Facebook has implemented one of the most scandalous censorship efforts in American history. And now, we’re supposed to believe – after years of election interference and undeserved demonization – that they want to embrace free speech?
In April 2018 Senator Ted Cruz asked the CEO of Meta/Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, pointedly: “Are you a neutral platform?” Zuckerberg claimed with a straight face: “We consider ourselves to be a platform for all ideas.” Uh, sure. By “all” he clearly meant “some.” He went on to say: “I understand where that concern is coming from. Facebook and the tech industry is located in Silicon Valley which is an extremely left-leaning place. [That’s an understatement!] This is actually a concern that I have, and I try to rout out in the company is making sure we don’t have any bias in the work that we do…I’m very committed to ensuring that Facebook is a platform for all ideas.”
A month later, my organization (The Radiance Foundation), was profoundly impacted by this “commitment” via Meta’s suppression efforts. In May 2018 Ireland held a vote whether or not to repeal its pro-life Amendment 8. Facebook deliberately decided to violate American citizens’ First Amendment rights and silence people’s voices over the issue of abortion. Relying on a completely bogus anti-free-speech effort called the Transparency Referendum Initiative (TRI), the platform suddenly started disallowing us to boost any posts dealing with abortion. For years we paid small amounts to boost our posts just to get our followers to see them since Facebook clearly throttled our reach. The (now defunct) TRI falsely claimed we purchased ads that directly addressed and interfered with Ireland’s abortion vote. We never purchased any such ad. Ever. That didn’t stop CNN, Politico, The New York Times, the Irish Times and many more from promoting the lie.
As I wrote back that same month: “This is particularly heartbreaking because the internet was the average person’s means of circumventing a monolithic Leftist mainstream media. It was a powerful and cost-effective way for small nonprofits like ours to get out a factual narrative that challenged the singular one regurgitated by an entire media establishment.”
In July 2019, Zuckerberg basically touted his decision to censor only pro-life ads (again, we actually weren’t one of the advertisers). It wasn’t because Facebook was compelled to do so by any law, but because of his company’s preference. Tragically, thanks to mainstream media and social media, the Repeal the 8th effort won. Vulnerable human beings lost. They always lose when free speech is suppressed.
Then, trying to appear conciliatory before Congress in September 2019, Zuckerberg reportedly admitted that bias was “an issue we [Facebook] has struggled with for a long time.” According to Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), he agreed that there “clearly was bias” in repeated false “fact-checking” of Live Action, the largest pro-life organization on social media.
In 2020, despite egregious examples of disinformation, suppression, outright censorship and election interference, Zuckerberg proclaimed during a Senate Judiciary committee hearing: “I’m proud of what we’ve done to support our democracy, and I look forward to discussing this.”
So you can understand if I don’t jump for joy that Zuckerberg had a come-to-Trump moment. For years, regardless of the pleas of users, conservative organizations and legislators, Facebook flaunted its censorship by labeling it “fact-checking.” It jailed people for harmless and honest speech. Too many right-leaning Americans have been silenced by Meta despite its repeated claims of neutrality. Zuckerberg doesn’t deserve our trust. He and Meta must work for it.
We’ve heard this rhetoric before. Many. Many. Times. It’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that an American company trampled the very right that gave their platform a voice: the First Amendment. The Media Research Center has been tracking the online suppression in their CensorTrack Database. Apparently, the vast majority of Silicon Valley hasn’t gotten the memo that there is no America without free speech and religious liberty.
2025 is already off to a fantastical start; some things are just too surreal. I find it almost amusing that Zuckerberg is glazing Elon Musk. He’s literally copying the much fairer and less biased Community Notes method of fact-checking posts that the X platform originally implemented in 2021. The can’t-pull-off-casual CEO proclaimed that his platforms would be allowing more speech (cue the unhinged on the Left who hate speech). He even mentioned that Meta would “lift restrictions on some topics.” He goes on to specify only immigration, gender identity, and gender. I found it interesting that he didn’t mention abortion or racism.
If DC is a swamp, Meta is an entire universe of murky shadowy figures that have long worked to darken the light of Free Speech.
In this week’s cringeworthy video press release, Zuckerberg assured us: “It’s time to get back to our roots about free expression on Facebook and Instagram.” I guess the question we all have to ask ourselves is this: “Where are those roots planted?”