Facebook, Twitter Turn to Right-Leaning Groups to Help Referee Political Speech

Source: Wall Street Journal

Silicon Valley giants Facebook Inc., FB 2.83% Twitter Inc. TWTR 0.10% and Google’s YouTube unit have made a concerted push to seek out input from hundreds of groups, a growing number of which lean to the right. The companies have become receptive to behind-the-scenes lobbying as well.

Among the initiatives, Facebook has privately sought advice from the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian public-policy group, and its president Tony Perkins, according to people familiar with those meetings. Twitter’s Chief Executive Jack Dorsey recently hosted dinners with conservatives, including Grover Norquist, the founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, which advocates for lower taxes. Advisers on the left include the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil-rights group that keeps a list of hate groups.

For users frustrated by the lack of clarity around how these companies make decisions, the added voices have made matters even murkier. Meetings between companies and their unofficial advisers are rarely publicized, and some outside groups and individuals have to sign nondisclosure agreements.

And in many cases, posts that are hateful to one group are considered fair game—or even uncomfortable truths—to others on the opposite end of the spectrum, opening a whole new arena to continue the political and ideological fights that are often a staple of social media.

Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-twitter-solicit-outside-groups-often-on-the-right-to-referee-political-speech-11546966779?mod=mhp