Facebook Upgrade Raises Specter of Liberal Bias

A new Facebook software upgrade has sparked concerns that the social networking website is favoring some political groups — read that, those with liberal tendencies — on the site over others.

In order for Facebook groups to transition easily to the new format and maintain access to their members, they must receive an upgrade key from the site, reports The Daily Caller. Some sites have received this key, while others have not, which has raised suspicions about whether Facebook’s actions are politically motivated.

Although the conservative-leaning Facebook groups Stop Islamization of America and the Coalition to Save Marriage in New York have not received the upgrade key, the liberal Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has, the Caller reports.

“Nobody else that I know got one,” said Jason McGuire of the Save Marriage group. “You do have to wonder if Facebook is leaning towards liberal positions, instead of being on open format.”

David Churchill of the Brady Campaign, meanwhile, says that with the key, his group has switched over easily: “We just basically clicked the upgrade button, checked it over, and we have a tremendous increase in participation.”

Facebook issued a statement saying the groups themselves determine the switchover.

“Some groups will be given the opportunity to upgrade into the new design, while others will need to re-create their groups,” said Facebook communications manager Andrew Noyes. “We determined what groups to archive based on a number of factors, including the amount of recent activity.”