Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk are sticking to their debunked claim about Facebook censorship ahead of congressional testimony
- Pro-Trump vloggers Diamond & Silk claimed to have never been contacted by Facebook after a brief snafu with their official branded page.
- Emails show that Facebook did indeed reach out to Diamond & Silk multiple times across several platforms.
- The duo are slated to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday for a hearing examining allegations of bias and suppression of conservative voices.
- The hearing comes after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg conducted two marathon testimonies on Capitol Hill regarding privacy policy.
WASHINGTON - Two of President Donald Trump's most ardent supporters, YouTube personalities Lynnette Hardaway and Rochelle Richardson, who go by their stage names "Diamond & Silk," are slated to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday, where they plan on discussing allegations of censorship and suppression on social media platforms like Facebook.
The duo recently claimed their Facebook page was shut down and the subject of unfair treatment because of their support for Trump. The claims were parroted across right wing media outlets like Fox News, where Diamond & Silk are frequent on-air guests.
In a telephone interview with Business Insider on Monday, Hardaway and Richardson stuck to their story about not being contacted by Facebook.
"This not like we just magically just pulled this out of the air," Richardson added. "We went back and forth with Facebook only for Facebook to come and email us on April the 5th to let us know that we are unsafe to the community. They deemed us unsafe to the community."
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg assured lawmakers during his congressional testimony that the "unsafe to the community" label was a technical error.
"Our team made an enforcement error," he said. "And we have already gotten in touch with them to reverse it."
Hardaway and Richardson said, as they have many times in appearances on Fox News, that they were not contacted by Facebook in any official capacity.
"Facebook said they was in direct communication with us," said Richardson. "Direct communication is as if they talked to us. That's what direct communication means. Direct communication means that you know that we are also in communication, OK? That didn't happen."
But messages obtained by conservative commentator Erick Erickson show that Facebook reached out to Hardaway and Richardson several times through phone, Facebook Messenger, and multiple email addresses.
But Hardaway suggested that any emails Facebook officials may have sent should not be expected to be read, because their inbox is quite full.
"The first message we received from Facebook was via Twitter," said Hardawy. "Now keep in mind we have 46,000 - now 47,000 - emails in our inbox. You want me to tell you how we know it comes from Facebook, because it's gonna say 'Facebook.'"
Republicans, including the president, are big fans of Diamond & Silk
Diamond & Silk said they have not spoken to Trump in advance of the hearing, nor have they spoken to their representative in North Carolina where they reside, Republican Rich Hudson.
But Trump has sang praises for the duo to White House staff. He has often referred to them as "fantastic," according to The Daily Beast.
Diamond & Silk were a frequent topic during Zuckerberg's marathon hearings on Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Republicans probed Zuckerberg about allegations of bias against conservatives and if that is the regular practice of Facebook. One Republican, Missouri Rep. Billy Long, even brought out a large poster of Diamond & Silk to display behind himself while questioning Zuckerberg.
Hardaway and Richardson said they were "in shock" at the outpouring of support from Republicans in Congress and that their plight against the social media giants is relatable for conservatives across the political landscape.
Zuckerberg said suppression of certain political speech on Facebook is "a fair concern that people would at least wonder about" because Silicon Valley is known for its left-leaning politics.
But Zuckerberg said that Facebook unequivocally does not deliberately censor or prohibit speech for political reasons.
"There is absolutely no directive in any of the changes that we make to have a bias in anything that we do," Zuckerberg said during his testimony to the House Energy & Commerce Committe. "To the contrary, our goal is to be a platform for all ideas."
On Tuesday, Facebook announced a new set of community standards and a revamped appeals process, which Zuckerberg called a "first step in this direction is creating full transparency about our current rules and how we enforce them."
"Balancing free speech and safety is a challenge both on and off Facebook," Zuckerberg added. "We'll continue working hard to get this right for our community, and I look forward to sharing the next steps over the coming months."