The initial disparate responses of Facebook and Google mark a curious divergence in a long history of parallels. Though both companies have remained relatively steadfast in their own defense, the forked road may signify that tensions between Big Tech and government have reached a boiling point.
Big Tech has been the protagonist of America’s decades-long love affair with misinformation. Now, a full Trump term and one Capitol Hill catastrophe later, the behemoths of Silicon Valley are attempting to cast themselves as main actors again, only this time on the nation’s political stage.
"With cities, leadership is real. It’s right on the ground; It’s literally and figuratively in your face. There’s no hiding. When you have fifteen inches of snow on the ground, you can’t make a speech and hope it goes away. If you’re at the supermarket, the barbershop, or walking down the street, people have things on their mind, and they want to talk to you. You have to listen. That’s a part of the job."
Data has long been remembered as the bastion of objectivity in a particularly political era. Staring closer at the numbers, however, it is clear that there is arguably nothing more subjective than the cold, hard facts.
