Facebook Labels Vietnam Refugee’s Immigration Op-Ed ‘Hate Speech’

Big Tech companies, with the notable exception of Twitter under Elon Musk’s ownership, have long faced accusations of leftist bias and group-think. 

As the issue of immigration remains at the forefront of the national dialogue, one recent story seemed to exemplify how one social media platform seeks to censor points of view that are contrary to the prevailing liberal sentiment.

Hung Cao, who escaped Vietnam in 1975 as a political refugee and went on to serve in the U.S. Navy and launch a congressional campaign, recently shared his point of view about the porous border between the U.S. and Mexico.

His op-ed, which was published by Townhall, expressed support for cracking down on illegal immigration by making the case that it is unfair to those who are trying to enter the country through legitimate means to allow others to skip the line without consequences.

When Polaris National Security PAC, a group for which Cao serves as a senior adviser, attempted to share the article on its Facebook page, moderators reportedly got involved and removed the post. A subsequent message sent to the group asserted that the post violated Facebook’s “Community Standards on hate speech.”

For the record, here is a passage from Cao’s supposedly hate-filled op-ed: “We have all experienced a long queue some time in our lives and have been angry when a person tries to cut in front of us. This is what illegal immigration is, someone who cuts the line in front of thousands of others who have been waiting for years.”

Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for additional clarification, but updates to the story indicate that the post was ultimately restored. Nevertheless, Cao expressed frustration and confusion regarding why moderators would have reached the decision to take it down in the first place.

“What about telling the truth of our border is hate speech?” he asked. “Was mentioning the 85,000 exploited and unaccounted migrant children hate speech? Or maybe telling my own immigration story was the hateful part?”

Of course, this is just the latest example of apparent bias on the part of social media platforms. 

More than a year ago, Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) said that he had been on the receiving end of such heavy-handed content moderation.

“Big Tech has censored posts of mine about biological sex, COVID, Hunter Biden, and even about kitchen table issues like energy prices,” he said. “Democrats’ electoral strategy now relies on censorship.”