The Maricopa County Republican Committee is alleging that some of its recent social media posts involving a well-respected psychology professor have been censored by Meta-owned platforms Facebook and Instagram.
The posts shared by the Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) included a link to a website associated with the American Institute of Behavioral Research and Technology (AIBRT), founded by Dr. Robert Epstein, Ph.D. and his work on internet search manipulation.
AIBRT’s mission, as stated on its website, is to “conduct, promote, and advance research on behavior that has the potential to improve the human condition, to develop possible applications of such research, and to educate the public about both this research and its applications.”
MCRC claims that Facebook provided the following “reason” for blocking the post: “Your content couldn’t be shared, because this link goes against our [Facebook’s] “Community Standards.”
The censored social media post also called attention to an article praising Dr. Epstein and AIBRT’s work, published in the New York Post: “How Google Manipulates Search to Favor Liberals and Tip Elections.”
“The MCRC supports AIBRT in its fight against Big Tech attacks on the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens, young and old, targeting individuals and traditional American family values,” said MCRC Chairman Craig Berland. “The partnership between the MCRC and Dr. Robert Epstein to fight and hinder attacks on Arizona elections by Google in Maricopa County remains strong, even in the face of ongoing Big Tech censorship, like this, or any form of censorship, for that matter,” Berland added. “In fact, this incident shows us we’re over the target, and we’re now more committed to our mission than ever before.”
According to Dr. Epstein’s website, he and his team will build a permanent, large-scale monitoring system in all 50 states—the world’s first nationwide “Digital Shield”—a system they claim will “protect our elections and our children from Big Tech manipulations for the foreseeable future.”
“The Arizona legislature is aware of Dr. Epstein’s recent research and takes such reports extremely seriously. It is possible that additional legislation may be needed to prevent such abuses and I am committed to working with my colleagues to investigate whether this is the case,” Arizona State Rep. Alex Kolodin told the Arizona Daily Independent .