Washington, DC (KELO-AM) South Dakota U.S. Senator John Thune (R) wants answers from Facebook on allegations its Trending Topics feature suppresses conservative stories.
Some unnamed former Facebook employees claim that the Trending News staff purposely avoids or downplays conservative views and topics.
Senator Thune, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, has written a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking for details of how the news feature is managed.
“Any attempt by a neutral and inclusive social media platform to censor or manipulate political discussion is an abuse of trust and inconsistent with the values of an open Internet," Thune said.
Thune calls the allegations "serious."'
Facebook had not yet officially commented when this story was written.
But Senator Minority Leader Harry Reid thinks this is all just Republican politics.
Reid told Politico that Republicans won't hold hearings on Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court but think Facebook hearings are a matter of urgent national interest.
