There have been a lot of stories floating around about the social media industry’s consistent censorship of conservative organizations. From removing posts to demonetizing channels for videos that talk about the 10 Commandments, social media businesses continue to target voices that are contrary to the mainstream progressive movement.
Last week, The Daily Citizen brought you a story about how Facebook was targeting Live Action, the pro-life website with a large social media presence, for a video shared on Facebook stating that abortion isn’t medically necessary to save the life of the mother, which has been confirmed by the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The so-called unbiased fact checkers, who are both abortionists and abortion activists, determined that the statement was false. In response to this determination, the social media giant sent a notice to thousands of Live Action followers that the pro-life organization had shared “fake news” and removed two of their videos. Live Action decided to call out Facebook and has now been joined by four U.S. Senators.
In a letter sent to the social media giant, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and Mike Braun (R-IN) call out Facebook for its clear bias against Live Action.
The letter reads in part, “Your company, like Twitter, Google, Pinterest and so many other Silicon Valley social media firms, has been repeatedly confronted with evidence of bias against those with conservative viewpoints, especially on the issue of abortion. And in response you have repeatedly insisted that these numerous incidents of discrimination, censorship, and suppression of speech are merely glitches, not evidence of systemic bias.”
The bias towards conservative voices that the Senators have pointed out is becoming a growing problem within the social media world. Although businesses like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and others claim that the purpose of censorship is to remove inappropriate, violent, explicit or dangerous content, it seems like it is pro-life and conservative voices that are removed because of politics and not an actual violation of the standards.
That was the case with Live Action. The two individuals reviewing and providing the fact-check for Facebook are all intimately involved in the abortion industry and work as abortionists. One is Daniel Grossman, who sits on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the other reviewer is Robyn Schickler, a fellow with the pro-abortion advocacy group Physicians for Reproductive Health. It would be nearly impossible for Grossman and Schickler to remain neutral. A point played out with great clarity by the Senators.
The letter concluded with, “If this isn’t bias, what is? The only thing more astonishing than your claim to nonpartisanship is your complete failure to back that claim with proof. Facebook should immediately issue a correction, remove any restrictions placed the pages of Live Action and Lila Rose, and submit to an external audit. The audit should be real and meaningful, not like last month’s “audit” that was nothing more than a summary of complaints against Facebook and its responses. Facebook must, at minimum, allow an external auditor access to internal Facebook documents and procedures and allow an auditor to question employees and senior officials at the company.”
In response to the mounting pressure, Facebook did make the decision to “temporarily” remove the violations, but Live Action says it is too little too late. In an official press release Live Action stated, “The damage to Live Action has been done, and Facebook has taken no responsibility for sending a notification to thousands of our followers that we are sharing false news. Facebook’s blatant error in using two activist abortionists as their fact-checkers of pro-life content should be obvious to them and anyone.”
This is just the latest problem that Live Action has had with social media companies. Earlier this summer it was revealed that within Pinterest’s backend coding, Live Action had been designated as “porn” making it almost impossible for users to share positive pro-life stories. The pro-life group has also had difficulties with YouTube “failing to publish its video ads, breach of contract, and causing it to suffer financial losses.”
Regardless of someone’s political leanings, take a look around Live Action’s website and it’s evident that the punishment doesn’t really fit the crime. A couple of recent articles have detailed the video content that Facebook moderators are forced to witness in order to do their jobs, which includes murder, violence, animal cruelty, explicit pornography, etc. It doesn’t compare in the slightest to the positive and uplifting content Live Action shares.
There are movements within some conservative circles to open new social media platforms that will be friendlier to pro-life and conservative content. It’s unclear how those will actually be received, but it’s disappointing that it takes a letter from four U.S. Senators for Facebook to react. The world’s largest social media company should spend more time monitoring and censoring explicit and violent content and less time obsessing over the statements made by a pro-life group.
