Study shows majority think social media censor political views

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 16/05/2022

A majority of Americans believe that social media sites censor political viewpoints they find objectionable. Regulation of big tech companies is controversial. The European Union is on its way of implementing stricter regulation of them to increase competition and to force them to fight disinformation and harmful content via the Digital Markets Act and Services Act. A new study shows a declining share of Americans favour government regulation of big tech. However, still, a plurality of US adults favour greater regulation – but it is declining.

44% of Americans think major technology companies should be regulated more than they are now, down from 56% in April 2021. Conversely, the share who say they want less government regulation of major technology companies has roughly doubled, from around one-in-ten in previous years to one-in-five today, the study from Pew Research Center shows.

And the study shows that Americans don’t trust social media companies. A majority believe social media companies are censoring political viewpoints they find objectionable. Rising slightly from previous years, 77% think it is very or somewhat likely that social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints they find objectionable, including 41% who say this is very likely.

Musk’s Twitter

The study was made earlier but publication coincides with Tesla-billionaire Elon Musk’s buying of Twitter and his statements about regulation of what is said on Twitter commenting on the blocking of former US President Donald Trump’s account as he was accused of inciting violence when a crowd stormed the Capitol Hill to stop the approval of Joe Biden as new US president.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Musk recently said:

“Twitter needs to be much more even-handed. It currently has a strong left bias, because it is based in San Francisco, one of the most liberal cities in the US. ‘I do not think that people are intentional, at least not all of them, I am sure that from their perspective it seems moderate, but they come out from an environment that is very far left.  This fails to build trust in other parts of the United States, and also perhaps other parts of the world”, he said.

“Twitter needs to be much more even-handed. The 10% far left and the 10% far-right must be equally upset”, he added.

Flat-out stupid

“If there are tweets that are wrong and end bad, there should be either deleted or made invisible. And a temporary suspension is appropriate, but not a permanent ban. Banning Trump from Twitter did not end Trump’s voice, it will amplify it to the right, and that’s why it was morally wrong and flat-out stupid.”

On the question whether he will allow Trump back into Twitter, Musk answered that Trump himself has stated that he will not return to the platform.

Majorities across political parties and ideologies believe social media sites engage in political censorship, but this view is especially widespread among Republicans, the Pew study shows.

“Around nine-in-ten Republicans (92%), including GOP leaners, say social media sites intentionally censor political viewpoints that they find objectionable, with 68% saying this is very likely the case. Among conservative Republicans, this view is nearly ubiquitous, with 95% saying these sites likely censor certain political views and 76% saying this is very likely occurring.”

Growing slowly

“By comparison, far fewer Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party believe it is very (21%) or somewhat (45%) likely that social media sites censor viewpoints they find objectionable.”

“Among Republicans, perceptions of censorship by social media firms have been growing slowly but consistently in recent years. The share of Democrats who perceive censorship on the part of social media companies has risen since 2020 and is now comparable to the share who did so in 2018 (66% today vs. 62% then).”

The Pew repost shows that when asked which political views are given preference by major technology companies, a 44% plurality say these companies tend to support the views of liberals over conservatives – on par with the shares seen in previous years. By comparison, just 15% say these companies favour the views of conservatives over liberals. Still, about four-in-ten (37%) say major tech companies tend to support the views of conservatives and liberals equally – a share that has slightly fallen over the years.

“Opinions about which views are shown favouritism differ widely based on partisanship. About seven-in-ten Republicans (71%) say major technology companies favour the views of liberals over conservatives, while about a quarter of Democrats (26%) say the same. Democrats are more likely than Republicans to say these companies support the views of liberals and conservatives equally (49% vs. 21%) or that conservative views are favoured (22% vs. 6%).”

Liberal over conservative

“Over the past four years, a rising share of Republicans say major tech companies favour liberal views over conservative views, while the share of Republicans who say major tech companies treat both sides equally has slightly fallen. There has been a slow increase in the share of Democrats who think these companies favour conservative views over liberal ones, but as in past years, very few Republicans say this.”

The Pew says there are again notable differences in these views when accounting for political ideology. For example, 81% of conservative Republicans say big technology companies favour liberal views, compared with about half of moderate or liberal Republicans (53%) and even smaller shares of conservative or moderate Democrats (27%) and liberal Democrats (24%).

About a quarter of liberal Democrats (27%) say major technology companies favour conservative views over liberal views, up from 16% in 2018. Regardless of ideology, only about one-in-ten Republicans or fewer share that view.