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Glenn Beck defends Facebook's supposed Trending news supression: 'They're trying to do the right thing’

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 20, 2016 | 3 min read

Former Fox News host Glenn Beck has defended Facebook following accusations that its staff suppressed news from Conservative sources in its Trending bar.

Glenn Beck

The Trending Bar reflects content published to the social network by 1,000 publishers in addition to the conversations made in high volumes by users.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg denied accusations of newsfeed tampering earlier in the week, writing: “We have found no evidence that this report is true. If we find anything against our principles, you have my commitment that we will take additional steps to address it."

He then met on Thursday with noted Conservatives including TV personality Beck, Fox News presenter Dana Perino, Jim DeMint, founder of the Heritage Foundation and senior Donald Trump advisor Barry Bennett.

Following the meeting, Beck took to Medium to defend the social network.

He said: “Walking out of the meeting, I was convinced that Facebook is behaving appropriately and trying to do the right thing. They were humble, open, and listened intently to everyone in the room.

“As a reminder, this entire controversy began when one former member of the Trending team — one — claimed Faceboook was suppressing conservative voices.

“Now I want to be very clear on this point. This issue, the Trending Topics issue, the reason we are supposed to be up in arms, is a relatively new product that Facebook readily admits is far from perfect.”

He concluded: “Based on our research and my personal experience with Facebook, I believe they are acting in good faith and share some very deep, fundamental principles with people who believe in the principles of liberty and freedom of speech.”

The sit-down didn’t go off without an issue however as American Conservative Union chairman Matt Schlapp turned down the invitation, telling Fox News: "They are not promising transparency, I want to see exactly how they treat conservatives and treat everyone."

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