--:-- Georgia Howe: A new investigation finds evidence that Instagram algorithms promote content that sexualizes children. They had plenty of resources to censor First Amendment speech. No resources to protect our children. Absolutely unconscionable.
--:-- John Bickley: How salacious is the content and how is parent company Meta responding? I'm Georgia Howe with Daily Wire editor-in-chief John Bickley. It's Tuesday, November 28th, and this is Morning Wire. Donations to the RNC are down, and so is confidence in the chairwoman's leadership. Why is Ronna McDaniel under fire, and how is she responding? And Dutch voters shock Europe by supporting an anti-immigration candidate. What does Gertfelder's win mean for the Netherlands? Thanks for waking up with Morning Wire. Stay tuned. We have the news you need to know.
--:-- Georgia Howe: A new investigation into Instagram Reels finds that its algorithm is recommending content that sexualizes children. Here with more is Daily Wire culture reporter Megan Basham.
--:-- Megan Basham: So, essentially the journal wanted to test how the Reels algorithm would respond to accounts that follow preteen and teenage gymnast cheerleaders, accounts like that. Studies have shown that those kinds of influencers are often followed by adult men. So in order to do that, the journal set up test accounts that followed some of these users, and they discovered that the algorithm responded by suggesting risqué footage of children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: To give you just a couple of examples, one was a video of a young girl lifting up her shirt to expose her stomach, and then also a video of a man lying on a bed with his arm around what purported to be a 10-year-old girl.
--:-- Megan Basham: Following only accounts from young girls also prompted the algorithm to suggest videos of schoolgirl-themed adult sex content. The Canadian Center for Child Protection ran similar tests to the journal's, and it said that it came up with the same kind of results. And then when these test accounts followed other adult users following these teen and preteen influencers, the suggested content became even more explicit, including a video of a child pantomiming a sex act.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, tons of people follow these accounts, though, including young kids. So would the algorithm suggest sexualized content to those followers as well?
--:-- Megan Basham: You know, based on the story, it sounds like the algorithm is able to somewhat discern accounts that might be specifically looking for this kind of material. So the journal's report noted that it set up these test accounts as adult users. And it said that Meta's behavioral tracking can tell that some Instagram users that follow preteen girls will want to engage with videos sexualizing children and then direct such content toward them.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And then adding a wrinkle to all of this, these videos were running alongside ads from major brands like Disney, Pizza Hut, Walmart. So in essence, experts warn that this means these companies are unwittingly subsidizing a process that increases child exploitation and abuse.
--:-- Megan Basham: Back in June the journal released a report showing that Instagram Reels algorithms were connecting users to pedophile networks. And that investigation was a joint effort with researchers at Stanford and the University of Massachusetts. And it found that by following a handful of accounts that use hashtags like preteen sex and pedo bait, well, that was enough to flood their test account with content that sexualizes children.
--:-- Georgia Howe: This most recent study looked at the effects of following certain types of probably innocent accounts as opposed to explicit hashtags. So part of the criticism here is that Meta has allowed its algorithm to somewhat run rampant when it comes to content that sexually exploits children, but human moderators are intervening to restrict other material, like opinions on COVID or politics.
--:-- Megan Basham: This was Missouri Senator Josh Hawley bringing that up during a hearing on tech censorship earlier this year. Facebook devoted all kinds of resources and people, actual human people, to doing things like monitoring posts on COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. There's one example of a parent in my home state of Missouri who wanted to post something about a school board meeting. Facebook used human moderators to go and take down that post. That was important. That has to come down. But the things that your daughter experienced, this ring of pedophiles, rings plural, that Facebook just can't find the time for.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So essentially, the journal's latest reporting suggests that this issue is still going unaddressed, while other kinds of content, like political opinions, are still being heavily policed. So what's Meta's response to this been?
--:-- Megan Basham: Well, after the journal's first investigation in June, the company said it was setting up a task force to expand its automated systems for detecting users who behave suspiciously. And a spokeswoman said in response to the latest report that Meta's systems are effective at reducing harmful content. But as Holly pointed out, that does bring up the question of why Meta doesn't appear to have devoted more human moderators to this problem as it has with other content it finds concerning.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel is under fresh fire after reports of low fundraising by the party in recent months. According to the Washington Post, the coffers of the grand old party are running dry just as we enter the 2024 election cycle in earnest. Here to discuss the disappointing number is Daily Wire contributor David Marcus.
--:-- David Marcus: Morning, Dave. So just how weak was this funding haul for the RNC? And what does this mean for the chairwoman who was already in some hot water?
--:-- Georgia Howe: According to WAPO, the RNC only has about $9 million cash on hand, which is not only surprisingly underwhelming, but barely half of the over $17 million that the Democratic National Committee is sitting on. To put this in perspective, in 2016, the Republican Party had $20 million at this time, and in 2020, a whopping $60 million.
--:-- David Marcus: This has increased pressure on the already embattled RNC chair, Ronna McDaniel, who was told to her face by GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that she should step down during the last primary debate.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Here's that moment from the debate. 2020, 2022, no red wave that never came. For that matter, Ron, if you want to come on stage tonight, you want to look the GOP voters in the eye and tell them you resign, I will turn over my, yield my time to you.
--:-- David Marcus: And this is really built on top of this year's lackluster results in places like Virginia, where critics say the RNC was all but absent. Ron DeSantis was calling for McDaniel's ouster back in January, and her position hasn't improved much. In fact, it may be worse.
