On Thursday , the House Judiciary Committee held what is destined to go down as one of the dumb hearings in US history . for research potential political bias on social media platforms , button-down commentators Diamond and Silk were invited to testify under oath . The proceedings should have never pass , but here we are .
For over two hour , the citizens committee listened to testimony from experts and non - experts about algorithmic manipulation on social connection . More than anything , we heard some magnetic variation on the tale , “ Facebook censored me because I am a ‘ deplorable’/Christian / anti - abortion person . ” While some interesting topic were evoke , and the sound rule of thumb for social networks were clear up , it seems safe to say that few of the attendee learned anything . As with all things Facebook , this was right smart more complicated than it had to be .
For the uninitiated , Diamond and Silkare sisters who support Donald Trump , Wiley Post MAGA video blogs online , and occasionally monologue on Fox News while Tucker Carlson smirk in the corner . They were hoist into the controversy surrounding Facebook following their accusations that the societal connection was penalizing their content for political purpose . Their case became a chief level of question fromconservative lawmakerswhen Mark Zuckerberg appear at congressional hearings earlier this month . Zuckerberg let in that at one point Facebook made an “ enforcement error and we have already gotten in feeling with them to reverse it . ” The claim that there is evidence the channel was discriminated against by Facebook has beenthoroughly debunked .
Thehearingstoday were officially about “ Filtering Practices of Social Media Platforms , ” but in realism , it was just a piece of political theater in which bourgeois lawmakers put forward anecdotal grounds of some incidents in which users felt they were being discriminated against because Facebook is a liberal machine that in no way affected the election of Donald Trump . Diamond and Silk were more than happy to say that ’s straight ; expert on the witness instrument panel repeatedly said there was no grounds to support such a claim .
The whole show was really bizarre , with conservatives argue that Facebook is now a public square and should be regulated to follow First Amendment protections . The ideologic role reversal continued with Democratic lawmaker reminding everyone that it ’s unconstitutional to require private companies to follow First Amendment guidelines . At one stage , Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert prove just how implicated he was for these two patriot pundit when he bid them “ Gold and Silk . ” He said that he ’s “ not for more government regulating ” but in this case , he ’s “ influence on laws ” to guard Facebook nonresistant for censoring speech .
Then something interesting happen . Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee start her opportunity to question the witness by submit that she does n’t view this hearing as specially important but affirmed her impression that Diamond and Silk have the same rightfield to exemption of spoken language as everyone else . Then Lee ask the two if they ’d ever received payment from the Trump campaign . The question was in reference to a $ 1,274.94 payment listed in the campaign’samended FEC filing , asGizmodowas first to taper out . The already disputative Q&A turn hostile as the two raised their voices over questions and Diamond ( her effectual name is Lynette Hardaway ) definitely stated , “ We have never been paid by the Trump campaign ! ” The question was asked several meter with variations on the dollar figure , and each clip the reply was no .
Later , Rep. Hakeem Jeffries return to the line of questioning . He presented FEC filing and ask if the two were aware that they took an oath to tell the the true under penalty of lying under oath . They said they were . He demand if they were familiar with the news report that says they were pay , $ 1,274.94 by the Trump drive . Silk ( Rochelle Richardson ) respond , “ We are intimate with that special line . We can see that you do take care at fake news . ”
Jeffries clarify that this is a federal written document filed by the Trump campaign , and ask the witnesses to clarify who is lie in this situation . Diamond and Silk consulted their prepared remarks and explicate that they were pay for to join the Women for Trump tour in 2016 . They said they ante up for plane ticket from New York to Ohio , and Donald Trump ’s daughter - in - practice of law , Lara , continue to get them reimbursed for their travel . And well , in their heart that ’s not a defrayal .
Whether any of that would amount to lying under oath seems unlikely . But we do finally have an on - the - platter explanation for that previously disclosed payment , and we also have to ask if Diamond and Silk may have left anything else out of their testimony that did n’t get full illumination . Unlike with Zuckerberg , we ca n’t imagine the YouTube stars have an army of embodied attorney to prep them with tight talking points beforehand .
While that enquiry was presumably clear up , others were raised by Diamond and Silk ’s officialwritten testimonial . They gainsay legion claims made by Facebook in recent weeks and present anecdotal grounds that they ’d been targeted for a “ shadow ban . ” One of the principal points of rivalry was that Facebook claimed it was in lineal contact with them ; Diamond and Silk enjoin that was n’t true when the comment was made . We ’ve postulate Facebook if it dispute any view of Diamond and Silk ’s testimony but the company did n’t allow for an answer .
It ’s easy to blame the total pointlessness of the audience today on a grouping of political grifters who are either trying to increase their star big businessman or reinforce the nonsensical idea that conservativist are marginalized . But let me suggest you just blame Facebook for all this . Facebook was ask in to the hearing and could have cleared some things up mighty away , it decided not to show up .
In reaction to our questions about the hearing , a Facebook spokesperson only added to the company ’s incense obfuscation by direct us this quote from Zuckerberg ’s testimony : “ I ’m very attached to making sure that Facebook is a platform for all ideas . That ’s a very important founding precept of what we do . We ’re majestic of the discourse and the unlike ideas that multitude can share on the service , and that is something that as long as I ’m running the company I ’m going to be committed to shit sure is the character . ”
Facebook remains tight - lipped on what happen with Diamond and Silk , and in general , it ’s frightening at explaining how its political platform works . When it does explain the political platform , it swallow it inlong textsfilled with platitude about it being a station for everyone . It ’s not . It ’s a post for whomever Facebook resolve it want to be there . It says you control the content you see . You do n’t . There ’s no indication that it manipulates what shows up in the provender for political design , but it does use algorithmic rule to surface what will better pump - up habit-forming engagement and ad dollars .
Congress is fill up with blockhead shite rambling on about thing they do n’t empathize . If Diamond and Silk were n’t run their finical illegitimate enterprise , someone else would . But there ’s only one Facebook , and the mix-up it disperse has us all running around arguing about a lot of crap .
[ House Judiciary Committee Hearings ]
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