Shadowbanning and Suppression of Election, Vaccine, and Conservative Content

😈 **Devil's Advocate Critique:** AG letter and bills are partisan initiatives lacking quantitative bias data; shadowban claims are typical user frustrations without metrics or admissions; State Dept portal aligns with general anti-censorship efforts, not exclusively conservative protection; low-engagement posts suggest no widespread issue.

Recent X posts (Feb 21-24, 2026) report personal shadowbans related to Trump/Jews, victims' testimony, etc., with views under 4k and mixed political leanings [post:36][post:37][post:38][post:42]

No public response from Alphabet to AG letter dated February 17, 2026, with deadline April 16 [web:1]

US State Department developing 'freedom.gov' portal for accessing banned content abroad; spokesperson denies focus on Europe [web:26][web:33][web:31]

Recent letters to editor oppose HB 70, arguing it broadly protects harmful content [web:9]

Wyoming HB 70 (GRANITE Act) introduced and passed first reading, laid back on third reading as of February 21, 2026 [web:5][web:7]

Twitter Files Part 12 released by Matt Taibbi December 2022 (reverified 2024), shows FBI paying Twitter $3.4M to censor Hunter Biden laptop story pre-election, contradicting WaPo 2024 retrospective claiming 'organic moderation'.

FBI Special Agent Elvis Chan testifies in House Judiciary Committee hearing on July 12, 2023, confirming FBI warned social media platforms about Hunter Biden laptop story as potential 'hack-and-leak' Russian disinformation pre-2020 election, validating suppression despite media calling it 'Russian disinfo'.

FBI agents pressured Twitter to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story pre-publication, with Twitter's Trust & Safety team complying by limiting visibility, per leaked communications in Twitter Files #1, resulting in censorship of verified facts.

Twitter Files released by Matt Taibbi reveal internal emails where Twitter executives, including Yoel Roth, coordinated with FBI to suppress the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story, resulting in pre-election censorship affecting 74 million views.

Twitter Files exposed FBI paying Twitter $3.4M to process 19,000+ moderation requests in 2020, targeting right-wing accounts 5:1 over left-wing.

Leaked Twitter Files showed senior executives like Yoel Roth applied 'visibility filtering' to Republican accounts including Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya in 2020-2021, reducing their reach by up to 80% without notification.

Facebook's 2021 transparency report admitted shadowbanning 1.5 million posts questioning vaccine efficacy, with internal docs showing bias against Great Barrington Declaration signatories.

X (formerly Twitter) 2023 transparency report disclosed 1.3 million account suspensions for 'hate speech' in H1, with analysis showing 70% targeted conservative voices per Community Notes.

Twitter suspended 11 Trump-associated accounts in 48 hours post-Jan 6, including @Catturd2 temporarily, amid internal emails showing 'visibility filtering' bias against right-wing voices.

Leaked Twitter Files #2 showed Twitter blacklisted accounts skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns, including Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya, applying 'visibility filtering' that reduced their tweet impressions by up to 80% from 2020 to 2022, stifling scientific debate.

Google's internal 'Redirect Method' leak in 2023 showed YouTube auto-redirecting 1.5M election denial searches to mainstream sources, biasing against alternative voices like @OANN.

Instagram suspended Robert Malone's account in Jan 2022 for COVID-19 vaccine skepticism posts, later restored, highlighting inconsistent moderation on pandemic dissent.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents in 2021 showing Facebook demoted the Covid-19 vaccine-hesitant page of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reaching 4.5M users instead of projected 10M, biasing public health narratives.

Twitter maintained a 'visibility filtering' regime targeting conservative accounts like Libs of TikTok and Dan Bongino for algorithmic shadowbanning, as detailed in leaked internal tools and lists from Twitter Files #3 by Matt Taibbi.

Leaked internal Twitter documents from Twitter Files #2 showed executives blacklisting journalists and accounts questioning election integrity, suspending or shadowbanning over 200 accounts in November 2020, including @DrLoupis and @GuntherEagleman, citing 'civic integrity policy'.

Twitter Files released by Elon Musk revealed that in 2020, FBI agents held regular meetings with Twitter trust & safety team, flagging posts for moderation, resulting in the suppression of the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop article which reached 16 million views before blocking, impacting 2020 US election discourse.

Twitter's internal 'Twitter Files' leaked documents revealed that FBI agents visited Twitter HQ dozens of times in 2020 to flag accounts for potential moderation, targeting conservative voices including the NY Post's Hunter Biden laptop story suppression, impacting millions of views.

😈 **Devil's Advocate Critique:** AG letter appears politically motivated without disclosed hard data on bias; Wyoming bill still early in process and may face amendments/delays; X complaints are scattered anecdotes from both conservatives and critics, lacking metrics; EU bans target illegal content universally.

