The Underestimated Influence: Big Tech’s Control over Conservative Voices

In an era where the term ‘conspiracy theory’ is thrown around with reckless abandon, it’s worth remembering a time when suggesting COVID-19 could have originated from a Wuhan lab was called conspiratorial.

Expressing this view could even lead to a ban from online platforms. Interestingly, we now know even those who publicly dismissed this theory may have privately harbored suspicions or beliefs to the contrary.

Censorship, it seems, is less about ensuring the dissemination of accurate information and more about maintaining a particular narrative.

This has become increasingly evident as prominent conservative voices like Ben Shapiro, Glenn Beck, and Scott Adams face punitive actions from major tech platforms. The goal appears to be to silence dissenting voices and uphold a specific narrative.

Glenn Beck erased from Apple.
Scott Adams banned by Amazon.
As we get closer to the 2024 election, keep an eye on which conservatives will get censored by Big Tech and which ones won’t.
Hint: The NeverTrump conservatives won’t.
— NotKennyRogers (@NotKennyRogers) August 16, 2023

On a recent Tuesday, censorship reared its ugly head once again. Within an hour, two high-profile individuals were stripped of their access to major publishing platforms.

Apple abruptly removed Glenn Beck’s podcast from their platform without any explanation, while Scott Adams announced that Amazon had permanently banned him from self-publishing his books on their Kindle platform.

Both incidents could potentially be attributed to technical glitches, but the affected parties are hoping that public pressure will prompt a response from decision-makers who can clarify the reasoning behind these actions.

Unfortunately, these tech giants, despite their immense profits, often offer customer service that leaves much to be desired.

So what’s the “issue” @Apple?! pic.twitter.com/r111EXD8uS
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) August 16, 2023

Adding to the list of censored conservatives, YouTube suppressed monetization for the first episode of Ben Shapiro’s new series, Facts, citing it as a non-monetizable ‘conspiracy theory.’

This incident highlights the power these platforms wield in shaping narratives and silencing dissenting voices.

Content creators depend on access to customers and these platforms hold a near-monopoly over distribution channels.

Platforms like YouTube, Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Twitter have the power to make or break a content creator’s career.

These platforms often collaborate through ‘independent’ third parties, largely funded by left-wing organizations, to create ‘safety’ guidelines and ‘fact checks’ that gatekeep public access.

Ben Shapiro recently delved into how ‘brand safety’ is now used as a blanket excuse to silence conservatives. Ironically, companies like Target and Bud Light, which adhered to these standards, suffered billions of dollars in lost revenues and company value.

This article appeared in TheDailyBeat and has been published here with permission.