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House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) is angry---and he should be. If California citizens Googled the Republican Party prior to last week's primary election, they would have been told one of the ideologies of the Republican Party is "Nazism."
As a powerful Congressman, McCarthy is now demanding social media--Google, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and the rest of them, be held accountable for misleading the public and silencing conservatives.
McCarthy says, "If these Americans did their homework in the days before the elections, they might have encountered a disturbing piece of fake news: Google search results listed the ideology of the California Republican Party as 'Nazism'."
He says this "reprehensible smear was an insult to millions of California Republicans" and the incident is "not merely an insult. It was the latest in a trend to stigmatize and silence Americans who do not hold the latest in liberal ideology."
McCarthy says, "The social media phenomenon was supposed to be about radical curiosity, but it has descended into radical conformity."
He's right. There's definitely a trend in that direction. Many say it's much more than a "trend"-- it's an all-out effort, a cyber war, to silence Christians and/or conservatives. Or convert them.
The evidence is overwhelming. It's everywhere. The survey McCarthy refers to is the most exhaustive I've seen on the subject.
Emily Ekins, with the CATO Institute, has published: "The State of Free Speech and Tolerance in America." I suggest you spend a little time and review this survey.
The "Silent Majority" of the last generation has become the "Silenced Majority" of this generation.
McCarthy says, "In recent years, the censorship campaign has spread to Silicon Valley and especially social media, where some of the most important political debates in our country are taking place."
Like the internet itself, Silicon Valley was founded on idealistic promises rooted in freedom of information and expression," he says.
Now McCarthy says, "Left-wing activists have pressured tech companies to take a different approach to their products."
He says, "These activists want the playing field to be tilted in favor of their 'politically correct' worldview so that democratic outcomes like the 2016 presidential election can never happen again."
Google is the world's largest search engine---responsible for 90% of all internet searches.
But it isn't only Google. Facebook is also silencing conservatives. Gizmodo, an internet monitoring organization, reports that Facebook "routinely suppressed" conservative stories on its trending news section.
Amazon does the same thing.
Example: They banned the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) from its charity program. ADF, as you know, is a major player in conservative, biblical issues. They are the legal organization that represented Jack Phillips, the Christian baker in the recent Supreme Court case--winning the case with a decisive 7-2 verdict.
However, Amazon, following the counsel of the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, says ADF is a "hate group."
Twitter routinely censors pro-life advertisements.
Conservative Christian Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) was censored by Twitter when she posted her pro-life views during her recent campaign. Although Twitter eventually reversed their decision on Blackburn, other conservative pro-life groups continue to be blocked.
Facebook has, on several occasions, censored or delayed posting this Faith and Freedom Daily column.
Most recently they rejected the article I wrote quoting Vice President Mike Pence who said: "The pulpit is more powerful than the podium he and the president stand behind." There have been a number of others either censored completely or delayed in posting.
The social media conforms to the Left, even at the risk of offending conservatives and often, the consensus of the general public.
The reason they are willing to take the risk is that they have experienced no real consequences. Rep. McCarthy seems intent on changing that.
Example: One segment of the CATO survey states: "Liberals most likely to feel comfortable sharing political beliefs; conservatives most likely to self-censor." Be silent.
In response to this question, "The Political Climate Prevents me from Saying What I Believe"--only 30% of liberals felt that way, but 76% of Christians or conservatives felt intimidated or silenced. In reverse, 69% of liberals disagreed with the statement, and 24% of conservatives disagreed.
The silencing of political discourse is very concerning. However, the silencing of expressing biblical beliefs is much more concerning.
After all, every Christian is "commanded" by Jesus Himself, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person.
In the segment titled, "Liberals More Likely Than Conservatives to Say Speech is Offensive," CATO found that regarding the biblical statement, "Homosexuality is sin," 90% of liberals were offended while 47% of conservatives said they were offended.
The Bible is pretty clear on that particular issue. I wonder how many of the 47% were afraid to say what they really believe?
Social media bristles when Christian and conservative ideas and values are publicized.
Google, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Vimeo, and others are regularly caught suppressing conservative viewpoints.
The magnitude and significance of this cannot be overstated.
Every day more than 1.5 billion users worldwide visit Facebook and 158 million use Snapchat. Twitter has about 70 million users in the US and about 336 million worldwide. Google processes more than 3.5 billion searches every day---1.2 trillion annually. And 5 billion videos are viewed every day on Google-owned YouTube, and 170 million are viewed on Vimeo.
Rep. McCarthy says, "Big tech must not aid and abet this liberal crusade against the 'Silenced Majority'. It must end, for the sake of our country."
He has already begun following up on this matter politically.
The personal question then, is "What should I do?"
Silence is not an option in God's Kingdom.
Theologian and Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who ultimately gave his life for his beliefs, said this:
"Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."
Be Informed. Be Bold. Be Heard. Be Prayerful.