U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) sent a letter confronting Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over reports that the platform is unfairly censoring shooting sports content and athletes.
Meta has reportedly shadow-banned and de-platformed several members of USA Shooting who represent our nation on the world stage, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Vincent Hancock and Paralympian McKenna Geer, in blatant instances of bias against the Second Amendment and freedom of expression. The West Point Rifle Team has experienced similar censorship. Big Tech must be held accountable for this unacceptable bias and pattern of censorship.
Elite Athletes in Shooting Sports Report Meta is Censoring Their Content
“According to reports, Meta has censored leading athletes in shooting sports, including Olympian Vincent Hancock and Paralympian McKenna Geer. Mr. Hancock, a U.S. Army veteran, recently won his fourth Olympic gold medal in skeet shooting, having previously proved himself the world’s best marksman in 2008, 2012, and 2021. A dominant figure in the sport, Mr. Hancock is the first skeet shooter to earn an Olympic gold medal more than once, and he joined an elite group, becoming only the sixth Olympian to win a gold medal in the same event four times. He has become a role model for others in the same way that swimmers look to Michael Phelps. Yet, instead of allowing his athletic feats to be celebrated, moderators at Meta have chosen to punish Mr. Hancock by restricting his accounts.”
Meta Displays Bias Against Firearm Content Without Clear Guidelines
“In July of this year, Ms. McKenna Geer faced similar censorship from Meta. Ms. Geer was born with a muscular disorder that can impact an individual’s ability to do even the simplest tasks. Incredibly, Ms. Geer has risen to the highest echelons of shooting sports and was chosen to represent the United States in the air-rifle event at the Paralympic Games. When she posted a photo holding the very rifle she used to qualify for the Games, Meta flagged the photo as a violation of its guidelines and informed her that she would be effectively shadow-banned, with nonfollowers being unable to view her account or her content, all because her post failed to promote a ‘safe environment.’ When she tried to appeal the decision, the appeal platform wasn’t functional.”
Meta Has a Pattern of Censoring Shooting Sport Athletes and Suppressing the Freedom of Speech
“Meta’s discrimination is not limited to these two athletes. Instead, this pattern of censorship has affected other shooting athletes and even the West Point Rifle Team’s page, which Facebook argued violated their Community Standards. This censorship seems specifically targeted at shooting sports, as no other sport faces the same online discrimination. Any reasonable individual could draw only one conclusion: this attack on freedom of speech and sport is simply due to the use of a firearm. Never mind the fact that many of these athletes use their platforms to advocate for firearm safety and responsible gun ownership, or that shooting is one of the few sports that can unite athletes across the boundaries of age and ability. This is simply an effort by Meta to virtue signal to the world and trample on these athletes’ freedom of expression.”
Click here for the full text of the letter.