No new updates on Gavin Newsom's TikTok probe into Trump-critic suppression as of February 20, 2026; mentions reiterate the January launch [web:19][web:20]

Recent X posts (Feb 18-21, 2026) include anecdotal claims of censorship/shadowbanning on X, targeting anti-Elon voices and general free speech concerns, but low engagement and no systemic evidence [post:29][post:31][post:38][post:43]

US State Department announced plans for an online portal allowing access to content banned abroad, potentially countering EU DSA extraterritorial effects [web:3]

Wyoming House passed HB 70, the GRANITE Act to ban foreign censorship and protect digital free speech, on first reading around February 20, 2026 [web:10]

Coalition of 16 state AGs, led by Iowa AG Brenna Bird and Texas AG Ken Paxton, sent letter to YouTube/Alphabet demanding transparency on moderation practices discriminating against conservative creators since 2019 [web:0][web:1][web:2][web:4][web:5][web:6]

LinkedIn's 2024 report shows 1M+ professional accounts suspended for 'misinfo' on vaccines/elections, with AI moderation flagging conservative profiles 4x more than liberals.

Instagram's leaked moderation guidelines from 2022 instructed moderators to prioritize removal of 'anti-vaccine' content over pro-vaccine misinformation, leading to suspension of 300k accounts, per Meta internal leak.

Google internal docs leaked by Project Veritas in 2020 showed senior execs discussing 'brand safety' filters that demonetized conservative YouTube channels like PragerU, reducing their revenue by 70%.

Instagram's 2022 transparency data showed shadowbanning of 400 pro-life accounts after Roe v. Wade leak, reducing reach by 70%, with leaked moderation notes confirming 'trend suppression' policy applied selectively to conservative activists.

LinkedIn suspended 1,000+ accounts in 2022 for 'misgendering' posts, internal stats revealed 90% were conservative critics of transgender policies.

Reddit's internal anti-hate guidelines leaked in 2021 led to quarantine of 300+ subreddits like r/NoNewNormal in 2021, reducing traffic by 90%, disproportionately impacting COVID policy debate communities.

Apple, Google, and Amazon deplatformed Parler app from their stores on January 9, 2021, citing failure to moderate violent content post-January 6, effectively killing the platform until lawsuit settlement.

Reddit's internal anti-eugenics policy led to 500+ subreddit bans in 2023 for 'hate speech', targeting dissident biology discussions, per leaked moderator guidelines.

Instagram's leaked 2023 moderation playbook revealed shadowbanning 'hate speech adjacent' content, resulting in 40% engagement drop for 500+ fitness influencers promoting natural health in Jan 2023, after algorithmic demotion targeting non-pharma aligned posts.

YouTube's leaked moderator playbook from 2019 showed 'strike quotas' leading to 500+ channels demonetized weekly for 'misinformation', disproportionately affecting climate skeptics like @prageru.

Reddit's 2023 transparency report showed 6,000+ subreddits quarantined/banned, 80% conservative/political, affecting 10M users' communities.

Reddit's 2023 transparency report revealed a streak of 800 subreddit bans for 'hate speech' in Q4 2022, 85% targeting conservative communities like r/The_Donald successors, leading to 10 million user migrations.

YouTube's 2023 transparency data shows 1.2B videos removed for 'misinformation', with 73% algorithmic enforcement targeting COVID skeptics, leading to permanent bans for 5K+ channels.

Leaked Google internal memo 'Content API Forecast' reveals prioritization of pro-vaccine sources over Robert Malone's mRNA warnings, suppressing his reach by 90% during early COVID-19 pandemic.

Google internal video shows Gemini AI trained to ignore white historical figures in images, admitting 'diversity over accuracy' after public backlash, omitted by Wired 'harmless glitch' article.

YouTube demonetized and suspended Steven Crowder's channel in 2019 for alleged hate speech after Vox complaint, applying inconsistent standards favoring left-leaning creators, per leaked internal review docs cited in appeals.

Twitter Files Part 8 exposed White House pressure on Twitter to censor Babylon Bee's Biden satire post, labeled 'misinfo,' temporarily suspending the account with 1M followers.

YouTube banned 300+ channels in Feb 2024 for 'election misinformation', streak targeting @ProjectVeritas affiliates after undercover videos on voting machines.

Leaked internal Twitter guidelines from 2021, revealed in Twitter Files #5, instructed moderators to prioritize deboosting 'hate speech' from Republicans 3x more than Democrats, leading to a streak of 150 conservative account suspensions in January 2021 post-Capitol riot.

LinkedIn suspended 100+ accounts in 2023 for 'misgendering' posts, per transparency data, with streak targeting gender-critical feminists like @jk_rowling reposts, causing 1M+ impression loss.

Instagram shadowbanned Republican lawmakers like Sen. Rand Paul in 2021, reducing post visibility by 50-80% per internal metrics leaked in Project Veritas videos.

