I wrote a piece recently about how the SPLC crawled into Guidestar. While that effort was ultimately rebuffed, the Southern Poverty Law Center isafter bigger game.
Earlier this year, YouTube, which is owned by Google, announced a new set of policies that target offensive content that doesn’t necessarily violate the company’s guidelines. The policy includes burying the videos and not attaching them to any advertising. Videos that promote the subjugation of religions or races without outright inciting violence, such as by targeting Islam, would be covered by this policy.
Heidi Beirich says Google’s actions so far are not enough.
“Google’s algorithm is seriously flawed and it’s a scary thing, because millions of people around the world are using it,” she said. “It’s a fundamental problem with how search works.”
The SPLC has brought its concerns to Google, but says it has yet to see substantial action.
What the SPLC would like is to censor Google search results and Autofill that are critical of Islam. And the left-wing group claims that this will be done to stop bigotry. But where exactly will that line be drawn?
That's a good question considering that the SPLC has targeted Muslim and ex-Muslim critics of Islamist groups.
Last October, the Southern Poverty Law Center called British author and activist Maajid Nawaz, 39, “part of the ‘ex-radical’ circuit of former Islamists who use that experience to savage Islam.” During a recent appearance on Bill Maher’s show, Nawaz announced he’d be suing the SPLC for defamation.
Also on the SPLC’s list is Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born author and activist who herself survived female genital mutilation and a forced marriage.
If Google or Facebook, or any other companies, want to jump on the SPLC express, they should ask themselves whether they would be willing to censor Ali and Nawaz. Because that is what it will come to.
The Islamophobia push comes from Islamists. That's why their categorizations inevitably include other Muslims. Like ISIS, Islamists want to purge the ranks. And left-wing groups like the SPLC that join their crusade end up doing their dirty work for them.
Censorship won't end where the left thinks it should. It won't end with Robert Spencer or Geert Wilders. It'll end when anyone who dissents is silenced. The SPLC is on board. Will Google be?