Timcast IRL · October 24, 2020 · 2h 0m
Timcast IRL #154 - Facebook Whistle-Blower Ryan Hartwig In Studio EXPOSES Election Interference And Censorship
Episode Recap
Timcast IRL episode 154 aired on October 24, 2020, with Tim Pool and co-host Ian Crossland joined in-studio by Ryan Hartwig, a former Facebook content moderator who became a whistleblower exposing alleged political bias at the tech giant. The episode focused on election interference and censorship concerns just one week before the contentious 2020 presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Tim opened the show discussing the dramatic censorship of the New York Post story regarding Hunter Biden, noting that Twitter and Facebook had actively suppressed reporting on emails and allegations that the Biden family was involved in questionable foreign business dealings. Ryan Hartwig detailed his experience working as a content moderator for Facebook, describing the disturbing content he was required to view including cartel violence, pornography, and child exploitation material. He testified that during his time at Facebook, he witnessed systematic political bias against conservatives, recalling that moderators were instructed to watch for hate speech following Trump speeches and the State of the Union addresses. Hartwig stated he compiled a list of over 30 clear examples of bias before reaching out to journalists and Project Veritas. The discussion explored how Facebook contracted with Cognizant in 2017 for content moderation operations, and how Congressman Matt Gaetz used Hartwig's evidence to make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice regarding Mark Zuckerberg. Ian Crossland, who also worked in content moderation for Minds.com, compared his experience noting that Minds did not purposefully target people based on politics like he alleged Facebook did. The panel expressed concern about how censorship might have affected early voters who could not change their ballots after learning suppressed information.
TL;DR
- →Ryan Hartwig, former Facebook content moderator, appeared in-studio to expose alleged systematic political bias against conservatives within Facebook's moderation operations
- →Tim Pool and panel discussed the censorship of New York Post reporting on Hunter Biden emails as a clear example of election interference
- →Hartwig testified to witnessing instructions to monitor Trump speeches for hate speech and compiled over 30 examples of documented bias
- →The panel expressed concern that early voters who had already cast ballots could not修正 their votes after learning suppressed information about Biden family dealings
- →Hartwig revealed he viewed disturbing content daily including cartel violence, pornography, and child exploitation material as part of his moderation duties
- →Congressman Matt Gaetz used Hartwig's evidence to make a criminal referral to the DOJ regarding Mark Zuckerberg
Key Moments
- 0:00Opening and Election ContextTim Pool opened the show discussing the approaching 2020 election and Facebook's censorship of the Hunter Biden story
- 5:55Ryan Hartwig IntroductionRyan Hartwig introduced as Facebook whistleblower and content moderator who leaked documents to Project Veritas
- 11:20Moderator Experience TestimonyHartwig detailed his daily work viewing disturbing content including cartel violence, pornography, and the psychological toll of the job
- 18:30Political Bias TestimonyHartwig testified about systematic political bias against conservatives and his compiled list of 30+ examples of documented bias
- 32:00Criminal Referral DiscussionPanel discussed Congressman Matt Gaetz using Hartwig's evidence for criminal referral to DOJ against Mark Zuckerberg
Notable Quotes
“We're about a week out from one of the most consequential elections in American history and probably the most important election in our lifetimes, Donald Trump versus Joe Biden.”
— Tim Pool · opening segment
“How is Donald Trump supposed to win when he has got the media and big tech set up against him?”
— Tim Pool · main discussion
“I made a list of about 20 examples of bias that I'd seen, and then that list just grew and grew. And so by the time I went public four months ago, I mean, the list is like, I have 30 plus clear cut examples of bias.”
— Ryan Hartwig · whistleblower testimony
“Every time Trump gave a speech, even the State of the Union, they're like, hey guys, watch out for hate speech stemming from Trump.”
— Ryan Hartwig · political bias evidence
“I think the difference is you weren't purposefully targeting people based on their politics to remove those personally not targeting.”
— Ian Crossland · comparing Minds to Facebook moderation