House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was mocked on social media for a misleading tweet complaining that Twitter was censoring conservative voices.
Twitter has been criticized by several conservative figures who say the site is “shadow banning” right-leaning voices.
McCarthy, attempting to tweet an example of such censorship, shared a screenshot of a tweet from Fox News host Laura Ingraham that was covered by a warning of “potentially sensitive content.”{mosads}
“Another day, another example of conservatives being censored on social media,” he tweeted. “[Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey] easy fix: explain to Congress what is going on. #StopTheBias.”
Twitter users were quick to point out that Ingraham’s tweet was covered up due to settings in McCarthy’s own Twitter account, not because of a company campaign to silence conservative voices.
Twitter’s Dorsey is facing a potential subpoena from a House committee on a range of issues, including perceived bias against conservatives.
The company has said that it does not “shadow ban” according to political ideology, but acknowledged that its attempts to crack down on hate speech have unintentionally reduced search results for lawmakers from both parties.
Dorsey also admitted on Saturday that Twitter employees share a largely left-leaning bias.
“We need to constantly show that we are not adding our own bias, which I fully admit is … is more left-leaning,” Dorsey said. “But the real question behind the question is, are we doing something according to political ideology or viewpoints? And we are not. Period.”
President Trump has also spoken out on the issue, tweeting that the platform is “totally discriminating” against conservative users.
“Let everybody participate, good & bad, and we will all just have to figure it out!” he said.