Big Tech Thugs and Their Allies

In an article last February headlined “Do Facebook, Twitter and YouTube censor conservatives? Claims ‘not supported by the facts,’ new research says,” USA Today‘s Jessica Guynn wrote, “Despite repeated charges of anti-conservative bias from former President Donald Trump and other GOP critics, Facebook, Twitter and Google’s YouTube are not slanted against right-leaning users, a new report out of New York University found.”

Guynn quoted Paul Barrett, deputy director of the NYU Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, who said: “Republicans, or more broadly conservatives, have been spreading a form of disinformation on how they’re treated on social media. They complain they’re censored and suppressed but, not only is there not evidence to support that, what evidence exists actually cuts in the other direction.”

In other words, many conservative Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter users feel paranoid about their posts being restricted, or worse, even banned.

John Ondrasik (singer-songwriter), will be able to relate this story. John Ondrasik posted a Jan. 2 music video that was critical of President Joe Biden’s terrible withdrawal from Afghanistan. YouTube first attached a warning that the video’s images violated the platform’s “graphic content policy,” making it unsuitable for younger audiences. YouTube took it down after 250,000 views and five days. Nine hours later, when conservatives and, one hopes, others complained, YouTube restored it, although it added another warning labeling the video “inappropriate or offensive to some audiences.”

About its abrupt takedown and restoration, YouTube explained: “This was our mistake and we’ve reinstated your video. So sorry this happened and thanks for being patient while we worked this out.” What was there to “work out”? As Ondrasik pointed out, a number of videos on YouTube displaying “similar Taliban atrocities” not only remain on the platform but are monetized, actually making money for whoever posted it.

After I finished my California gubernatorial campaign, Gov. Gavin Newsom was my only Twitter follower. My Twitter account lost almost 25,000 followers since then and my increasing fame — for good and for evil — continues to drop hundreds of thousands every day.  My Instagram and Facebook accounts gain hundreds of new fans each day.

The Elder Twitter’s decline began in November 2021 before Jack Dorsey, its CEO and founder, resigned. Parag Agrawal was appointed as the new Twitter executive. Agrawal tweeted in 2010: “If they are not gonna make a distinction between Muslims and extremists, then why should I distinguish between white people and racists.” Agrawal said he was merely quoting a comedian on “The Daily Show.” Still, not a good sign.

More concerning, Agrawal, in an interview in 2020, said: “Our role is not to be bound by the First Amendment, but our role is to serve a healthy public conversation and our moves are reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation.” He added: “The kinds of things that we do about this is, focus less on thinking about free speech, but thinking about how the times have changed.”

This is simply breathtaking — “reflective of things that we believe lead to a healthier public conversation”? Who defines this? Naturally, the conservatives will complain. Why is there so much silence from the Left? The ACLU type we used to think believed in free flow of ideas, and that good ideas were the best antidote for bad ideas.

It’s not surprising that Trump has his social media accounts shut down due to the fact that he rejected the outcome of the 2020 elections. The Left calls for silence, and even applause. So what that Hillary Clinton peddles conspiracy theories about the 2016 election, calls Trump “illegitimate” and the 2016 election “stolen,” yet faces no retaliation from Big Tech social media platforms. Applause and silence from the Left.

So much for the powerful quote by a biographer of French philosopher Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Big Tech social media. Welcoming to the silence of today’s Left allies.