Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden has gotten on board with the mediaâs narrative that the election is now over, and he has won the presidency for the next four years. Sadly, part of what he claims he will enact when he takes over.
In addition to the potential compromise of international trade agreements, personally beneficial agreements with businesses overseas, and the legalization of policies that could be incredibly detrimental to Americans at home, according to a Biden campaign staffer, we might also be able to look forward to further suppression of information that is believed to be unacceptable by Democrats.
Bill Russo, deputy communications director for the Biden campaign, spoke out on Twitter with criticism of Facebookâs handling of information spreading, saying that theyâre âshredding the fabric of our democracyâ
Russoâs series of tweets from Monday went on to tell his tens of thousands of followers, âIf you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after.
If you thought disinformation on Facebook was a problem during our election, just wait until you see how it is shredding the fabric of our democracy in the days after.
Look at what has happened in just the past week.
— Bill Russo (@BillR) November 10, 2020
Russo asserted that âIn the days after Election Day, Facebook is flooded with thousands of calls for violence. Some of them are taken down, but many are left up for hours, if not days.â
In the days after Election Day, Facebook is flooded with thousands of calls for violence. Some of them are taken down, but many are left up for hours, if not days. https://t.co/FRcnYAh8YN pic.twitter.com/Muj1P6LiDC
— Bill Russo (@BillR) November 10, 2020
The Biden staffer placed blame on conservative media when he said that, âUnsurprisingly, Breitbart was an early amplifier and legitimizer of âvoter fraudâ misinformation on Facebook, writing âThe Steal is Onâ early Tuesday afternoon after citing numerous debunked conspiracy theories.â
The publication and itâs substantial reach and credibility seems to have nestled itâs way far beneath Russoâs skin because he didnât sugar coat how he felt the conservative media should have been treated by their tech allies:
âBreitbart distribution should have been reduced on Facebook for multiple misinformation violations, but Facebookâs policy team intervened to remove misinformation strikes from its account,â Russo said.
âThe result? Facebook-enabled mobilization of conspiracy theorists using âStop the Stealâ groups ballooned to over 300k members, before finally being taken down under pressure.â
The result? Facebook-enabled mobilization of conspiracy theorists using âStop the Stealâ groups ballooned to over 300k members, before finally being taken down under pressure.
After Facebook removed the initial group, multiple new âstop the stealâ groups formed and grew rapidly.
— Bill Russo (@BillR) November 10, 2020
The communications officer cited the meteoric rise of the âstop the stealâ group that amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and was then promptly removed from Facebook (though Russo didnât seem to sit too long on the removal, just itâs organic reach on the social media platform.
âAfter Facebook removed the initial group, multiple new âstop the stealâ groups formed and grew rapidly,â the seemingly angry Russo reported to his followers. âIn its wake, Donald Trump voter fraud and election victory lies represented 17 of the top 20 posts on FB between 11/3-11/8. While Twitter disabled sharing of Trumpâs election disinformation, Facebook continued to actively promote the posts in feeds.â
To be clear about the issue: Russo seems to be irate that a social media platform would allow Americans to share their thoughts, opinions, and yes, sometimes conspiracy theories, on a platform with free ingress and egress of potentially damaging information for the Biden campaign.
Essentially, Russo is pushing the notion that social media should be treated like a college classroom where only vetted and valid (aka, DNC approved) theories should be discussed, versus treating the platform like a utility company, such as a telephone provider.
Russo appears to believe that because Facebook is a private company they should exercise their right to refuse service to ideas that are considered âdamaging.â The trouble for conservatives is that everything that doesnât align with the Democrats party platform has been made into a moral atrocity, and actual moral atrocities are ârights.â
âIt continues,â Russo said. âToday, a Team Trump âvoter fraudâ disinformation press conference — so full of lies that Fox News had to cut away — ran unmediated on Facebook. After being prompted, Facebook added a woefully ineffective closable label to it.â
âWe knew this would happen. We pleaded with Facebook for over a year to be serious about these problems. They have not.â
Russo ended his rant saying, dramatically, âOur democracy is on the line. We need answers.â
I think we can all agree with that; we do need answers. We also need to know that those answers werenât prerecorded by a thoroughly biased organization like the Biden campaign.
And while weâre on the subject of things that people said would go badly, want to talk about mail-in voting? No? I get it, you might have to beg the internet provider to not assault your eyes with things you didnât want to see, and, really, who has the time.