It seems Big Tech censorship is now so ubiquitous that it's a joke among content creators. Even social media accounts focusing on non-political topics like gaming and viral content are becoming increasingly aware of the problem, with some YouTubers 'bleeping' out certain words from their videos for fear of being demoted by the algorithms.
This is especially the case for conservatives and those critical of popular progressive politics, who are now being frequently banned and suspended by Big Tech. This got me thinking about the current trajectory of social media, and what it means for the future if it doesn't change.
The fact is that we are headed for absolute information tyranny on social media. The control is becoming so absolute that pretty soon all views and opinions will be vetted for compliance with the established narrative, and nothing will be said otherwise.
How do I know that social media is on this path? You might be sceptical that this is a widespread phenomenon, or think it can be corrected with a little reform. But I believe the evidence is overwhelming that this is an endemic problem.
Absolute control
In order to become tyrannical, there has to be the exercise of absolute control with no accountability. In this regard, social media in conjunction with Google (which handles 90% of all internet searches) exercises almost absolute control over the flow of information around the world. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are the defacto public square, and though communication still happens elsewhere, the vast majority takes place on and through social media.
Twitter is the favoured platform for breaking news and trends, and often determines what stories get wide circulation. And while Facebook (now Meta) has seen recent decline, it still retains a lot of users thanks to its longer-form content. YouTube is still the foremost video sharing platform and has no real contenders.
Bias for a dominant ideology/party
The ability to exert total control over others is not itself an indication of tyranny, but coupled with bias for a particular political faction or ideology certainly is, and the leaders of Big Tech are no exception.
Almost every single Silicon Valley corporation is dominated by employees who favour progressive Democrat politicians and their leftist-ideology. A chart created by Vox used data from political donations to show how Big Tech almost entirely donates to Democrats. A whopping 98.7% of donations by Twitter employees went to the blue party, with 96% by Facebook, and 94.5% by Google/Alphabet, which also owns YouTube.
A Media Research Centre (MRC) report in 2018 confirmed the bias in Big Tech with damning findings. Twitter was found to be the leader in censorship, with employees reportedly being caught on tape admitting to shadow-banning conservatives. Former employees of Facebook have accused the social media giant of burying conservative news content on its feeds regardless of actual news trends.
I wrote previously about Twitter's corruption when Elon Musk launched his takeover bid in an attempt to reform the company. Among the multitude of critics to the deal - including most of mainstream media - was an alliance of 26 NGOs & activist organizations backed by powerful progressive elites including George Soros, Obama and Clinton staffers, and Bill Gates.
The now well-documented Hunter Biden laptop scandal was banned from being shared by Twitter the moment it was published by The New York Post - and this was less than three weeks before the 2020 US election. In a recent interview with podcast host Joe Rogan, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook "decreased" the story's distribution in its news feeds at the behest of the FBI.
A poll found that a remarkable 71% of Democrats would have changed their vote had they known the truth about the story before the 2020 election, so it's safe to say that Big Tech is interfering in elections.
Censorship of dissent
This picture of tyranny wouldn't be complete without the ruthless suppression of dissent, and the big three are blatantly suppressing conservatives in a variety of ways.
Last week Facebook briefly suspended the popular right-leaning account 'Libs of TikTok' after a video it posted claiming that the Boston Children's Hospital promotes "gender-affirming hysterectomies" to young girls led to threats against staffers. Twitter followed suit by locking the account on Sunday.
Satire news site Babylon Bee has had multiple suspensions. Most notably the site was once 'fact-checked' by Snopes when it mocked Jussie Smollett and CNN in a fake story joking that the disgraced actor was offered a job with the media outlet for his "ability to fabricate a story out of thin air".
Yes, this actually happened and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Too many people critical of leftist politics and ideology have experienced some form of censorship on social media for this to be ignored. As the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely, and that is where social media is headed.
I shouldn't end without mentioning the fact that there are commendable efforts to expose this corruption and fight back. Some are suing Big Tech for overreach, and even creating alternative media infrastructure. We each need to do our part to support their efforts and help avert this trajectory towards tyranny.
