Elizabeth Heng, the Republican nominee running to represent California’s 16th Congressional District, said Facebook is “censoring the voices of Americans” with non-leftist views.
She offered her remarks in an interview with Breitbart News Senior Editors-at-Large Rebecca Mansour and Joel Pollak during last Tuesday’s edition of SiriusXM’s Breitbart News Tonight.
Heng warned of the growing power over the dissemination of information concentrated in the hands of large technology firms. Last week, Facebook blocked an advertisement of Heng’s referencing communist-driven atrocities in Cambodia, her parents’ country of origin. The ad was subsequently restored following Breitbart News’s reporting of Facebook’s political censorship.
“There was no reason given [by Faceook for banning my ad],” said Heng. “They just said that it was, ‘shocking, disrespectful, or sensational content.’ For me, it’s maddening to feel like my story is being silenced on Facebook or any other public platform; censoring the voices of Americans who have different views or just want to tell their stories. It’s not right, and Facebook needs to be held accountable.”
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Heng added, “I only received a message that I posted on Facebook of them saying that it was ‘shocking, disrespectful, or sensational,’ and they never explained anything. I would assume it’s from the beginning of the ad where I had glimpses of the reality of genocide, but those were just photos.”
Hang reflect on her parents’ escape from communism in Cambodia: “My parents had to live through the terror of that, and for any liberal tech giant to be able to decide what history and story gets to live on, I think is inappropriate on many levels. My family left communism, and in countries such as Cambodia during that time, they were silenced, being here in the United States with freedom of speech, I am going to continue talking about this message, because it’s incredibly important.”
Pollak asked Heng if defense of First Amendment protections for free speech and expression is an important issue in forthcoming midterm elections.
“I think this is going to be an important topic,” replied Heng. “When I chose to enter into this race as a candidate, I expected to discuss big issues and tell my story, but Facebook’s decision to take away my voice and my ability to tell that story is yet another example of the liberal establishment, like Nancy Pelosi, shutting down Republicans and conservatives. I’m running to fight against extremism in the tech industry and in D.C.”
Heng continued, “I support the president. It is undeniable that our economy is at an all-time high and that our unemployment rate is at an all-time low.”
Heng described communism and socialism as political systems destined to fail: “My parents saw firsthand how communism and socialism absolutely do not work. Socialism does not work anywhere in this world, and it’s so important for me to protect the fundamental values in a capitalistic market that have allowed our country to flourish.”
Hend linked left-wing ideology with the Obama administration: “Failed policies of the last eight years of what the previous administration did to our country and this community.”
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