NewsBusters Podcast: What You CAN’T Say on Social Media

Big Tech can be easily triggered into shutting down “hateful conduct” on their websites. A new study by Free Speech America exposes how social-media giants banish posts or videos that are deemed as harmful to “marginalized” groups.

On the latest episode, FSA Associate Editor Brian Bradley lists the top issues where the American people suffer from “secondhand censorship.”. The MRC study by Bradley and by Gabriela Pariseau looked at seven platforms – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Spotify – to calculate secondhand censorship’s impact. 

They found a set of issues where the Big Tech companies are inclined to crack down on free speech: the war in Ukraine, race and critical race theory, COVID-19, transgender issues and abortion. We also discussed the latest decision by Newsguard to downgrade Fox News Channel into the “red zone,” while CNN is highly-rated. Fox somehow has unique trouble separating news and opinion.

Enjoy the podcast below or wherever you listen to podcasts.