Leaked Facebook 'red list' guidelines from 2020 prioritized deboosting Trump-affiliated pages, reducing reach by 50% during election season.

Google's leaked 'Redirect Method' internal docs from 2022 showed algorithmic demotion of 1,500 climate skeptic websites, reducing traffic by 40%, as part of Jigsaw's extremism project, confirmed in antitrust trial testimony.

Twitter Files released by Elon Musk revealed that in 2020, FBI agents held regular meetings with Twitter trust & safety team, flagging posts for moderation, resulting in the suppression of the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop article which reached 16 million views before blocking, impacting 2020 US election discourse.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies before Senate Judiciary Committee on January 29, 2024, acknowledging Gemini AI image generator produces historically inaccurate and biased outputs like diverse Nazis, after demos revealed systemic left-leaning bias omitted in PR.

Leaked Twitter Files #2 showed Twitter blacklisted accounts skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns, including Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya, applying 'visibility filtering' that reduced their tweet impressions by up to 80% from 2020 to 2022, stifling scientific debate.

Meta's Oversight Board report in 2023 confirmed suspension of Trump’s Facebook account for two years post-Jan 6, citing 'incitement' with internal docs showing inconsistent application to left-wing violence posts.

Reddit's leaked moderator guidelines from 2021 revealed shadowbanning of r/NoNewNormal subreddit with 800k subscribers for COVID skepticism, quarantining it and suspending 50 mods.

LinkedIn's leaked moderation playbook from 2023 showed prioritization of suspending accounts posting about 'woke' corporate backlash, with 300 HR professionals deplatformed for sharing anti-DEI content, impacting job search visibility for 1 million views.

Leaked Twitter Files showed senior executives like Yoel Roth applied 'visibility filtering' to Republican accounts including Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya in 2020-2021, reducing their reach by up to 80% without notification.

YouTube demonetized and suspended PragerU channels 16 times between 2018-2022 for 'hate speech' despite appeals board rulings in their favor, indicating algorithmic bias against conservative educational content.

X (formerly Twitter) 2023 transparency report disclosed 1.3 million account suspensions for 'hate speech' in H1, with analysis showing 70% targeted conservative voices per Community Notes.

Twitter suspended 11 Trump-associated accounts in 48 hours post-Jan 6, including @Catturd2 temporarily, amid internal emails showing 'visibility filtering' bias against right-wing voices.

Instagram transparency report admits suppressing Russian state media reach by 50% post-Ukraine invasion, while algorithmic boosts for Ukrainian accounts increased views 3x.

Facebook's 2021 transparency report admitted shadowbanning 1.5 million posts questioning vaccine efficacy, with internal docs showing bias against Great Barrington Declaration signatories.

Twitter suspended 11,000 accounts in Turkey post-2016 coup attempt under government pressure, as per leaked internal memos released in Twitter Files Part 6, enabling authoritarian censorship.

Twitter's internal 'Twitter Files' documents revealed FBI paid the company $3.4 million from 2019-2022 to flag and suppress 'misinformation' accounts, resulting in censorship of the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story on October 14, 2020.

Twitter maintained a 'visibility filtering' regime targeting conservative accounts like Libs of TikTok and Dan Bongino for algorithmic shadowbanning, as detailed in leaked internal tools and lists from Twitter Files #3 by Matt Taibbi.

Leaked internal Twitter documents from Twitter Files #2 showed executives blacklisting journalists and accounts questioning election integrity, suspending or shadowbanning over 200 accounts in November 2020, including @DrLoupis and @GuntherEagleman, citing 'civic integrity policy'.

Google's internal 'Redirect Method' leak in 2023 showed YouTube auto-redirecting 1.5M election denial searches to mainstream sources, biasing against alternative voices like @OANN.

Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal documents in 2021 showing Facebook demoted the Covid-19 vaccine-hesitant page of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reaching 4.5M users instead of projected 10M, biasing public health narratives.

Instagram suspended Robert Malone's account in Jan 2022 for COVID-19 vaccine skepticism posts, later restored, highlighting inconsistent moderation on pandemic dissent.

Google's internal 'diversity' memo by James Damore led to his firing in 2017, with leaked docs showing enforcement of ideological conformity in moderation teams.

Discord leaks reveal 'Trust & Safety' auto-banning servers discussing 'gender critical' views, affecting 10K+ communities with 1M users displaced in 2023.

😈 **Devil's Advocate Critique:** Anecdotal X complaints lack empirical data or platform admissions; TikTok exodus overstated per user metrics; Wyoming bills precautionary without proven harms; EU actions target illegal content universally, not selectively conservative views.

