MRC Free Speech America recently conducted a study revealing that Facebook has interfered in U.S. elections on 39 occasions since 2008.
This raises concerns about the platform’s impact on the democratic process.
The interference began in 2012, peaked in 2020, and has somewhat diminished in the early stages of the 2024 electoral cycle.
Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s public support for free speech, his actions have often contradicted his statements.
In 2012, Facebook suspended a Veteran PAC for sharing a meme about the Benghazi attack.
In 2016, the platform censored Bernie Sanders and restricted “conservative topics” and news.
The censorship escalated in 2018 when Facebook removed ads for various congressional and state legislative candidates.
During the 2020 election, Facebook significantly increased its censorship efforts.
The platform censored posts and ads from then-President Donald Trump on at least four occasions and removed seven political ads funded by the political right.
The most notable incident was the censorship of the New York Post’s explosive report on Hunter Biden, followed by the indefinite suspension of President Trump’s accounts in early 2021.
In the year 2022, Facebook persisted in censoring various gubernatorial candidates and candidates running for the U.S. Congress.
This included Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA), Jarome Bell, a congressional candidate from the Virginia GOP, and Eric Greitens, a U.S. Senate candidate from the Missouri GOP.
Read the full report HERE.