--:-- Georgia Howe: What does McDaniel say is responsible for this poor fundraising? She's been pretty defiant in the face of a lot of criticism. Is that still holding now?
--:-- David Marcus: She certainly has, and this is no exception. McDaniel says that the low bank account balance is normal and to be expected, given the state of the GOP race. Her argument being that donors, especially bigger ones, are focused on their specific presidential candidates right now. So her claim and hope is that once there is a nominee, that money will start flowing back to the National Committee.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Morning Wire did reach out to the RNC. The spokesperson defended McDaniel by pointing to achievements such as being on the ground in 15 states already and funding over 70 lawsuits over election integrity.
--:-- David Marcus: Given this criticism from very prominent Republicans for over a year now, how has McDaniel held on and is she in real danger of having to step down?
--:-- Georgia Howe: Well, one key factor is that she still has the backing of Donald Trump, albeit a bit quietly these days. And this matters because many of her most ardent critics are also big Trump supporters who view McDaniel as a Republican in name only or rhino, often pointing to the fact that her uncle is Senator Mitt Romney, who they view as the biggest rhino in the GOP jungle.
--:-- David Marcus: McDaniel's viewed as a kind of bridge between the very pro-Trump wing of the party and the more Trump skeptical moderates. This was really how she wound up defeating attorney Harmeet Dillon earlier this year in the RNC election to retain her chairmanship.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The bottom line seems to be that as long as Trump is in her corner, she's probably pretty safe. If Trump holds his lead and does become the GOP nominee, could that put greater pressure on McDaniel to raise money, given that a chunk of donations to Trump will be funneled to his trial defenses?
--:-- David Marcus: The answer is yes, but it's important to note that Trump, his supporters, and many donors view the legal defense in the ongoing trials as a key part of the election campaign, saying that it exposes the double standards of the deep state.
--:-- Georgia Howe: But that having been said, of course, any money spent on trials is not going to traditional campaign expenditures, to which Trump's answer is for the RNC to cancel the remaining debates and spend that money building a war chest for him.
--:-- David Marcus: But, John, there's really no sign that this is a step McDaniel is willing to take, even for Donald Trump.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Yeah, it's hard to see that happening. Dave, thanks for coming on.
--:-- David Marcus: Thanks for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: The Netherlands has experienced a massive electoral shakeup with the victory of the Freedom Party, the party led by the polarizing right-wing politician Geert Wilders. Joining us to discuss the political upheaval in the Netherlands is Niall Gardner, the director of the Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom.
--:-- Niall Gardner: Thank you so much for joining us.
--:-- Georgia Howe: My pleasure. So let's start with the basics. Who is Geert Wilders and what is his political platform?
--:-- Niall Gardner: So Geert Wilders is a leading conservative politician in the Netherlands who has really challenged the political ruling establishment. And his recent election gains where his party the Freedom Party won the most seats actually in the lower house of parliament about 37 seats out of 150. This was really a political earthquake.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And Wilders is a pro-free market politician. He is most well known, I think, for his strong views on combating Islam. And he is a very sharp critic of Islamist extremism.
--:-- Niall Gardner: He has vowed to cut levels of immigration to the country. He is somebody who I think represents what is a growing trend within much of Europe against large-scale mass immigration, but also a rejection of Islamist ideology and fundamentalism.
--:-- Georgia Howe: And so he has led really a crusade against what he sees as an Islamist de facto takeover in the Netherlands. And so he is pushing back against the ruling liberal elites within the Netherlands who for decades have promoted policies of mass migration.
--:-- Niall Gardner: And I think for a majority of Dutch citizens, they're very concerned about the fundamental changes they're seeing in Dutch society and what we are seeing, I think, in the Netherlands is symbolic of broader changes that we're seeing across Europe and a broader rejection of ruling political elites and some of those elites have included parties that would not describe themselves as liberal but they have indeed overseen very liberal immigration policies over the course of the last few decades.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Now, you mentioned that Wilders' Freedom Party won the most seats, but it does not have a straight majority. Does he have enough of a coalition to effectively push through the policies he's campaigned on?
--:-- Niall Gardner: Well, that's the thing. He's really trying to build a coalition right now. But it is very difficult to do so because nearly all the other major parties are rejecting a coalition with the Freedom Party, even though this is the most popular party in the Netherlands.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So in a way, it's a rejection of democracy. The refusal of the establishment parties to do a deal. And that includes, for example, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy, the VVD, which is headed by the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutter. And that party actually finished third in the elections.
--:-- Niall Gardner: And basically, Rutter has ruled out actually being any part of the new government that includes Wilders and the Freedom Party. So I do think you do have the political establishment joining ranks against Wilders.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So it remains to be seen what actually happens with regard to the outcome. But the Dutch people have voted for change. This is a political earthquake. Their vote should be respected. But we'll have to see what happens here.
--:-- Niall Gardner: But I think it's going to be very difficult, actually, for the establishment to keep the Freedom Party out after winning such a large number of seats. We'll see if Wilders and his Freedom Party find a way to move forward.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Nal, thank you for joining us.
--:-- Niall Gardner: My pleasure. Many, many thanks.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was the Heritage Foundation's Niall Gardner. That's all the time we've got this morning. Thanks for waking up with us. We'll be back later this afternoon with more news you need to know.
--:-- [Discussion continues with the hosts]
