Majority of Americans believe censorship exists on social media platforms, study finds
In this day and age, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have some sort of presence on social media. People from every corner of the country can express their own points of view online.
Now, a new study finds most Americans believe social media platforms censor political viewpoints the platform finds objectionable. Among surveyed Republicans, 85 percent believe tech companies censor what they consider to be objective political views. In comparison, 62 percent of surveyed Democrats say they believe companies are taking part in censorship.
“Republicans tend to be less trusting and more skeptical of public entities and large institutions, whether it concerns technology companies, the news media or higher education,” the study’s author, Aaron Smith, told . “This is very much in line with attitudes of conservative Americans that we’ve seen over the last couple years.”
Some officials at tech companies have admitted they have had concerns about biases in their companies.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told Congress that he tries to root out biases in his company. Earlier this month, the company its “trending” section, which had come under fire by critics who claimed the section suppressed conservative news.