints and suppresses others. As a tech \u200cplatform with significant influence over\u2062 public \u200bdiscourse, it has\u2064 a responsibility to ensure transparency, fairness, and respect for\u200d the principles of free speech. It is clear that \u2063Facebook and other Big Tech platforms need to do more to regain the trust of their users and uphold the values of\u2063 democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A member of Meta’s oversight board recently criticized the platform for not adequately controlling users’ speech, citing the previous election cycle when Facebook limited the distribution of The New York Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop and suspended Donald Trump’s accounts on Facebook and Instagram<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1353,"featured_media":2163591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-pixabay-267399-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2163590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/pexels-pixabay-267399-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2163590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2163590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2163591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2163590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2163590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2163590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}