There are now 39 examples of Facebook meddling in US elections since 2008, according to a recent report by the Media Research Center (MRC), raising questions about the platform’s impact on democracy.
According to a recent analysis by MRC Free Speech America, Facebook has meddled in 39 US elections since 2008. In the early months of the 2024 election cycle, the platform’s election-interfering censorship has started to lessen slightly from its peak in 2020. It started in 2012.
In his well-known speech at Georgetown University in 2019, Mark Zuckerberg advocated for free speech. He stated, “We can either continue to be for free expression, understanding its messiness but also believing that the long journey towards more progress requires confronting ideas that challenge us.” Zuckerberg has made several pro-free speech statements. Alternatively, we may determine that the price is just too high. Additionally, he declared that Facebook and other social media sites should not serve as the “arbiter of truth” and referred to politically driven censorship as “destructive.”
Facebook’s actions, nevertheless, have frequently refuted these claims. Due to a meme that brought attention to the Benghazi incident, the site suspended a veteran PAC in 2012. In 2016, Facebook blocked “conservative subjects” and news, including Democratic Party candidate Bernie Sanders. In 2018, Facebook removed advertisements for many candidates running for state and federal legislatures, signaling an increase in censorship.
Facebook censored posts and advertisements from then on. President Trump at least four times during the 2020 election, and the company removed seven political ads funded by the extreme right. The most noteworthy event occurred in early 2021, when President Trump’s accounts were suspended indefinitely due to the suppression of the New York Post’s explosive Hunter Biden story.
Facebook proceeded to restrict a number of politicians in 2022, including Missouri GOP U.S. Senate contender Eric Greitens, Virginia Republican congressional candidate Jarome Bell, and Georgia Republican governor candidate Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA).
Recently, Breitbart News revealed that Donald Trump’s Facebook interaction has dropped by 60% and that Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta has scheduled for you to not see posts from him.
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