American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is preparing to file a lawsuit against Meta Platforms after the social media giant allegedly censored a campaign infomercial promoting RFK to social media users—a move Meta has since chalked up to “a mistake.”
First reported by Forbes, AV2024 said that their 30-minute short film, entitled Who Is Bobby Kennedy, was viewed over 12 million times on X after it was posted on May 3rd. However, on Instagram and Facebook—both owned by Meta—the video’s reach was so “minimal” as to suggest “shadow banning.”
According to the PAC’s complaint, Meta users sharing links to the video would be met with messages saying that the content violated the platform’s Community Guidelines.
The Bobby Kennedy video Meta doesn’t want you to see, narrated by Woody Harrelson. pic.twitter.com/oBieuglEYv
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 4, 2024
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“Meta Platforms is brazenly censoring speech supportive of Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,” the complaint will read, according to Forbes.
“When social media companies censor a presidential candidate, the public can’t learn what that candidate actually believes and what policies they would pursue if elected,” said AV2024 founder Tony Lyons in a statement. “We are left with the propaganda and lies from the most powerful and most corrupt groups and individuals. This is the hallmark of an oligarchy — not a democracy.”
Related: Donald Trump Refuses to Debate RFK Jr., Says He’s “Not a Serious Candidate”
However, Meta countered by arguing that there had been no censorship effort, but rather a simple algorithm mistake.
“The link was mistakenly blocked and was quickly restored once the issue was discovered,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told Forbes. The company further stated that the issue was “corrected within a few hours.”
If AV2024 follows through with its lawsuit on behalf of RFK, the complaint is expected to be filed sometime this week.
Connor Walcott is a staff writer for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X and look for him on VT’s “The Unusual Suspects.”
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