EXCLUSIVE: A top Republican senator will accuse Meta — Facebook’s parent company — of “shadow banning” and deleting social media posts Tuesday in a letter demanding answers from its CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, the top Republican Small Business Committeewill partly quote the year 2022 WashingtonPost report on the “deamplification” of certain Facebook and Instagram content by social media companies.
The report discussed Meta’s response to “problematic content,” which the executive at the time called “borderline” and claimed its reach may have been reduced due to its propensity to go viral.
In the letter addressed to Zuckerberg’s office in San Mateo County, CaliforniaErnst claimed that such contents included both those of the military and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Virginia.
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Among other things, your platform offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect the US military with younger generations. That is why I am concerned about Meta’s continued shadow banning and removal of U.S. Armed Forces posts,” Ernst wrote in the letter, which was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.
“The defense of our nation depends entirely on the volunteer efforts of courageous women and men who are willing to risk their lives so that every American can freely express their views.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Ernst said Americans’ freedoms are only possible through the all-volunteer armed forces in which she previously served.
“I am concerned that Meta’s algorithms are hindering our investments in connecting and recruiting the next generation of warfighters,” she added.
“The service and sacrifice of the brave men and women in uniform should be celebrated, not limited.”
In her letter, Ernst accused Meta of sporadically adjusting its violations policy without “clear grounds” and cited reports to Congress showing an increase in content restrictions on military-related posts.
“I am concerned that Meta’s algorithms are hindering our investments in connecting and recruiting the next generation of warfighters,” wrote Senator Joni Ernst. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Embedding an image of an Instagram violation alert in a particular post, Ernst listed a handful of such reports and their loss of cyber reach.
A six-hour suspension of a post on February 29 resulted in the loss of 2,500 impressions and 500 engagements, while a similar situation on March 3 reduced a post’s reach by 5,000 impressions and 1,100 engagements.
Ten posts on GoArmy’s social media account were flagged as violating guidelines over a three-day period in September, Ernst said, and the account was briefly placed on “non-recommended” status twice.
The senator said the military’s public affairs office reported disruptions at several posts, including one with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and one with soldiers aboard a helicopter.
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Facebook (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson via Fox News Digital)
In turn, Ernst asked Zuckerberg to outline the guidelines used to broker military-related content and how they are communicated to account holders.
She also asked for an explanation of the apparent suppression of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier post, and the actions taken so far to prevent future shadow bans that should not occur.
The lawmaker also demanded an estimate of the cost of the official Pentagon-approved ads that were suppressed.
