By AFP Staff
If you’ve ever wondered why conservative viewpoints have been targeted overwhelmingly by big tech companies for censorship, you need look no further than a new report that documents how the radical Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has slimed its way through the doors of the biggest tech companies out there, offering its services as the leading censor of conservative voices.
The SPLC fashions itself as a civil rights organization, but the truth is the Alabama-based organization is nothing more than a gatekeeper for left-wing speech, targeting mostly conservative organizations and individuals simply because they disagree with the radical left. Every year, the SPLC publishes a list of so-called hate groups that include churches and individuals. While a few far-left groups make that list, overwhelmingly it is composed of conservative organizations and individuals. Many groups have objected to being added to the list, but so far, as far as we know, no one has been removed from it.
An investigation by the Daily Caller Foundation, the organization behind the “Daily Caller” news and commentary website, has found that the SPLC is the driving force behind censorship that has been popping up on Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Twitter.
For some time now, conservative voices on the Internet have been targeted by small, very vocal minorities, who have used social media to amplify their voices despite having little real support among the American public. Now, these individuals have used their shrill voices to demand the biggest technology companies in the world to comply with their demands. In order to avoid the hounding and the bad publicity, tech companies have largely acquiesced to the demands of the fringe left and have banned conservative voices.
A spokesman for Facebook, who spoke with the “Daily Caller,” said that the tech company works directly with the SPLC “to inform our hate speech policies.” In other words, anyone on the SPLC’s list of so-called hate groups is a target for censorship.
According to the “Daily Caller,” Amazon is by far the worst offender when it comes to turning over control to the SPLC. Amazon not only allows the SPLC to police its marketplace, but also allows the SPLC to actually ban charities—even churches—from its Smile charitable program, which allows customers to make a donation directly to their favorite charity along with their Amazon purchase. If Amazon customers only knew that the multi-billion-dollar company gives the SPLC the power to ban Christian groups from its charity program they might rethink patronizing the online retailer. The problem is, Amazon doesn’t publicize this, so the SPLC nefariously gets away with censoring opposing viewpoints outside the realm of public scrutiny.
The SPLC is currently being sued by several individuals and organizations that have found themselves on the radical group’s black list.
Let Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter know that you, like the majority of Americans, do not support censorship. Contact them directly with your thoughtful letters to tell them how you feel.
AFP will continue to cover this issue as new information arises.
For all of the details, read the “Daily Caller” article.
