Facebook Stays Mum on Accusations of Anti-Conservative Bias as Trump Bears Down

Facebook has not addressed accusations of anti-conservative bias despite promising in 2018 that it would produce a report discussing the matter.

The company published an update on June 30 to a civil rights audit, but it has not provided any details about a parallel probe dealing with allegations of anti-conservative bias. Facebook’s apparent foot-dragging comes as President Donald Trump and other conservatives consider whether big tech needs more scrutiny.

A Facebook representative told Politico reporters in 2018 that the company would complete the audit and publish findings “early next year.” Facebook has not yet responded to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment

The updated civil rights audit was conducted by various civil rights group and contained some eye-raising suggestions.

For one, auditors suggested Facebook’s current ban of explicit white nationalism should be expanded to include content that supports the ideology even if the term white nationalism is not used. The company banned explicit expressions of white nationalism in March, marking a significant change in policy governing content on the platform.

Tech experts worry the Facebook’s algorithms are incapable of distinguishing the subtle differences between so-called borderline white supremacist content and legitimate conservative posts. Facebook’s blunt instruments are not good at making such distinctions, experts say.

Trump and Republican lawmakers are fleshing out ways to reign in Facebook, Google and Twitter before they become too big to regulate. They’re worried Facebook is indiscriminately and unfairly de-platforming numerous conservative voices.