A Sunday editorial by The Washington Times claimed that Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory was driven by big technology companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google.
“The just-completed 2020 presidential election featured a torrent of political messages designed to win votes, but the flow was channeled to shield voters from messages that conflicted with ‘progressive’ values dear to social media’s masters,” the publication wrote.
“Put bluntly, Big Tech played a pivotal role in Joe Biden’s apparent victory and Donald Trump’s defeat.”
The Washington Times pointed to a Media Research Center study released on Monday that found that Twitter “censored, suppressed and limited” the president and his campaign on 543 occasions since 2018. Conversely, Twitter had never done the same to Joe Biden and his campaign. The publication’s analysis also pointed to Instagram and its purportedly irrelevant fact-checks of the president, as well as Google’s YouTube, which it accused of obscuring content that leans left.
According to the editorial, the head of state was right to veto the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act due to its lack of focus on reigning in social platform powers but won’t gain enough support from Republican lawmakers.
“Many Republicans agree with the president that Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, which exempts social media from content liability, has been weaponized to suppress ideological opponents without consequence. It is not, however, a hill on which they are willing to die.”
The Republican Party is pushing to repeal Section 230, which allows Big Tech companies to moderate their data without being liable for what is posted on their platforms — even hate speech.
Dr. Robert Epstein , the senior research psychologist at the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, previously predicted before the 2020 election that big technology companies would likely covertly shift approximately 15 million votes.
Still, others have pushed back against conservative claims of censorship. Notably, data scientists have attempted to negate claims that Facebook is biased and argued no evidence exists to support the assertions. Elsewhere, some have claimed the platform actually amplifies rightwing content.
CNN previously reported that big technology companies might have been hoping for a Biden presidency. The publication noted Trump’s accusations of bias leveled at technology platforms, as well as Biden’s expected softer approach to Big Tech. The news outlet also highlighted that employees from Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook donated to the Democrat’s campaign three times more than they did to his opponent’s.
Nevertheless, Biden has echoed Trump and called for the repealing of Section 230. However, his approach is aligned with the broader Democratic desire to remove misinformation and hate speech, while Republicans believe any moderation is a form of censorship and bias.
