Transparency! Zuck’s Conservative Pals Sign Away Free Speech Rights

Conservatives attending yesterday’s meeting with Facebook executives to address charges that the company is biased against conservative topics have admitted they are prevented from quoting anyone at the meeting.

It’s well-known that you can’t get on to Facebook’s headquarters without signing an NDA agreement of some kind, but this news will bolster claims that the company is not being transparent in the way it has attempted to address the concerns of conservative users.

There have been mixed messages from attendees, with some happily admitting that the entire meeting was off-the-record, while others readily admitted that they agreed not to reveal the details of what was discussed.

CNN commentator S.E Cupp, for example, specifically denied signing an NDA:

Rob Bluey, editor-in-chief of the Daily Signal, also denied signing an NDA:

But Daily Caller editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson, speaking on The Kelly File, admitted that they were “bound by” something (he didn’t say what) that prevented them from “being specific about who said what.”

This was also confirmed by Glenn Beck, who recounted parts of the meeting on his talk radio show:

Now, no one can make direct quotes, that was deal going into the room, Facebook’s deal. You can’t quote us directly and nobody can quote us in the room. You can talk about what you felt and what you heard, but it’s your opinion; let’s not throw everybody under the bus. So – I think that’s good and I think that’s fair. 

Media Research Centre President Brent Bozell also corroborated, telling FOX Business that he couldn’t discuss the details of who said what. (He also accused Breitbart of taking a “defeatist and angry” stance on the issue!) 

“I’ve got to honor the ground rules that it was all off-the-record” said Bozell.

It’s nice that 16 conservatives have left Facebook’s headquarters so encouraged by Zuckerberg’s assurances. But what about the tens of millions of conservatives who didn’t attend the meeting? They’ll have to take the punditry at their word. And, in case anyone missed the GOP primaries, most conservative pundits don’t command a particularly high degree of trust at the moment. 

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