Social Media News
From content moderation to political bias, The Daily Signal covers how Big Tech platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok impact free speech and public discourse.
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- News
Banned on Social Media for ‘Political Bias’? The White House Wants to Hear From You
The White House is inviting Americans to share their experiences having their social media accounts banned or suspended for “unclear” reasons through an online tool that launched Wednesday. “Social media platforms should advance freedom of speech. Yet too many Americans have seen their accounts suspended, banned, or fraudulently reported for unclear ‘violations’ of user policies,”…Evie Fordham -
- Opinion
‘Attention Engineering’: Why We Suffer in the Social Media Economy
By now, many people are aware of the fascinating experiment conducted by Microsoft to track and interpret human attention spans. They are, of course, shortening on average. Microsoft estimated that between the years 2000 and 2016, the human attention span shortened from roughly 20 seconds to eight seconds on average. As it stands, the average…Armstrong Williams -
- News
6 Key Moments From Social Media Hearings
On Capitol Hill Wednesday, Facebook’s chief operating officer and Twitter’s CEO testified about foreign entities and the use of social media platforms to influence the United States’ elections. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg and Twitter’s Jack Dorsey answered questions from the Senate intelligence committee on topics including foreign influences and “fake news.” Dorsey also appeared before the…Rachel del Guidice -
- Opinion
Social Media Giants Shouldn’t Be Arbiters of Appropriate Speech
Of course, Facebook, YouTube, and other media are free to ban conspiracy-mongers such as Alex Jones from their platforms. They have a right to dictate the contours of permissible speech on their sites and to enforce those standards dutifully or hypocritically or ideologically, using any method they see fit. No one seriously disputes this. Twitter…David Harsanyi -
- Opinion
The Bias Problem Plaguing America’s Social Media Platforms
Americans deserve the facts, objectively reported. They know media bias is pervasive. A recent Morning Consult poll found that only a quarter of voters now trust the media to tell them the truth, a record low. The media savages President Donald Trump and portrays his administration in the worst possible light. Over 90 percent of…Rep. Lamar Smith -
- Opinion
Will Facebook Stop Being Free? The Potential Downsides of a New Bill About Social Media Regulation
In congressional testimony last month, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he would support regulation of his own company. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and John Kennedy, R-La., have now taken him up on the offer, introducing a bill, S. 2728, to impose broad new restrictions on how Facebook and other social media companies can collect and…James Gattuso -
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6 of the Best Exchanges in Social Media Hearing With Diamond and Silk
Conservative social media personalities Diamond and Silk, who say Facebook has censored their page, were front and center at a congressional hearing Thursday on the content-filtering practices of social media platforms. “Shame on the ones that don’t even see that we have been censored, yet when the Black Lives Matter people complain about it—oh, everybody…Rachel del Guidice -
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Growing Number of Americans Oppose Government Regulation of Social Media
Last week’s congressional hearings with Facebook, Twitter, and Google may have had the opposite effect of what lawmakers intended. A new poll from Axios and SurveyMonkey reveals that “more Americans are now wary of the government going too far to regulate web platforms than before the hearings,” according to Axios’ David McCabe. Representatives from Facebook,…Rob Bluey -
- Opinion
How New Social Media Background Checks Could Enhance Homeland Security
Terrorist travel just got a little bit harder, as selected visa applicants are now being asked to turn over their social media information to State Department officials. While this new process is only expected to impact 0.5 percent, or 65,000 of the 13 million annual visa applications to the U.S., it still presents questions of…David Inserra -
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As Russia Uses Cyberattacks, Ukraine Bans Some Social Media Sites
KYIV, Ukraine—Citing Russian cyberattacks as a national security threat, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on Tuesday banning several popular Russian social media sites, as well as other Russian websites and news outlets, for three years. The move was part of a comprehensive cyber sanctions package against Moscow, which included a ban on VKontakte,…Paul Runko -
- Opinion
How to Win Friends and Influence People (on Social Media)
The Trump administration is less than one month old and unity seems like a pipe dream, especially if you log on to social media. Everyone has an opinion and they’re not afraid to share it, which is both the beauty and tragedy of the internet—it allows great access to information, but also erects a barrier…Beverly Hallberg -
- Opinion
Report: EPA Broke Federal Law With ‘Covert Propaganda’ on Social Media
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) broke the law when pushing its controversial water rule, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). As Congress considers whether to include a provision in the omnibus appropriations bill to block funding for the water rule, this should make the issue a no-brainer. As if a rule that attempts to…Daren Bakst -
- Opinion
Congress Must Exercise Oversight of Obama Strategy Against ISIS Social Media Propaganda
Terrorists’ use of social media has turned the Internet into a battlefield unlike any we have seen before. As a tool for terror, propaganda, and recruitment, the Islamic State (ISIS) and other terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda have used the Internet in entirely new dimensions. It turns out we have been woefully ill-prepared for this…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Terrorists Use Social Media to Win War of Ideas
Used to be that, when a crime occurred, investigators would flood the crime scene. Now, they race to access the perpetrator’s footprint in digital space. Often, that’s where they’ll find the most crucial clues. And that’s why the FBI wants to know everything Chattanooga shooter Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez did online. Digital tracing has proved particularly…James Carafano -
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How ISIS Is Waging a ‘War of Ideas’ Through Social Media
One year ago this week, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria seized Iraq’s second largest city, Mosul—its first major land grab in a battle for territorial expansion that continues today. But the reach of the terrorist organization, best known as ISIS, extends beyond a geographic battlefield, bridging traditional war tactics to disseminate brutality online….Natalie Johnson -
- News
CENTCOM Social Media Accounts Apparently Hacked by ISIS Sympathizers
The Twitter and YouTube accounts for U.S. Central Command, which oversees the war against Islamic State militants, were hacked this afternoon. Pro-ISIS statements and images appeared on the Twitter account’s profile. The first tweet was posted at 12:29 p.m. ET, with the words “AMERICAN SOLDIERS, WE ARE COMING, WATCH YOUR BACK. ISIS.” It included the hashtag #CyberCaliphate. https://twitter.com/CENTCOM/status/554691728813207552 The…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
ISIS Is Watching U.S. Military Members and Their Families on Social Media
Are U.S. military members at risk on social media? The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security this weekend jointly issued the strongest warning yet for U.S. servicemen to scrub their accounts on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. As reported by Fox News’s Catherine Herridge, the FBI and DHS are warning…Helle Dale -
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Daily Signal Story Inspires Social Media Action to Mend This Iraqi Boy Wounded in ISIS Attack
Ali Albayati, a neurologist in Iraq, learned of a little boy wounded in deadly bombings by ISIS terrorists the old-fashioned way: through a written story. Back-to-back car bomb attacks Aug. 7 struck a building in Kirkuk, Iraq, used by Shiite Muslims for religious purposes, reportedly killing and wounding scores of people. Among the severely injured…Josh Siegel -
- Opinion
Social Media Prove Double-Edged Sword for ISIS
ISIS has issued a warning to its members about their use of social media. A new directive from the group’s leaders, first reported by the Financial Times, warned against the dangers presented by metadata and other information contained in digital postings. A new ISIS hashtag has appeared in Twitter in recent weeks, Himlat Takteem Ialami—the…Helle Dale -
- Opinion
Are We Advancing in the Social Media War on Terror?
We appear to be making progress when it comes to combating ISIS propaganda online. That is the message from Rick Stengel, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, in an interview with CNN. “We have evidence that there are young people who are not joining because we have somehow interceded,” said Stengel, who had just returned…Helle Dale