5 fact-checks from the Senate’s listening to on social media

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifying remotely earlier than the Senate on October 28. | Michael Reynolds/Getty Photographs

We took a more in-depth take a look at the unproven claims lawmakers made about Fb, Google, and Twitter.

Six days forward of a historic presidential election whose consequence is anticipated to form the way forward for US democracy and as Congress delays passing a brand new financial stimulus deal to assist thousands and thousands of unemployed Individuals affected by the continuing pandemic, the Senate spent greater than three hours speaking about one thing else: how social media corporations deal with controversial speech on the web.

Wednesday’s listening to was purported to deal with nuanced reforms to a landmark web regulation — Part 230 — which shields tech corporations from being sued for content material customers put up on their platforms. Each Democrats and Republicans have been calling for years to reform this regulation, arguing that it’s outdated contemplating how giant and highly effective these tech giants have turn out to be. That’s why the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation subpoenaed Fb CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to face questioning.

However as a substitute of speaking about reforming the precise regulation, most Republican Senators — with notable exceptions resembling Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) — used their time to press the CEOs about particular content material moderation selections which were controversial with Republicans. Specifically, Twitter blocking an unverified story within the New York Publish making damning accusations about Hunter Biden earlier this month, or why the corporate fact-checks Trump extra typically than Iran’s or the Chinese language Communist Get together’s leaders.

Some Democrats on the listening to — and plenty of outdoors observers — have written off the listening to as political theater orchestrated by conservatives days forward of the election to intimidate these corporations in order that they keep away from fact-checking Trump or conservative disinformation campaigns.

However Republicans argued that allegations of bias are essential and legitimate, and that they have to be swiftly addressed.

Many Senators used assumptions and cherry-picked proof to attempt to show their factors. And in response, the tech CEOs successfully skirted extra severe discussions about their precise shortcomings in content material moderation.

Listed below are the fact-checks on the 5 most head-scratching claims senators — and tech CEOs — made on the listening to.

1) Although Republicans say social media corporations are broadly censoring conservative speech, the proof doesn’t help the declare.

Many conservative lawmakers, inspired by President Trump, have lengthy alleged that tech corporations are censoring Republicans on social media. And as we speak’s listening to was no exception.

Citing social media corporations’ dealing with of the Hunter Biden New York Publish story, in addition to Google’s threats to ban conservative information web site the Federalist over allegedly racist content material, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) stated in his opening remarks: “These current incidents are solely the newest in a protracted path of censorship and suppression of conservative voices on the web.”

Whereas it’s true that Twitter and Fb have made some controversial and at occasions questionable selections to restrict false or unverified speech by conservative politicians and information shops (Twitter reversed its stance on blocking the Hunter Biden story, Fb didn’t), these are particular person examples.

On the entire, knowledge reveals that conservative content material thrives on social media. Conservative pundits like Dan Bongino and Ben Shapiro constantly rank among the many most shared information sources on Fb based mostly on the corporate’s knowledge aggregation software, CrowdTangle. And regardless of all of the hoopla about Twitter’s alleged censoring of Trump, the president nonetheless makes use of the platform day by day to succeed in tens of thousands and thousands extra followers than Joe Biden does.

In actual fact, Trump himself has repeatedly said that with out social media, he wouldn’t be capable to “get the phrase out” to the individuals.

Republican senators requested why tech corporations haven’t fact-checked high-profile Democratic leaders like Biden as a lot as they’ve Trump, however they ignored the very apparent reply: that Trump, in contrast to Biden, has extra ceaselessly promoted false and deceptive statements on social media. If Biden had been to assault mail-in voting or the essential science behind Covid-19, as Trump has, he would seemingly face the identical type of moderation.

To Republicans’ credit score, an underlying pressure right here is that many individuals who work at tech corporations lean liberal (extra on that later). And, again in 2016, Gizmodo reported that these political views generally trickled into low-level worker content material moderation selections through the disastrous “Fb Trending” part. However rather a lot has modified since then (for one, Fb has performed away with that its trending part totally). If something, the proof now appears to counsel that Fb has adjusted within the different route to please Republicans and fend off claims of anti-conservative bias. In line with current reporting from BuzzFeed Information, NBC Information, and the Wall Road Journal, the corporate has at occasions overridden its fact-checking system and tweaked its algorithms to favor conservative publications over liberal ones like Mom Jones.

2) Ted Cruz claimed social media corporations are the largest menace to free speech within the US. That’s by no means clear.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) got here in scorching to the listening to, asserting his intent to grill Dorsey in a wrestling-match type flyer he (mockingly) tweeted out the night time earlier than the session, all within the identify of defending free speech on the web.

“The three witnesses we have now earlier than the committee as we speak collectively pose the only greatest menace to free speech in America and the best menace we have now to free and truthful elections,” Cruz stated, talking about Dorsey, Zuckerberg, and Pichai.

