It’s beyond ridiculous that in this day and age we have to be concerned with government-funded censorship. Not agreeing with someone’s ideas is one thing. But shutting down their website, which in many cases is their livelihood, by radically reducing their reach via jimmied algorithms is a whole other thing altogether. Although my site was never monetized, this is exactly what happened to me.
While burrowed indoors today recovering from the latest winter storm, my wife hollered at me to come take a look at some breaking news. It seems that Facebook (Meta) is ending their company’s policy of ‘fact-checking,’ which in any alternate universe would be called censorship. Pay attention because it’s not me that’s accusing Facebook of censorship. Straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth (owner and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg himself), I give you snippets of a few articles published earlier today…
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Tuesday that the social media company, which owns Facebook and Instagram, would stop working with third-party fact-checking organizations. Repeating talking points long used by President-elect Donald Trump and his allies, in a video Zuckerberg said the company’s content moderation approach resulted too often in “censorship”. -From an article on NPR by Huo Jingnan and Shannon Bond titled Meta says it will end fact checking as Silicon Valley prepares for Trump
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a series of major changes to the company’s moderation policies and practices Tuesday, citing a shifting political and social landscape and a desire to embrace free speech… Zuckerberg pointed to the election as a major influence on the company’s decision and criticized “governments and legacy media” for allegedly pushing “to censor more and more.” -From an NBC News piece by Bruna Horvath, Jason Abbruzzese and Ben Goggin (Meta is ending its fact-checking program in favor of a ‘community notes’ system similar to X)
“Fact checkers have been too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they’ve created,” Zuckerberg said in a video announcing the new policy Tuesday. “What started as a movement to be more inclusive has increasingly been used to shut down opinions and shut out people with different ideas, and it’s gone too far.” Zuckerberg, however, acknowledged a “tradeoff” in the new policy, noting more harmful content will appear on the platform as a result of the content moderation changes. -From CNN’s piece by Claire Duffy titled Meta is getting rid of fact checkers. Zuckerberg acknowledged more harmful content will appear on the platforms now
I could have come up with thousands of others.
Do I believe Zuck’s change of heart is anything other than sensing a shift in the winds of political change and a pissed off public that’s leaving Meta in droves for X? Of course not. His level of sincerity is about as real as his attempted metamorphosis from geek to manly man.
When Zuckerberg admonishes the public with the warning, ‘more harmful content will appear on the platform’ thanks to these changes,’ remember that this is coming from a guy whose Messenger APP was arguably the single biggest platform pedos used to communicate with each other. And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the hundreds of millions in Zuckerbucks he used to destabilize the 2020 election (much of it to promote mail-in ballots).
A better opinion piece than the three I quoted above can be found on Missouri’s very own Gateway Pundit site…
After the 2016 election, Facebook began making algorithm changes to ensure conservative news was no longer an option for their users. Two studies released in March of 2018 confirm this. A study by The Outline Organization found conservative publishers were hit the hardest by Facebook algorithm changes — and that The Gateway Pundit was hit the hardest. -From the GP’s owner, Joe Hoft (Meta Drops Bogus “Fact-Checking” Program After Years of Targeting, Blacklisting, Censoring, and Eliminating Top Conservative Pages from Facebook)
As to Zuck cleaning up his act and actually following the Constitution? Time will tell, but I’m not holding my breath.
Missouri Senator, Eric Schmitt, Promises to Address Government-Sponsored Censorship
Allow me to take this time to share with you my recent letter to Senator Eric Schmitt of the great state of Missouri, as well as his response….
Dear Senator Eric Schmitt,
The two most urgent issues facing our nation today are election integrity and government-sponsored censorship. This letter pertains to the latter.
The First Amendment, which among other things guarantees us free speech, is the bedrock of our Constitution’s Bill of Rights. The other amendments flow from it and thru it, and without it, the efficacy of the other nine is seriously jeopardized.
Not to make this letter about me, but five years ago my website was one of the thousands of large natural healthcare websites that was censored by various entities (NGO’s, social media, and hosting platforms) at the behest and funding of the United States’ government.
(The Censorship of My Clinic’s Website – https://doctorschierling.com/blog/censorship-of-natural-healthcare-websites).
I would implore you to ask President Trump to appoint former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Communications and Information Technology at the U.S. State Department, Michael Benz (the founder and president of the Foundation for Freedom Online), to a position where he can address this problem in unobstructed fashion.
Over the past couple of months, Benz has been interviewed at length by a number of today’s biggest and best podcasters, Patrick Bett-David, Shawn Ryan, Tucker Carlson, and earlier this week, Joe Rogan. None of them could be accused of being ‘right wing’.
Benz’s knowledge of censorship and exactly how it is being perpetrated on we the people – using billions upon billions of American tax dollars and the almost infinite power of the bureaucracy – is unparalleled. As an individual with President Trump’s ear, please use your position to promote Mike Benz as the person needed to oversee our national anti-censorship / anti-government propaganda efforts. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr Russell S Schierling
Mountain View, Missouri
Message from the Office of U.S. Senator Eric S. Schmitt:
December 18, 2024
Dear Dr. Schierling,
Thank you for contacting me regarding Big Tech. Input from fellow Missourians significantly informs my decision-making and empowers me to better represent the state.
As you may know, recent testimony from the new House of Representative committee on the Weaponization of Government has been disturbing and motivating. We must continue our work to protect free speech, as there are still so many threats against this freedom.
Free speech is a fundamental right enshrined by our Constitution. Ensuring its protection has been a central aspect of my time in office. As Missouri’s Attorney General, I filed a lawsuit in partnership with the Attorney General of Louisiana in an attempt to hold the federal government accountable for free speech violations.
I am glad to see that there is a bipartisan consensus in Congress on this issue. Whoever regulates Big Tech must be serious about holding these monopolies accountable. That is why I successfully partnered with Republicans and Democrats to stop the nomination of an FCC Commissioner who was in the back pocket of Big Tech. This is great news for Missourians and Americans. The FCC is an important agency in our fight to hold big tech accountable. And when we are confirming the next nominee for Commissioner, I will be your voice in the Senate to ensure they are serious about fighting Big Tech.
I will not stand idly by while the Biden Administration attempts to trample on the First Amendment rights of Missourians and Americans. I am laser-focused on fighting for your First Amendment rights, and please know I will keep your perspective in mind while I work to hold big tech accountable.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts with me, and please do not hesitate to contact me again in the future if I may be of service.
Very Truly Yours,
Eric S. Schmitt
United States Senator
