All conservatives want is a seat at the social media roundtable in order to express how they feel about possible bias against them within the social media landscape. But, what if conservatives who are employed within those companies who want to voice their opinions feel they can’t because it could cost them their jobs?
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey acknowledged the fears of conservative employees within his own company when he sat down with Recode for an interview, published on Friday. Not only did Dorsey note the concerns of ignoring conservative voices, but he openly admitted his company’s general bias.
“I think it’s more and more important to at least clarify what our own bias leans towards, and just express it,” Dorsey said. “I’d rather know what someone bias is to rather than try to interpret through their actions.”
But, Dorsey did say that “conservative-leaning folks in the company” don’t speak up on the perceived bias against them because of the backlash they might receive from non-conservatives.
Here’s more of what Dorsey said:
I mean, we have a lot of conservative-leaning folks in the company as well, and to be honest, they don’t feel safe to express their opinions at the company.
They do feel silenced by just the general swirl of what they perceive to be the broader percentage of leanings within the company, and I don’t think that’s fair or right. We should make sure that everyone feels safe to express themselves within the company, no matter where they come from and what their background is. I mean, my dad was a Republican.
The interviewer, New York University (NYU) professor Jay Rosen, then asked if Dorsey tells his conservative employees that they should speak up and not be afraid to voice their opinions, despite possible criticism from their fellow employees.
“What are the best bridges to enable people to do that?” Dorsey asked in response. “I don’t know if entering into a political debate is always the right first step, but maybe. But yeah, I definitely encourage speaking up and having the courage to do so, but one has to feel it maybe in a different context before they get more of that, and I think it just takes time.”
While Dorsey did admit that speaking up is “hard to do as any individual,” it’s easy for Rosen to say that conservatives should essentially grow a backbone and speak up for themselves while not realizing that a conservative voice in Silicon Valley is like finding an Antifa member who’s also a pacifist.
Needle meet haystack.
H/T: The Hill