Times Examiner Facebook Logo

Friday, December 13, 2024 - 08:08 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

The New York Post's breaking news of emails purporting to show Hunter Biden scheming to make money off the family name has created a social media firestorm. Twitter began blocking users from sharing it almost instantly. Facebook didn't block the story outright, but they did announce almost immediately that they were "reducing its distribution on our platform." Even for the most sober observer, it sure seems like the social media platforms are interfering with the free flow of information relevant to our election. This is all the more so when you consider that stories critical of President Donald Trump, such as the anonymous leaks of his taxes, were not similarly blocked or throttled.

There are a few caveats needed to look at this objectively.

First, the Post story was interesting but not earth-shattering. We have known for quite a while that Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine were -- to say the least -- shady. Only the most bitter Biden partisan would pretend that Hunter Biden got all that money for any other reason than that his father was vice president. The new emails indicate that Joe Biden actually met with Hunter's high-dollar Ukrainian client, Burisma. If true, that's a big advance to the story and means Joe Biden has been less than truthful to date. None of this proves Biden did anything corrupt on behalf of his son, but it doesn't look great.

Second, the sourcing of the Post story is odd and worthy of potential challenge. The data in question was reportedly on a laptop that was left behind at a computer repair shop and never picked up. Apparently, the shop owner had a right to examine the contents after it was abandoned for 90 days. He says he called the FBI and also made a copy, which he somehow got to Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani and former Trump insider Steve Bannon. Campaigns play games late in elections. It's fair to question all this, given the characters involved and the facts alleged.

What's not fair is for purportedly neutral tech platforms to arbitrarily decide people should not see this information. That's what Twitter and Facebook did. Twitter justified the decision in a statement to the Daily Caller News Foundation: "In line with our Hacked Materials Policy, as well as our approach to blocking URLs, we are taking action to block any links to or images of the material in question on Twitter." Facebook issued a statement immediately upon publication calling for the Post piece to be fact-checked and indicating that its distribution would be reduced with no justification provided.

The platforms are in a tough spot. Those who argue that they should allow all speech with no regulation are arguing that these private companies must allow swastikas, pornography and other content that would turn away customers and advertisers and reflect negatively on their brands. That can't be the solution. No private company is going to do that, and normal people wouldn't want to be on there if they did.

It's undoubtedly true that there are both organized and organic efforts to spread all sorts of complete lies on the internet, especially on social media platforms. My own company's Check Your Fact site is an approved fact-checker for Facebook. We spend most of our time debunking bogus information. Just recently, we debunked a viral post saying Trump admitted to picking Amy Coney Barrett because he wanted a good-looking woman on the court and another claiming Joe Biden was caught kneeling for the national anthem. Neither of those claims is the least bit true.

Misinformation like that is all over the web. It's not unreasonable to set up a fact-checking system to call out this misinformation. The one we work under is managed by the nonprofit Poynter Institute. It requires us, among other things, to be completely transparent in our work and to explain our process. It's a free-speech solution to a free-speech problem.

Due to their scale, the giant social media platforms have become necessary to the dissemination of political speech in our country. If they block you, most voters don't hear you. That's an overwhelming level of power to wield in a democracy. That power must be wielded fairly and lightly, or it screams for regulation. Unfortunately, the platforms' behavior to date seems neither fair nor light.

This latest New York Post story is only the most recent example. It's unclear how this story violates Twitter's hacking policy. If the laptop in question was left at the store and forfeited after 90 days, then how is that hacking? Transparency and a sound explanation seem like very little to ask of a company making decisions that affect the flow of election information. On the fairness score, why is this story blocked and the one on Trump's taxes, to use just one example, not?

There is another option available to the big platforms. Resist the left's calls for you to step on the election scales. Let the voters get all this information and decide for themselves. People are not stupid. The Post story is a great case study. The Daily Beast and other news outlets have already tracked down the computer store owner, who is now contradicting himself quite a bit. That doesn't look great. People can judge it. They already are. Through this process of open exchange of free information, people can make up their own minds on what to believe.

This may not be a perfect solution, but it's a hell of a lot better than a political staffer at some huge multinational company deciding what's approved news and what's not and providing little explanation or consistency in the application of these oblique standards. Due to its overly aggressive censorship of this story, Twitter has now blocked the New York Post story, numerous reporters and even the president's press secretary. All this three weeks before a national election. It's as if they want to invite federal regulation.

----------------

Neil Patel co-founded The Daily Caller, one of America's fastest-growing online news outlets, which regularly breaks news and distributes it to over 15 million monthly readers. Patel also co-founded The Daily Caller News Foundation, a nonprofit news company that trains journalists, produces fact-checks and conducts longer-term investigative reporting. The Daily Caller News Foundation licenses its content free of charge to over 300 news outlets, reaching potentially hundreds of millions of people per month. To find out more about Neil Patel and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators website at www.creators.com

COPYRIGHT 2020 CREATORS.COM

 

Tucker Carlson and Neil Patel

Tucker Carlson currently hosts Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” (weekdays 8 p.m. ET). He joined the network in 2009 as a contributor.

“Tucker Carlson Tonight” features powerful analysis and spirited debates, with guests from across the political and cultural spectrum. Carlson brings his signature style to tackle issues largely uncovered by the media in every corner of the United States, challenging political correctness with a "Campus Craziness" segment and tackling media bias and outrage during "Twitter Storm."

Carlson co-hosted “Fox & Friends Weekend” starting in 2012, until taking on his current role at “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”

While at Fox News, Carlson has provided analysis for “America's Election Headquarters” on primary and caucus nights, including in the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, as well as the 2014 midterm election. He also produced a Fox News special, "Fighting for Our Children's Minds," in 2010.

Prior to working at Fox News, Carlson hosted “Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered” on PBS from 2004 to 2005 and “Tucker” on MSNBC from 2005 to 2008. He joined CNN in 2000 as its youngest anchor ever, co-hosting “The Spin Room” and later CNN's “Crossfire,” until its 2005 cancellation. In 2003, he wrote an autobiography about his cable news experience titled "Politicians, Partisans and Parasites: My Adventures in Cable News."

Carlson graduated with a B.A. in history from Trinity College in Connecticut.

Neil Patel

In addition to his role as publisher of The Daily Caller, Neil Patel is co-founder and managing director of Bluebird Asset Management, a hedge fund investing in mortgage-backed securities.

Before starting his two companies, Neil served in the White House from 2005 to 2009 as the chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney. From 2001 to 2004, Neil was staff secretary to Vice President Cheney. Prior to joining the Bush administration, Neil was assistant general counsel at UUNET Technologies. Earlier in his career, Neil practiced law with Dechert Price & Rhoads. He also served as Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China. 

Neil received his B.A. from Trinity College in Connecticut and his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as associate editor of the Journal of Law and Policy in International Business.

Neil lives in Washington, D.C., and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with his wife, Amy, their two daughters, Caroline and Bela, and their son, Charlie.

COPYRIGHT 2019 CREATORS.COM