Cruz is entitled to his opinion, after all, but it surely’s by no means objectively clear that the largest menace to free speech or election integrity on this nation is when Fb, Twitter, or Google fact-check politicians like Trump.

In actual fact, if you happen to requested this identical query of main free speech advocates and human rights organizations, many would say a much bigger concern is Trump’s sustained and more and more vitriolic assaults on the free press since his first day in workplace. If social media corporations do pose a menace to free speech, they are saying, it has much less to do with how they deal with conservative voices and extra do with the extremist hate speech that spreads on their platforms, and which has a chilling impact on girls, minorities, and different marginalized teams by shutting them out of on-line public discourse.

It’s true that social media corporations now rival governments within the scope of their energy and affect, and free speech defenders of all political persuasions demand that these corporations present extra transparency and accountability about what content material they do and don’t permit.

However for Cruz and a few of his Republican colleagues to help free speech solely when it fits their political wants (in an excessive instance of this, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) denounced Google for allegedly censoring Republicans whereas concurrently calling for the corporate to fireside a rank-and-file worker who publicly criticized her) is a hypocritical one at greatest.

3) Dorsey advised Cruz that Twitter doesn’t impression elections. It does.

Regardless of Cruz’s largely theatrical political showboating, he did get into one vital trade with Dorsey that highlighted a difficulty originating with the tech platforms themselves: their refusal to acknowledge that they’re extra than simply impartial platforms.

At one level, Cruz requested Dorsey whether or not Twitter has affect over the elections, and Dorsey stated no.

Cruz retorted, “If you don’t imagine you’ve the ability to affect elections, why do you block something?”

Dorsey’s response was that Twitter blocks content material to cut back harassment and make everybody really feel included on its platform. Fb and Google have equally asserted that they intention to be impartial platforms for individuals to speak, with exceptions to guard their customers from hurt. However that’s simply a part of the image.

The truth is that Twitter, Fb, Google, and each different social media platform make selections day by day about what sort of political speech is and isn’t allowed on their platforms. Furthermore, the algorithms underpinning these platforms dictate which subjects go viral and attain the lots immediately, and which of them get seen by a a lot smaller variety of individuals. And since these websites are the primary manner tens of thousands and thousands of Individuals primarily eat their day by day information, what’s and isn’t allowed on them can after all impression how somebody votes in an election.

The truth that Dorsey — in addition to Zuckerberg and Pichai — wouldn’t admit this fundamental truth was telling of tech CEOs’ lack of candor in regards to the political energy they’ve amassed via their corporations.

4) Senators recommended tech corporations’ liberal worker majorities are an issue. However that’s neither unlawful nor the federal government’s job to police.

To begin with, let’s be clear that the majority tech workers at Google, Twitter, and Fb lean liberal. That’s reflective of the demographics the place these corporations are based mostly and the talents they rent for: largely college-educated employees in main city areas like San Francisco, New York, and Seattle.

In Wednesday’s listening to, a number of Republican Senators questioned tech CEOs in regards to the political make-up of their workforce as if there was one thing shameful about this.

The insinuation is that as a result of these corporations have a liberal-leaning workforce that they as a default are stifling conservative speech.

However as we talked about earlier, there isn’t any actual proof of that systematic suppression. And even when there have been, the answer wouldn’t essentially be to mandate that everybody who works for Fb or Twitter cross some type of political litmus take a look at.

Congress has a darkish historical past of blacklisting residents from gainful employment as a result of their political views. Whereas it’s truthful to query the unparalleled political energy of tech corporations and attempt to regulate that downside, it’s harmful for lawmakers to misleadingly body the problems at hand as being linked to workers’ private politics.

5) Senators saved announcing Google CEO Sundar Pichai’s identify incorrectly. It’s appropriately pronounced “Pitch-ai.”

Senators throughout the aisle repeatedly butchered the identify of Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The soft-spoken Pichai, who was born and raised in India and labored his manner up on the search big from a product supervisor to its chief government, avoided correcting his questioners.

The truth that members of Congress had been mispronouncing the identify of some of the vital enterprise leaders within the US was an embarrassing slip many observers instantly famous on Twitter. Particularly because it was Pichai’s third time being questioned in entrance of Congress.

And whereas getting Pichai’s identify proper is a much less vital level within the scope of the broader points at stake round social media, it’s not insignificant, both. In current months, Trump and a few Republican lawmakers have repeatedly mocked Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris over the pronunciation of her identify. It appears extra seemingly that on this case, senators had been botching Pichai’s identify out of ignorance quite than malice. However as BuzzFeed Information identified, Congress hasn’t had any hassle announcing different hard-to-pronounce names prior to now. Within the 12 months 2020, there’s actually no excuse for elected officers to not no less than attempt to appropriately pronounce the identify of a world tech titan.

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