The Biden Administration is facing heat for alleged attempts to censor conservative media outlets on Facebook. The claims stem from recently released meeting notes in which Rob Flaherty, former White House Digital Director, pressured Facebook executives to modify the platform’s algorithm so content from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal was more visible than that from "polarizing" entities like The Daily Wire and Tomi Lahren.
Among those speaking out is Ben Shapiro, Editor Emeritus of The Daily Wire. “The Biden White House’s pressure on Facebook to target Daily Wire for traffic reduction is an obvious, disgusting, and predictable First Amendment violation,” he said. “Government action is still government action even when the government is cudgeling private corporations to do the dirty work of censorship.”
House Minority Leader Jim Jordan (R-OH) also weighed in, highlighting the Biden administration’s attempts to control what people see on Facebook. “They questioned whether Facebook could change its algorithm so users saw more posts from the New York Times and less from [The Daily Wire] and [Tomi Lahren],” he said. “Why did they do that? Because they didn’t think you were smart enough to decide for yourself.”
According to the notes, Flaherty asked Facebook if it had a “mechanism to check the material impact” of changing the algorithm. When told that the data wasn’t available, Flaherty became clearly frustrated. “I feel like we’re running around in circles. Some partners give us lots of information, some partners tell us to f*** right off. This feels like we’re chasing our tails,” he said.
The release of the meeting notes comes after President Biden took office in January 2021 and began pushing vaccine policies that have been highly controversial. News outlets like The Daily Wire, which cover stories related to the COVID vaccine, have seen a drop in reach on social media.
In response, Shapiro warned he’s looking into all available remedies to preserve free speech rights. “We sued the Biden administration to stop the OSHA vaccine mandate, and we’re not afraid of taking them to court again,” he said.
As news of the meeting notes continues to spread, many have started to question the Biden administration’s actions and whether they have violated the First Amendment. The implications of such a violation could have a chilling effect on free speech across the country and around the world.
Whether or not the Biden administration will face repercussions for its alleged attempts to censor conservative media outlets remains to be seen. In the meantime, many are watching closely as this story continues to unfold.
The Biden White House’s effort to censor opposing viewpoints only grew.
So, they upped the pressure.
Flaherty demanded that Facebook “play ball” and work with the Biden White House on censorship.
He called it his “dream.” pic.twitter.com/J0Z2AhDx8m
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 3, 2023
