“Do the operators of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter edit their content in a fair and balanced way, or are they politically biased in the decisions they make?”
Nationally, 59% of likely U.S. Voters say operators at social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are politically biased in the decisions they make, results of a new Rasmussen Reports survey show.
Majorities of men (60%), women (57%), conservatives (74%), moderates (52%), whites (62%), blacks (52%), other races (60%) and all income groups say that social media platforms edit content in a politically-based manner. In contrast, just 31% of liberals say political bias influences social media editing.
Half (50%) of voters under 40 years old believe social media content editors are politically-biased, but that jumps to 64% of those 40-64 and 63% of 65 and older.
By education level, those who failed to graduate from high school (but attended) comprise the only group where less than half (44%) believe content editors are politically biased.
Twenty-six percent (26%) of all U.S. voters believe social media companies edit their content in a fair and balanced way. Another fifteen percent (15%) are not sure.
In a separate question, voters were asked about Facebook’s editorial decision to permanently ban Republican and former President Donald Trump from its platform.
More voters oppose (48%) the ban than favor it (41%), but opinions vary starkly along party and ideological lines. Pluralities of whites (46%-42%), blacks (53%-41%), and other races (52%-41%) all oppose Facebook’s decision to permanently ban Donald Trump. Ten percent (10%) of all U.S. voters say they are “not sure.”
The survey of 850 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on May 5-6, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
Editor's Note: This piece was first published by CNSNews.com.
