Conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation has reportedly turned down multiple six-figure donations from tech giants Google and Facebook in the last year due to the Masters of the Universe censoring conservative voices.
Axios reports that last year the Heritage Foundation turned down six-figure contributions from tech giants Google and Facebook. Outgoing Heritage Foundation president Kay Coles James reportedly wrote letters to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai in late October refusing the donations.
The letter refused a $225,000 contribution from Google and stated that it would be returning a $150,000 donation from Facebook. The letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai stated: “We cannot in good conscience take money from a company that repeatedly, and blatantly, suppresses conservative speech on your platforms.”
The Heritage Foundation accused Facebook of blocking referral traffic to the foundation’s news and opinion website, and Google of censoring its YouTube videos. This included Google’s decision to append a disclaimer to one pre-election video “meant to cast doubt on the credibility of our well-sourced claims about the risks of voting by mail,” according to the Foundation.
A letter sent to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg also noted Facebook’s decision temporarily limit the reach of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden contributed to the group’s decision to return the company’s donation.
A Heritage Foundation spokesperson stated that Google had previously donated $1.55 million to the group while Facebook contributed $275,000. According to the foundation’s 2019 financial statements, the group received more than $87 million that year alone.
Breitbart News reported in February of this year that former Vice President Mike Pence has joined the Heritage Foundation where he will be a distinguished visiting fellow.
“The Heritage Foundation is a flagship of the conservative movement and I am profoundly honored to join them as a distinguished visiting fellow to advance conservative policies that will benefit every American,” Pence said in a release. “The Heritage Foundation helped shape my conservative philosophy for decades and played a pivotal role advancing conservative policies throughout the Trump Administration. I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and working with the all-star team at Heritage as we continue to take the case for a strong national defense, free markets and traditional values to policymakers across the Nation and to every American who cherishes our Heritage of Freedom.”
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com