The Silicon Valley lefties hiding out in their digital bunkers may be a tad over-confident these days, or perhaps they just set their algorithms to DEFCON 1 by mistake. Either way, they are being called out by none other than first son Donald Trump, Jr.
Whether you are a Donald Two fan or not, the man has a point. In a commentary on RealClearPolitics.com, the president’s son submits his case that the lefty censors are getting mighty heavy-handed. One thing the son may have learned from his father is not to permit himself to be pushed around:
“Anti-conservative censorship online has gone from bad to worse. As major social media platforms start to target me for censorship, I shudder to think what that means for millions of other Americans, especially as we approach the 2020 presidential campaign.”
This time it was Instagram that drew the penalty flag. Apparently, Don Jr. took to the photographic social media site to comment on the disintegrating Jussie Smollett story, when he received a “post deleted” notice. In a classic Trumpian push back, Don Jr. complained that the move was “blatant censorship.” He then opined, “Conservatives soon let me know by direct message that Instagram was preventing them from following my account, or even sharing or liking any of my posts.”
Yet Another “Error”
Instagram then did what has become all too common – they claimed the deleted post was a “mistake.” This familiar refrain is becoming a tired and overused mantra that is less believable by the day, and Instagram is hardly an isolated perpetrator. But of course, Facebook owns Instagram, so it’s six of one, half a dozen of another. Everyone knows the sagas of Alex Jones and journalist Laura Loomer, not to mention when Twitter was caught in flagrante trying to censor Candace Owens.
The best thing one can say about all this digital book burning is that at least conservatives are willing to speak up and hit back. Even when the AI anti-conservative settings are in the stratosphere there is often very little one can do about it. Sure, Owens, Trump, Jr., and Jones have big names to fall back on – but what about Joe Six Pack who is inexplicably shut down? Do you think the Big Boys in Menlo Park would be as likely to issue a “heartfelt” apology to the average citizen like the one that was granted to Donald, Jr.?
Ah, that’s probably a gray area, as in very gray.
Take for instance Liberty Nation’s Political Correspondent Graham Noble. He’s been banned from Twitter for “hate speech” for several months now. “I have little doubt that the ban was more generally aimed at my political opinions than a single tweet,” says Noble. Thus far, no apology appears to be forthcoming.
Time to Grow Up
Could it be that this is a simple case of the fish rotting from the head down? After all, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a very long “history of apologizing for the company’s mistakes and promising to do better.” And that’s a quote from The New York Times. Zuckerberg has an extensive history of what appear to be hollow apologies. “So we have made a lot of mistakes in running the company,” he told Congress. “I think it’s pretty much impossible, I believe, to start a company in your dorm room and then grow it to be at the scale that we’re at now without making some mistakes.”
Perhaps it’s time to give Zuckerberg and friends a lesson in adulthood. Growing up includes taking responsibility for one’s actions. Donald Trump, Jr. is right to call out Instagram, and those who run social media’s virtual monopolies would be wise to tamp down their protests of ignorance and loosen up their electronic censorship of conservatives. Should they be able to hold two thoughts in their heads at the same time, another lesson of maturity is knowing that when you take a cheap shot, you are bound to get a broadside hit on the next play.