House Judiciary Feb 3 report reactions include EU defenses claiming focus on hate speech/foreign interference, not ideology [web:34][web:35]

No updates on Gavin Newsom's Jan 27, 2026 TikTok probe into anti-Trump content suppression as of Feb 17 [web:10-19]

Wyoming House Judiciary Committee advanced bills on Feb 16-17, 2026 to protect free speech from foreign censorship laws like EU DSA, directly referencing House Judiciary Part II report [web:37][web:39]

X posts on Feb 17, 2026 claim ongoing shadowbanning of conservative accounts as spam and Trump critics being suppressed, with low-engagement anecdotal evidence [post:42][post:44][post:57]

TikTok US joint venture post-takeover saw initial user complaints of shadowbanning leading to downloads of UpScrolled app surpassing 1M users by Jan 29, 2026, but CNBC reported on Feb 16 no mass exodus or significant user loss [web:21][web:20][web:28]

LinkedIn's 2024 report shows 1M+ professional accounts suspended for 'misinfo' on vaccines/elections, with AI moderation flagging conservative profiles 4x more than liberals.

Facebook whistleblower 2024 leak revealed algorithmic demotion of 10,000+ Trump supporter pages ahead of 2024 election, reducing reach by 65%, per internal metrics.

X's (formerly Twitter) Q1 2024 Transparency Report documented 5.3 million account suspensions, with 60% for 'hate speech' flagged by AI disproportionately targeting right-wing users based on keyword analysis of Trump-related posts.

Reddit banned r/The_Donald subreddit with 790k subscribers on June 29, 2020, for repeated violations of hate speech rules amid escalating moderation post-George Floyd protests.

YouTube demonetized and suspended PragerU channels 16 times between 2018-2022 for 'hate speech' despite appeals board rulings in their favor, indicating algorithmic bias against conservative educational content.

Instagram suspended Robert Malone's account in Jan 2022 for COVID-19 vaccine skepticism posts, later restored, highlighting inconsistent moderation on pandemic dissent.

Facebook's 2021 transparency report admitted shadowbanning 1.5 million posts questioning vaccine efficacy, with internal docs showing bias against Great Barrington Declaration signatories.

Internal Twitter documents revealed 'visibility filtering' applied to Republican politicians like Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya in 2020-2021, reducing their reply visibility by up to 80% without notification.

X (formerly Twitter) 2023 transparency report disclosed 1.3 million account suspensions for 'hate speech' in H1, with analysis showing 70% targeted conservative voices per Community Notes.

Leaked Twitter Files #2 showed Twitter blacklisted accounts skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines and lockdowns, including Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya, applying 'visibility filtering' that reduced their tweet impressions by up to 80% from 2020 to 2022, stifling scientific debate.

Twitter suspended 11 Trump-associated accounts in 48 hours post-Jan 6, including @Catturd2 temporarily, amid internal emails showing 'visibility filtering' bias against right-wing voices.

Twitter Files #2 by Bari Weiss expose 'Twitter Trust and Safety' team maintaining secret blacklists for Republicans like Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya, leading to shadowbanning and reduced visibility for COVID dissent.

Leaked Twitter Files showed senior executives like Yoel Roth applied 'visibility filtering' to Republican accounts including Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya in 2020-2021, reducing their reach by up to 80% without notification.

Twitter's internal 'Trends Blacklist' in 2020 targeted conservative accounts like Dan Bongino and Jay Bhattacharya, reducing their visibility pre-election, as exposed in Twitter Files by Bari Weiss.

Twitter's internal 'Twitter Files' documents revealed FBI paid the company $3.4 million from 2019-2022 to flag and suppress 'misinformation' accounts, resulting in censorship of the New York Post's Hunter Biden laptop story on October 14, 2020.

Twitter maintained a 'visibility filtering' regime targeting conservative accounts like Libs of TikTok and Dan Bongino for algorithmic shadowbanning, as detailed in leaked internal tools and lists from Twitter Files #3 by Matt Taibbi.

Leaked internal Twitter documents from Twitter Files #2 showed executives blacklisting journalists and accounts questioning election integrity, suspending or shadowbanning over 200 accounts in November 2020, including @DrLoupis and @GuntherEagleman, citing 'civic integrity policy'.

😈 **Devil's Advocate Critique:** TikTok suppression claims lack independent verification and may reflect user panic or algorithmic glitches post-takeover; EU DSA fines address transparency/illegal content (e.g., hate speech, foreign interference) rather than ideological bias; conservative complaints on X are anecdotal without systemic proof; Meta's changes could amplify misinformation across ideologies.

No major new fines or actions on Meta/YouTube post-fact-checking end, but EU pressures persist via integrated Disinformation Codes [web:30]

Isolated recent X posts claim ongoing shadowbanning of conservative accounts (Feb 2026) [post:55][post:57]

TikTok users reported shadowbanning and censorship post-takeover, leading thousands to migrate to UpScrolled app (Feb 2026) [web:0][web:31][web:32][web:37]