Facebook Caught Censoring Conservatives, Drawing Backlash

The US Senate Commerce Committee today opened an inquiry into Facebook employees' alleged manipulation of the site's news story selection. The committee has legislative oversight of numerous areas of American commerce, including communications and consumer-protection issues. Its chairman, Sen. John Thune (R-SD), signed a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg containing questions about the nature of the company's Trending Topics section following allegations, reported first by Gizmodo yesterday, that contract workers censored stories from conservative outlets.

"Facebook must answer these serious allegations and hold those responsible to account if there has been political bias in the dissemination of trending news," Thune said in a statement. "Any attempt by a neutral and inclusive social media platform to censor or manipulate political discussion is an abuse of trust and inconsistent with the values of an open Internet."

Source: The Verge