february 2021 Report Release
False Accusation:
The Unfounded Claim that
Social Media Companies Censor Conservatives
Paul M. Barrett and J. Grant Sims
Do Facebook and Twitter suppress the political right?
The claim that social media companies censor conservatives has shaped debate about issues ranging from the fallout from the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot to reform of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects platforms against liability for user posts and content moderation decisions. But the censorship claim is false, as our report demonstrates by analyzing available data and individual examples.——————————————————————-
Read our recommendations.
The aftermath of mob violence in Washington, D.C.
Conservatives have attacked Twitter's decision, in the wake of the Capitol insurrection, to ban Donald Trump permanently. But Twitter did not act based on ideology. The former president repeatedly violated the platform's rules and contributed to a real danger of further violence. By closely analyzing such episodes, the report clarifies the industry's actual conduct and clears the way for needed reform.
The way forward
We offer a series of recommendations to industry and the Biden administration in hopes of improving the platforms' content moderation practices and making them more transparent. These steps ought to allay fears that ideology taints the process. For example, the platforms should disclose the nature of any content that is removed, the particular rule(s) a post violated, how the platform became aware of noncompliance (user report versus algorithmic intervention), and how any appeals were resolved.