NBC lied. Google’s actions play dangerously in the Trump-Biden era.
Tech Platforms are playing a lose-lose game with Democrats and Republicans
On Tuesday, NBC NEWS writer Adele-Momoko Fraser published a story claiming that Google had banned right-wing websites ZeroHedge and The Federalist from its advertising platform for articles criticizing the #BlackLivesMatter movement and its coverage by left-wing media organizations. Fraser herself had participated in getting the sites banned from Google AdSense, gloating on Twitter of her organization’s involvement in reporting complaints by U.K. based activism group, Center for Countering Digital Hate (C.C.D.H.) to Google.
Except Google didn’t ban The Federalist from AdSense.
Almost immediately, Google responded saying that the claim was false. The issue had been with The Federalist’s comment section, and the tech giant worked with the publication to get the issue resolved (The Federalist has since disabled its comment section). ZeroHedge was banned from Google AdSense, but has since filed an appeal.
Fraser has since deleted her original tweet, and replaced it with a much less activism-focused thank you to the C.C.D.H.
You don’t have to be an ardent supporter of The Federalist, or even like it, to see why this hit job by NBC is troubling. This misreporting of a news organization’s actions in an article, which has yet to be corrected, by a member of its News Verification Unit signals a lack of any adherence to the basic behavior trust depends on.
There seems to be some genuine disconnect between the expressive goal of cancel-culture activism like this and what’s in the best interest for companies like Google. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are seeking to revoke Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, a landmark protection for companies like Twitter and Facebook from liability for content users post. Each side has their own reasons for wanting to revoke 230. Biden sees it as a broad shield that protects companies like Facebook and the dissemination of false information on its platform. Trump has a variety of reasons for disliking 230, from Twitter “censoring” his tweets, to a belief that tech platforms are muzzling conservative voices. With this field of eggshells, how can platforms like Twitter, Google, and Facebook take steps to avoid what feels like an inevitable hit-and-run?
The best avenue for success I can see tech platforms taking to avoid 230 protections being rescinded is to make a bet on Donald Trump losing the 2020 general election. By continuing to pressure out fake news and operating under the presumption that what limited restrictions remain on executive power can restrain Trump until a possible Biden victory, these companies can operate under a Biden-approved modus operandi until his time as president ends. Still, even in the best possible series of events for platforms, congressional Republicans and Democrats will continue to act on the offensive.
