Facebook's & Twitter’s Troubling Free Speech Infringing Anti-Conservative Censorship Protocols Reported to Now Being Further Influenced by CAIR

Bill Narvey    1-12-19

In April 2018, Mark Zuckerberg appeared before the United States, House Energy and Commerce Committee to answer questions on a number of concerns with Facebook. 

One issue involved Facebook seeming to regularly demonstrate strong anti-conservative opinion bias in its algorithm designs and its monitor training whereby much conservative opinion, more so perhaps on hot button or emotionally charged issues, would be censored, even when such posts comprised fact and reason based analysis.  In such cases the conservative minded poster would be informed that their post was being removed as being contrary to Facebook’s determined “community standards” which standards Facebook never explained and the poster would then be penalized by being banned from posting for a designated time.   

Zuckerberg was well prepared to take questions.  Even after hours of testimony, the committee got few admissions and mostly promises to look into the concerns and do better. 

Rarely it seems do left wing social media posters suffer this same censorship fate as conservatives.  Their opinion posts very often are fact and reason deficient and instructed mostly by left wing ideologically biased thinking, political bigotry such as hate filled accusations against Pres. Trump and even anti-Israel propaganda that often amounts to the “new antisemitism” when such posts demonize Israel and delegitimize her right to exist.  Three years ago, Facebook’s pro-Palestinian-anti-Israel bias was revealed in:  Israeli NGO says Facebook test proves anti-Israel bias An experiment by the Israel Law Center sees the social network banning anti-Palestinian incitement, while anti-Israel hate remains online  https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-ngo-says-facebook-test-proves-anti-israel-bias/

Now there are reports that Facebook and Twitter executives  have been consulting with and may be responding favorably to the activist Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR)  on the censoring and banning of individuals and groups that CAIR disapproves of.  See:  Report: Facebook and Twitter consult with terror-tied CAIR over who gets banned from platforms https://www.conservativereview.com/news/report-facebook-and-twitter-consult-with-terror-tied-cair-over-who-gets-banned-from-platforms/?fbclid=IwAR1o-pDRQis0vOK54QonwjIjRfBPiYInNX_cRmKq-hsp9phN9dvCQtYSNhM    This report concludes:

• “ Silicon Valley tech giants have been all too eager to look the other way and allow groups like CAIR to use their platform to spread propaganda completely unchecked. Others have bought into the group’s newfound “civil rights group” label and even funded CAIR’s advocacy. Now, the social media titans appear to be consulting with CAIR on the censoring and banning of unwanted individuals and groups.”  

This report identifies head of CAIR’s San Francisco’s office, Zahra Billoo as one CAIR official taking a leading role in demanding Facebook and Twitter accommodate CAIR’s demands in this regard.  Billoo is described as a radical Islamist.  Even more concerning is that Billoo’s views are reported to reflect the mainstream consensus within CAIR.  A December 10, 2018 IPT  expose’ on Zahra Billoo reports inter alia, that she is filled with blinding hatred of Israel and of anyone who supports Israel: Thank You, Zahra Billoo    https://www.investigativeproject.org/7735/thank-you-zahra-billoo . 

These reports on the anti-conservative bias of liberal-left leaning Facebook and Twitter have been deeply troubling to many.  With Facebook and Twitter reportedly now accommodating the views and concerns of Islamist minded CAIR and like minded Muslim activist organizations on issues of Facebook and Twitter censorship protocols, those concerns are made all the more disturbing, if not alarming. 

These foregoing concerns are apparent not only in the United States, but globally.  People who are concerned that their rights of free speech are being infringed upon, if not trampled on altogether by Facebook and Twitter, must become the courageous Davids to stand up to these social media Goliaths and rally broad socio-political support to that end if we are to see full rights of free speech (obviously not hate speech), fairness, common sense and decency being restored to social media.

Bill Narvey