Trump Draws Public Into Bias Feud With Social Media Firms
The Trump administration is asking social media users to report directly to the White House if they believe companies like Facebook and Twitter have punished them for their political views, further elevating one of the president’s new favorite conservative rallying cries that’s likely to follow him onto the campaign trail.
In an online form shared with the White House’s 18.5 million Twitter followers on Wednesday, the administration asks people to “share your story” of political bias directly with the president.
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS should advance FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Yet too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear ‘violations’ of user policies,” the website declares.
What follows is a form asking your name, citizenship, age and contact information, then a description of how you’ve been targeted by social media platforms and a link to the relevant account, as well as screenshots of communication from the companies. It then asks if the administration can contact the user directly via email “without relying on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.”
The request comes as President Donald Trump and other Republicans ramp up allegations that tech platforms discriminate against conservatives by disproportionately banning or limiting the visibility of right-leaning users and content.
Bias claims have been fueled in part by Facebook, Twitter, Google and others giving the boot to far-right conservatives, including InfoWars founder Alex Jones. The companies contend that Jones and others they’ve kicked off their platforms violated their terms rules around harassment and hate speech, and were not targeted for their political opinions.
