Pew Poll: Majority of Americans Think Social Media Sites ‘Somewhat’ Censor Political Views

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Associated Press
Lucas Nolan

According to a recent survey released by the Pew Research Center, the majority of both Republicans and Democrats believe that social media websites at least “somewhat” censor political views.

Axios reports that a recent poll published by the Pew Research Center has given a deeper insight into how social media is viewed by both Democrats and Republicans. According to the survey, more than half of Republicans believe that it is “very likely” that social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are censoring political opinions that they find “objectionable.” Similarly, 20 percent of Democrats believe that this is also the case while 42 percent of Democrats believe that political opinions are “somewhat” censored on social media.

Axios reports that according to the survey:

  • 54% of Republican or Republican-leaning adults said it was very likely that social media platforms censor political viewpoints they find objectionable. An additional 32% said it was somewhat likely.
  • 64% of those adults say that major tech companies support liberal views over conservative ones.
  • 20% of Democrats or Democratic-leaning adults said it was very likely that the platforms censor political views, and 42% said it was somewhat likely.

As Axios notes, social media companies are aware of the tense situation between their platforms and conservatives, organizing outreach meetings with various conservative groups. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey met with various conservative figures in Washington D.C. while Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg invited a group to the Facebook campus at Menlo Park, California.

While the majority of Republicans seem to be convinced that social media websites are censoring certain political opinions, Republicans are still less likely to support more regulation of social media firms than Democrats are. 72 percent of adults reportedly believe that they can trust major social media firms to only do the right thing some of the time or hardly ever. 74 percent of people do however believe that the impact of social media companies on their life was more good than bad.

Read the full report by the Pew Research Center here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com

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