SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the keynote address at Facebook's F8 Developer Conference on April 18, 2017 at McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Media Watchdog Debunks Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories With Study Showing Facebook Is 'Not Censoring Conservatives'
"Right-wing media are (still) lying about censorship."
Apr 09, 2019
Reaffirming earlier findings, the media watchdog group Media Matters for America released a study Tuesday showing that contrary to Republican claims, Facebook is not censoring right-wing users or messages.
The group studied nearly 400 accounts focused on political news between July 2018 and March 2019, including pages reporting from a right-wing viewpoint, left-leaning pages, and pages purporting to deliver "non-partisan" news.
The research clearly showed, MMFA external affairs director Rebecca Lenn wrote on Twitter, that "Facebook is still not censoring conservatives."
Over 37 weeks, Media Matters found that right-wing pages had slightly more interactions than left-leaning pages, suggesting that Facebook could not be suppressing the accounts' ability to post content any more than it is with left-leaning pages.
Conservative accounts had an average of 372,000 weekly interactions during the time period MMFA studied, while progressive and liberal accounts averaged 369,000 interactions per week. Both left-leaning and right-leaning pages had far more activity than so-called centrist or non-partisan accounts.
Media Matters' latest report matched earlier findings in a July study, in which the group found engagement levels of right-leaning and left-leaning accounts to be roughly equal.
The study was released a day before a planned congressional hearing regarding "the supposed censorship of conservatives by tech companies," Lenn noted.
The report also pointed out that in recent weeks, ahead of a renewed push by conservatives including Donald Trump Jr. to convince the public and lawmakers that their views are being censored, right-leaning pages' interactions spiked.
"Between January 14 and March 17, the weeks leading up to this new wave of conservative censorship claims--right-leaning pages on average actually received more interactions than left-leaning pages," MMFA reported.
The group's findings directly contradicted Trump Jr.'s claim, published in The Hill on March 17, that companies like Facebook are excluding "outspoken conservatives from wide swaths of American life simply because their political views differ from those of tech executives."
"Right-wing media are (still) lying about censorship," the group tweeted.
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Reaffirming earlier findings, the media watchdog group Media Matters for America released a study Tuesday showing that contrary to Republican claims, Facebook is not censoring right-wing users or messages.
The group studied nearly 400 accounts focused on political news between July 2018 and March 2019, including pages reporting from a right-wing viewpoint, left-leaning pages, and pages purporting to deliver "non-partisan" news.
The research clearly showed, MMFA external affairs director Rebecca Lenn wrote on Twitter, that "Facebook is still not censoring conservatives."
Over 37 weeks, Media Matters found that right-wing pages had slightly more interactions than left-leaning pages, suggesting that Facebook could not be suppressing the accounts' ability to post content any more than it is with left-leaning pages.
Conservative accounts had an average of 372,000 weekly interactions during the time period MMFA studied, while progressive and liberal accounts averaged 369,000 interactions per week. Both left-leaning and right-leaning pages had far more activity than so-called centrist or non-partisan accounts.
Media Matters' latest report matched earlier findings in a July study, in which the group found engagement levels of right-leaning and left-leaning accounts to be roughly equal.
The study was released a day before a planned congressional hearing regarding "the supposed censorship of conservatives by tech companies," Lenn noted.
The report also pointed out that in recent weeks, ahead of a renewed push by conservatives including Donald Trump Jr. to convince the public and lawmakers that their views are being censored, right-leaning pages' interactions spiked.
"Between January 14 and March 17, the weeks leading up to this new wave of conservative censorship claims--right-leaning pages on average actually received more interactions than left-leaning pages," MMFA reported.
The group's findings directly contradicted Trump Jr.'s claim, published in The Hill on March 17, that companies like Facebook are excluding "outspoken conservatives from wide swaths of American life simply because their political views differ from those of tech executives."
"Right-wing media are (still) lying about censorship," the group tweeted.
Reaffirming earlier findings, the media watchdog group Media Matters for America released a study Tuesday showing that contrary to Republican claims, Facebook is not censoring right-wing users or messages.
The group studied nearly 400 accounts focused on political news between July 2018 and March 2019, including pages reporting from a right-wing viewpoint, left-leaning pages, and pages purporting to deliver "non-partisan" news.
The research clearly showed, MMFA external affairs director Rebecca Lenn wrote on Twitter, that "Facebook is still not censoring conservatives."
Over 37 weeks, Media Matters found that right-wing pages had slightly more interactions than left-leaning pages, suggesting that Facebook could not be suppressing the accounts' ability to post content any more than it is with left-leaning pages.
Conservative accounts had an average of 372,000 weekly interactions during the time period MMFA studied, while progressive and liberal accounts averaged 369,000 interactions per week. Both left-leaning and right-leaning pages had far more activity than so-called centrist or non-partisan accounts.
Media Matters' latest report matched earlier findings in a July study, in which the group found engagement levels of right-leaning and left-leaning accounts to be roughly equal.
The study was released a day before a planned congressional hearing regarding "the supposed censorship of conservatives by tech companies," Lenn noted.
The report also pointed out that in recent weeks, ahead of a renewed push by conservatives including Donald Trump Jr. to convince the public and lawmakers that their views are being censored, right-leaning pages' interactions spiked.
"Between January 14 and March 17, the weeks leading up to this new wave of conservative censorship claims--right-leaning pages on average actually received more interactions than left-leaning pages," MMFA reported.
The group's findings directly contradicted Trump Jr.'s claim, published in The Hill on March 17, that companies like Facebook are excluding "outspoken conservatives from wide swaths of American life simply because their political views differ from those of tech executives."
"Right-wing media are (still) lying about censorship," the group tweeted.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy