Republican lawmakers recently ordered social media companies to testify before the House Oversight Committee to “examine radicalization of online forum users, including incidents of open incitement to commit violent politically motivated acts” — while notably excluding companies led by Trump’s closest Big Tech allies.
The hearing, scheduled for October 8, comes in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and will focus on four companies in particular: Discord, Reddit, Steam, and Twitch. Conveniently left out of this group are platforms run by prolific Trump donors and allies: Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (which owns WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook), and Elon Musk’s X.
A goal of the hearing is to “prevent future radicalization and violence” stemming from social media platforms. Research shows that social media has played a substantial role in radicalizing individuals, and has long been a hotbed for hate speech — particularly on the platforms excluded from testifying before Congress.
Facebook, for example, provided a crucial organizing tool for the planners of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, orchestrated to overturn the 2020 election. X has seen a spike in hate speech since Musk purchased the platform in 2022, while the company’s chatbot “Grok” praised Adolf Hitler and pushed conspiracy theories about “white genocide” in South Africa, Musk’s home country.
Musk himself has also used extreme rhetoric on his platform. “If they won’t leave us in peace, then our choice is fight or die,” he posted the day Kirk was killed.
Musk and Zuckerberg have showered Trump with campaign and inauguration donations, with Meta giving $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund.
Musk has given even more. Through his America PAC, Musk and other tech allies donated more than $86 million for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. In total, Musk’s super PAC spent more than $171…
Auteur: Freddy Brewster
