Exclusive: Leading Republican senators will on Tuesday accuse Facebook's parent company Meta of “shadowbanning” and deleting social media posts in a letter demanding answers from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), the top Republican on the Small Business Committee, plans to cite, in part, the 2022 outlook. washington post Reports on the “de-amplification” of certain Facebook and Instagram content by social media companies.
The report discusses Meta's response to “problematic content,” which executives at the time called “borderline” and argued that its tendency to spread must have diminished its reach.
In the letter addressed to Zuckerberg's office, San Mateo County, CaliforniaErnst claimed that such contents included military items and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Virginia.
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Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. (Jon Graeme/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Your platform, among other things, provides an unparalleled opportunity to connect the U.S. military with young generations. That is why I am concerned about Meta's ongoing shadow ban and removal of U.S. military posts. ,” Ernst wrote in a letter obtained exclusively. Fox News Digital.
“The defense of our country depends entirely on the voluntary participation of brave men and women who are willing to risk their lives so that all Americans can freely speak their minds.”
In comments to Fox News Digital, Ernst said freedom for Americans is only possible through the all-volunteer military, which she previously served.
“I'm concerned that Meta's algorithms are hindering our investments in connecting with and recruiting the next generation of warfighters,” she added.
“The service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform should be celebrated, not limited.”
In his letter, Ernst accused Meta of sporadically adjusting its violation policies without a “clear rationale” and cited a report to Congress showing increased content restrictions on military-related posts. .
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“I am concerned that meta algorithms are hindering our investments in connecting and recruiting the next generation of warfighters,” said Sen. Joni Ernst. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Ernst cited several such reports and the loss of cyber “reach” for embedding images of Instagram strikes in certain posts.
A six-hour post suspension on February 29th resulted in a loss of 2,500 impressions and 500 engagements, and a similar situation on March 3rd resulted in a post's reach reduction of 5,000 impressions and 1,100 engagements.
Ernst said 10 posts on the GoArmy social media account were flagged for violating guidelines over a three-day period in September, and the account was temporarily placed on “deprecated” status twice.
The senator said the Army's public affairs office reported confusion over several posts, including one featuring the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and another depicting soldiers riding in a helicopter.
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facebook (Kurt “Cyber Guy” Knutson, via FOX News Digital)
Ernst then asked Zuckerberg to explain the guidelines used to mediate military content and how it is communicated to account holders.
She also asked for clarification on the apparent suppression of Tomb of the Unknown Soldier posts and the steps taken so far to prevent future shadowbans.
The lawmaker also requested an estimate of the cost of the suppressed Department of Defense-approved official advertising.
