COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW – 08/08/2019
Mathew Ingram
Despite an almost total lack of evidence to support the theory, alt-right groups and mainstream conservatives alike—including the ones that currently occupy the White House—continue to promote the idea that Facebook, Twitter and Google are somehow biased against them. It’s a conspiracy theory that has cropped up since at least 2016, and has led to some almost farcical situations, including a Congressional hearing in which the right-wing YouTube hosts known as Diamond and Silk argued that the platforms were censoring them, despite the fact that they had a large and growing following on almost every service. Donald Trump has repeatedly made the case that Twitter is somehow throttling his reach, despite the fact that he has more than 60 million followers.