Facebook, Twitter execs donated big bucks to Biden while blocking Hunter news
By Ebony Bowden | New York Post| December 15, 2020 | 1:07pm
Facebook and Twitter executives poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, all while blocking the New York Post’s exposé about Hunter Biden’s overseas business dealings.
The revelation comes amid accusations from President Trump and other Republicans that Silicon Valley is censoring conservative voices, sparking a push for the companies to lose their liability protections.
A review of Federal Election Commission records show Facebook’s vice president of public policy and chief privacy officer, Erin Egan, donated $99,440.01 to Democrats and Biden in the final weeks of the race.
Egan donated the maximum contribution of $2,800 to the former veep’s White House bid on Sept. 8 and Oct. 1 before ponying up a whopping $55,000 for the Biden Victory Fund and $35,500 for the Democratic National Committee.
According to Biden’s website, the Biden Victory Fund is a joint fundraising effort among his campaign, the DNC, and the 47 state parties to help defeat Trump.
As first reported by Fox News, she made no contributions to the president’s campaign.
Likewise, Facebook’s chief financial officer, David Wehner, donated $2,800 apiece to Biden’s campaign and Democrat Amy McGrath’s failed bid to unseat Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.
David Fischer, Facebook’s chief revenue officer, donated $2,800 to Biden’s bid during the Democratic primary, according to FEC records, and another $750 during the general election.
But Fischer also donated tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic challengers in other key races, including Jamie Harrison’s unsuccessful campaign against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Mark Kelly and John Hickenlooper’s successful Senate races in Arizona and Colorado.
A number of Facebook vice presidents and Instagram’s chief financial officer also donated the maximum $2,800 to Biden’s White House bid.
At Twitter, dozens of senior employees also donated almost exclusively to Democrats and Biden.
Vice president Matt Derella donated $2,000 to Biden’s campaign in September, while senior director of product management James Kelm made two donations totaling $5,600 to Biden, FEC records show.
Representatives from Twitter and Facebook declined to comment. The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment Tuesday.
The companies have been under fire after they both sought to limit sharing of The Post’s reporting on Hunter Biden’s shadowy business deals in the Ukraine and China, with Twitter locking the newspaper’s account for two weeks.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was forced to apologize after the social media giant blocked its users from sharing the story, calling the decision “unacceptable.”
Trump has been on a mission to cut the companies’ Section 230 liability protections, which provide a legal shield to tech companies for content on their sites.
