A conservative advocacy group is criticizing LinkedIn for temporarily removing a pro-ICE post, which the platform later claimed was a mistake.
A conservative advocacy group is expressing outrage after LinkedIn temporarily removed one of their posts praising U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The social media platform stated that the removal was a mistake.
The State Freedom Caucus Network (SFCN) condemned LinkedIn’s actions, and many conservatives online are threatening to abandon the site following the incident. On January 27, SFCN shared a post across multiple platforms, including X and LinkedIn, supporting President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat illegal immigration. The post stated, “.@DHSgov is carrying out the essential task of keeping our country safe. Biden let over 10M illegal aliens enter our states, many being violent criminals and pedophiles. Every state must ensure collaboration with ICE and CBP to remove them. Our caucuses are on the frontlines leading their states to support @POTUS’s mission to keep Americans safe!”
On Thursday, SFCN revealed a screenshot indicating that while the post remained active on X, LinkedIn flagged it as “hateful speech” and subsequently removed it. In response, SFCN remarked, “Apparently protecting children is ‘hate,’ but letting actual predators roam free is fine. @elonmusk doesn’t censor us, but @LinkedIn does! We’ll be deleting our account as a result.”
Conservatives on social media quickly rallied against LinkedIn, which was co-founded by Reid Hoffman, a prominent liberal donor who currently serves on Microsoft’s board after the tech giant acquired the platform.
“Everyone delete LinkedIn,” wrote Townhall columnist Dustin Grage on X. “Just a garbage woke platform that provides little value.”
Another conservative influencer account, LibsofTikTok, questioned, “How is wanting pedos off the streets hateful?? Why are you censoring Conservatives?? @LinkedIn. DELETE YOUR LINKEDIN ACCOUNT.”
A LinkedIn spokesperson responded to the backlash, stating, “This was removed in error, and we quickly corrected it.” Andrew Roth, president of the State Freedom Caucus Network, shared with Fox News Digital that he received a removal notice via email. After the incident gained attention on LibsofTikTok, he received another email indicating that the removal was indeed an error.
Roth was informed by LinkedIn, “Initially, your post was removed for going against our policies. As part of our review, we now find that your post doesn’t go against our policies and apologize for the mistake.” Roth expressed skepticism about the company’s explanation, stating, “Yeah, right.”
He added, “I guess wokeism is still alive and well, but we will continue to fight it. The first step is to not engage on the LinkedIn platform ever again. The second step is to tell the world what they did.”
Conservatives have long criticized social media platforms for perceived censorship and bias. Although the post was reinstated within a few hours, Daniel Cochrane, a Senior Research Associate at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology and the Human Person, told Fox News Digital that the incident reflects a “predictable model” of operation among Big Tech platforms.
Cochrane stated, “Censor first and then ask for forgiveness later. While platforms nearly always claim a ‘mistake’ or ‘miscommunication,’ content moderation systems and processes operate in a black box. The opaque nature of these systems leads to a dearth of accountability.”
He further noted that even if platforms are not “explicitly targeting” a specific group or message, “liberal biases” can often be “baked into their algorithmic moderation systems,” which disproportionately flag and demote conservative voices.
Cochrane concluded, “Without greater accountability, the status quo of arbitrary censorship is a feature of Big Tech platforms, not a bug.”
According to Fox News Digital, the incident has reignited discussions about the accountability and transparency of social media platforms in their content moderation practices.