Most people seem to assume that tech giants like Google and Facebook are invincible.
It’s true that these companies have built an incredible “technology moat” that the competition needs to cross. These guys are light years ahead of the competition in terms of tech and ecosystem.
However, I think they have a serious chink in their armor. A growing weakness that could get worse…
Censorship
Google (GOOGL), Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR) and even Apple (AAPL) have recently started simultaneously censoring content.
You’ve probably heard about Alex Jones being banned from all these sites. But he was only one of at least 800 alternative news organizations and blogs that were purged permanently.
Independent media sites like Anti-Media were among the recent victims. Anti-Media had more than 2 million followers on Facebook before its account was deleted.
I’ve read this site before, and it’s a legitimate project. There was no need for Facebook to shut it down.
Facebook’s move has crippled Anti-Media’s business. But it’s fighting on and moving to blockchain-powered Steemit.com, where it can earn STEEM cryptocurrency for its posts.
TheFreeThoughtProject.com is another site that was recently banned. I happen to read this site occasionally, and it’s a legitimate independent news site. It had 3 million followers on Facebook. Then Facebook purged it.
These groups have the right to express their opinions. They weren’t doing anything illegal or immoral. The fact that social media platforms are snuffing out their voices is disturbing.
Inevitable Consequences
I first noticed Facebook’s bias during the 2012 presidential election. I was a Ron Paul supporter that year. During debate season, I’d go on to Facebook and search for Ron Paul groups to join. And I found nothing. Not one group showed in the results. The other candidates showed hundreds.
I learned later that there were large and active groups of Ron Paul supporters on Facebook. They just happened to be invisible during a critical time in the primary race. Facebook eventually fixed the problem and blamed it on a bug.
