The American Conservative Union has rejected Facebook’s offer to be part of a meeting this week to discuss the online giant’s liberal bias, saying the issues run deeper than a single meeting or an algorithm that slights conservatives.
ACU Chairman Matt Schlapp said the evidence of Facebook bias has mounted, including political donations by the company’s employees and the issues it focuses on. Facebook also refused overtures “to play a meaningful role” at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference — the largest gathering for conservative activist leaders — Mr. Schlapp said.
“We know one meeting cannot possibly resolve all of the above mentioned issues,” he said.
Facebook has faced a barrage of criticism after a report last week in Gizmodo that quoted former company staffers saying conservative news was given lower priority on the site.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg insisted no bias exists and they treat all news fairly. He asked for a meeting with conservative leaders to try to explain things, and to calm the fury.
But Mr. Schlapp said Mr. Zuckerberg appeared to be more an effort at “winning the day’s news cycle” than in making changes to be more fair.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune has fired off a letter asking Mr. Zuckerberg to explain his company’s processes.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.