(Jon Brown) Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) demanded answers Wednesday regarding why both Facebook and Twitter limited the ability of their users to read a New York Post story unflattering to Democratic nominee Joe Biden, and even floated the idea that the tech giants violated campaign finance law.
by Jon Brown, October 14th, 2020
Soon after news broke that Twitter had joined Facebook in suppressing the reach of the story alleging that Hunter Biden introduced his father to a Burisma executive a year before the former vice president pushed Ukraine to fire the prosecutor investigating the energy company, Hawley wrote to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to express his concern regarding what he described as “unprecedented suppression” from Big Tech.
“The Post‘s reporting has understandably attracted substantial public discussion,” Hawley wrote in part, adding:
And countless Americans have sought to discuss and debate that article via the forums in which so much of our political speech occurs: on social media. But two social-media platforms have engaged in unprecedented suppression of public discussion of the article. Twitter is blocking all tweets and direct messages that contain the URL for the Post article. Facebook has stated that it is “reducing [the story’s] distribution on our platform,” though the specifics of how Facebook will implement this remain opaque.
This conduct does not merely censor the core political speech of ordinary Americans, though it certainly does that. Twitter’s and Facebook’s conduct also appears to constitute a clear violation of federal campaign-finance law. Federal law prohibits any corporation from making a contribution to a federal candidate for office.
After citing the relevant section of the U.S. Code, Hawley said, “Twitter and Facebook are both corporations. A ‘contribution’ includes ‘anything of value … for the purpose of influencing any election for Federal office.’”
Hawley alleged that Facebook and Twitter’s “active suppression” of the New York Post story “appears to constitute contributions under federal law,” and that the Biden campaign “derives extraordinary value” from quashing a story that would link the former vice president to Ukrainian oligarchs.
My letter to the FEC re @Twitter @Facebook potential violation of federal election law pic.twitter.com/EhOMlj8jzX
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 14, 2020
Hawley also sent letters demanding answers to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. In his letter to Dorsey, Hawley said in part, “There are various reports circulating on Twitter of users unable to post a link to the New York Post story, with some users posting responses from Twitter that the content was deemed to be ‘potentially spammy or unsafe.’”
“I find this behavior stunning but not surprising from a platform that has censored the President of the United States,” Hawley added. Later, he demanded to know the specifics of how the company decided to suppress the story, as well as if anyone involved with the Biden-Harris campaign was involved.
Earlier today I sent a list of questions to @Facebook. I want the same questions answered by @Twitter pic.twitter.com/JOsOhmPKgR
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 14, 2020
In his letter to Zuckerberg, Hawley demanded to know the specifics of the “fact-checking” procedure that was used as justification for limiting the dissemination of the story on Facebook.
As The Daily Wire reported, Facebook policy communications director Andy Stone tweeted in part, “While I will intentionally not link to the New York Post, I want be clear that this story is eligible to be fact checked by Facebook’s third-party fact checking partners. In the meantime, we are reducing its distribution on our platform.”
.@Facebook explain your decision to censor the sourced reporting of the @nypost. Did Biden campaign ask you to do so? pic.twitter.com/FdGQV5N7i3
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) October 14, 2020
About The Author
Jon Brown is a Washington, D.C.-based writer and editor originally from Asheville, North Carolina. While studying journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, he was a fellow with the Student Free Press Association. He was previously an associate editor for The Daily Caller and the deputy breaking news editor for The Washington Examiner. You can reach him at [email protected] and follow him at @JonBrownDC.
Stillness in the Storm Editor: Why did we post this?
The news is important to all people because it is where we come to know new things about the world, which leads to the development of more life goals that lead to life wisdom. The news also serves as a social connection tool, as we tend to relate to those who know about and believe the things we do. With the power of an open truth-seeking mind in hand, the individual can grow wise and the collective can prosper.
– Justin
Not sure how to make sense of this? Want to learn how to discern like a pro? Read this essential guide to discernment, analysis of claims, and understanding the truth in a world of deception: 4 Key Steps of Discernment – Advanced Truth-Seeking Tools.
Stillness in the Storm Editor’s note: Did you find a spelling error or grammatical mistake? Send an email to [email protected], with the error and suggested correction, along with the headline and url. Do you think this article needs an update? Or do you just have some feedback? Send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for reading.
Source:
Leave a Reply