Google Forces Shutdown Of Site Comments

The Federalist co-founder Sean Davis told "Tucker Carlson Tonight" Tuesday that his conservative web news site had fallen victim to "the unholy union of corrupt media and monopolistic tech oligarchs" after NBC News apparently pushed Google to punish them over what was deemed offensive coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement.

In a report published Tuesday afternoon, NBC News claimed Google "banned" The Federalist and ZeroHedge from Google Ads for "pushing unsubstantiated claims" about the Black Lives Matter movement. Google later pushed back, claiming that The Federalist "was never demonetized," and added, "We worked with them to address issues on their site related to the comments section."

ZeroHedge and The Federalist will no longer be able to generate revenue from any advertisements served by Google Ads. https://t.co/5lOoy3ycbL

— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 16, 2020

According to Fox News, NBC reported that Google took action after they were notified by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a British nonprofit, that 10 U.S-based websites projected to make millions of dollars through Google Ads published what the Center says are racist articles about protests following the death of George Floyd. However, it appears to have been NBC News' inquiry into the matter that prompted Google's actions in the first place.

Davis said he was outraged by the hypocrisy of an American news organization partnering with a foreign entity to  "deplatform an American media organization."

NEW -- from @NBC_VC. Thanks to @SFFakeNews and @CCDHate for their hard work and collaboration! https://t.co/dorhdZy1t1

— Adele-Momoko Fraser (@AMFraserNBC) June 16, 2020

Davis went on to say that the attempted deplatforming was "being done by people who claim to be journalists, who claim to believe in free speech and freedom of expression.

"And it's not just that somebody came after us ... the whiny cry-bullies of the left do this all the time to their enemies. They can't win arguments so they try to shut them down, but to see this come from actual journalists who claim to believe in the First Amendment, that was remarkable."

Watch: Federalist co-founder @seanmdav blasts “whiny cry-bullies of the left” after Google forces shutdown of site comments https://t.co/QkbHbCh4EC pic.twitter.com/UYRI5OVqlx

— TV News HQ (@TVNewsHQ) June 17, 2020

Davis added that the publication has temporarily removed its comment sections to get back into Google's "good graces," but vowed that they would soon return.