According to Daily Mail, Rep. Matt Gaetz has initiated an inquiry into potential social media censorship involving a photo of former President Donald Trump after an attempted assassination.
Gaetz’s probe focuses on whether the Biden administration was involved in suppressing the distribution of images and information about the incident.
The attack occurred on July 13, 2024, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed Trump, while Corey Comperatore was killed, and two others were critically injured. Thomas Crooks was identified as the shooter.
In immediate response to the attempt on Trump’s life, the Secret Service tackled the former president to ensure his safety. Rep. Gaetz has since written to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, urging a full investigation into whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) played a role in hiding information from the public.
Gaetz’s request for information spans all communications between DHS, social media executives, and government employees from July 13 to July 31, 2024. His demand for transparency includes allegations that DHS has coerced technology firms previously.
Facebook acknowledged a mistake in censoring a real photo of Trump, initially applying a fact-check meant for a doctored image. The photo mistakenly flagged showed Secret Service agents smiling, which was falsely identified as the actual image.
Facebook's spokeswoman, Dani Lever, confirmed the error was rectified and an apology issued. “This was an error,” Lever stated. Facebook indicated the issue stemmed from their systems misapplying a fact-check from a doctored photo to the real one. Lever noted their commitment to fixing the error quickly.
Google faces claims it skewed search results to benefit Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris. The complaints suggest searches for “Donald Trump” led to information favoring Harris.
Google’s communications team explained that these search suggestions are generated based on prevalent topics in news articles. The company remains focused on updating its systems to ensure accuracy.
Donald Trump accused both Facebook and Google of attempting to manipulate the election by controlling the narrative about the assassination attempt. “Facebook has just admitted that it wrongly censored the Trump 'attempted assassination photo' and got caught,” Trump remarked.
Trump Jr. accused Google of hindering information about the event, claiming it was election interference by altering search results. Sen. Roger Marshall announced an inquiry to determine if Google intentionally suppressed details harmful to Trump's political image.
Rep. Gaetz criticized DHS, asserting that its history includes applying pressure on technology firms to censor content. In his letter, Gaetz stressed the importance of transparency and the public's right to information.
Rep. Matt Gaetz has launched a probe into possible social media censorship following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. The incident left one dead and two critically injured, with accusations of suppression against Facebook and Google emerging. Gaetz's inquiry calls for DHS transparency while both platforms are scrutinized for their content management practices.
