Recently, social media giants Twitter and Facebook have courted GOP lawmakers hoping to convince them that social media is not biased against conservatives or, at least, is working on being less biased. While social media sites don’t owe their users a neutral platform, their efforts to be unbiased are essential to keeping users and maintaining trust and profitability.
Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are private companies. Although they obviously play an increasingly important role in the consumption of media, the spread of information and public life, they, unlike the public forum of a town square, do now owe users who have chosen to use their services a neutral platform. As a private company, their obligation is instead to their investors and shareholders.
The ideal of neutrality and obligation to profitability are closely aligned. Without users who are willing to trust media giants such as Facebook and Twitter to not manipulate or delete information, the sites lose profitability as ads are worth less and social prominence declines. This is why they are so concerned with building trust among conservative leaders. It has little to do with a commitment to enabling the sharing of diverse ideas but rather with ensuring that their companies remain relevant and viable. If Trump takes his viral tweets to another platform, for example, that would be damaging to Twitter.
Social media companies seem to realize that recent accusations of bias from conservatives have hurt their brand image. Addressing accusations of bias in a note to employees, Twitter’s chief executive Jake Dorsey explained, “it’s no secret that we are largely Left leaning, and we all have biases.” He added, “that includes me, our board, our company.”
This acknowledgment from Twitter as well as the recent private dinners with prominent conservatives and Facebook’s full review of business practices, among other actions, signal an understanding of a need to remain natural in the public eye – and to go the extra mile to demonstrate to their conservative users that they are committed to such neutrality.
This lip service to unbiased platforms isn’t the whole story, however, as many social media executives are vocally anti-Trump. Between their beliefs and claims to support neutrality is the need for success. That, rather than any commitment to providing a platform for diverse ideas, will ensure that giants like Twitter and Facebook keep listening to conservative voices.
