In a letter sent on Monday, Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt (R) demanded that Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, respond to allegations from one of their software engineers who claimed that the platform demotes content that is anti-Kamala Harris.
Last week, it was reported that senior software engineer Jeevan Gyawali was caught by a hidden camera stating that Meta’s algorithm reduces visibility of posts that are critical of Harris. This happens unbeknownst to the users who share these posts (via Daily Mail):
He provided an explanation to the unknown woman who sat at the other side of the table, saying if someone posts about Harris is 'unfit to be president because she does not have a child' that 'kind of s*** is automatically demoted.'
Gyawali, 32, also said that Meta has the ability to influence the 2024 election, claiming CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to use that power to help the Democrats.
In a letter to Metoa CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Schmitt outlined that the platform “disproportionately” manipulated conservatives’ posts:
Your public statements are, regrettably, not in line with Meta’s own actions. In a 2019 speech at Georgetown University, you defended the importance of free expression, underscoring that “giving everyone a voice empowers the powerless and pushes society to be better over time – a belief that’s at the core of Facebook.” In June 2021, you said that you regretted Meta’s capitulation to the Biden-Harris censorship industrial complex. Further, after Murthy v. Missouri, a case I started as the Attorney General of Missouri, you pledged to the House Judiciary Committee “to be neutral and not play a role one way or another – or even appear to be playing a role” in the 2024 Presidential Election. Your company does appear to be playing a clear role in thumbing the scale of political speech during this election. This is apparent not through Meta’s speech, but through its censoring of lawful conservative speech.
Schmitt then asked Meta to answer if it has been pressured by the Biden-Harris administration to censor conservative voices and if Gyawali’s allegations are true by Nov. 4