{"id":205223,"date":"2024-08-07T12:10:55","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T17:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=205223"},"modified":"2024-08-07T12:15:01","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T17:15:01","slug":"olympic-shotgunner-wins-gold-again-so-meta-shut-him-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/olympic-shotgunner-wins-gold-again-so-meta-shut-him-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympic Shotgunner Wins Gold Again. So Meta Shut Him Down."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Hancock's
The Big Tech overlords celebrated in a much more sinister fashion. Meta shut him down. No Facebook. No Instagram. No celebrations of American shooting gold. (Photo: Hancock<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Larry Keane<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vincent Hancock did it again. The 35-year-old won the Men\u2019s Skeet Olympic gold medal, breaking a wildly-impressive 58 out of 60 clay targets and edging out his fellow teammate, competitor and student, Connor Prince, by just one shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hancock became a four-time Olympic gold champion in his sport, having previously earned Olympic gold medals in 2008, 2012, and 2021. He is the only skeet shooter to take home an Olympic gold medal more than once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That should earn him some accolades. Maybe something like a Google-doodle<\/a>.<\/strong> Don\u2019t count on it, though. The Big Tech overlords celebrated in a much more sinister fashion. Meta shut him down. No Facebook. No Instagram. No celebrations of American shooting gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Tech Poor Sports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just last week, NSSF highlighted the Big Tech bias<\/strong><\/a> against the USA Shooting, when YouTube and Meta shadow-banned McKenna Geer, a Paralympic shooter who will represent Team USA in Paris for the 2024 Paralympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have always feared the day the media would censor my sport and speech just because I use firearms,\u201d Greer wrote on Instagram after her account was blocked<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cThat day has finally come.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geer even wrote that athletes like her in the shooting sports rely in social media to spread the word not just about their sport but also about firearm safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That wasn\u2019t good enough for Meta. Just the News<\/em> reported<\/a><\/strong>, \u201cAccording to the Instagram notification, Geer\u2019s account and the three flagged posts are not recommended to non-followers. \u2018Your account and content won\u2019t appear in places like Explore, Search, Suggested Users, Reels, and Feed Recommendations,\u2019 the Instagram notification reads. The notification also tells Geer to consider editing her profile and either edit or remove the flagged posts. Geer said her Instagram account says that she \u2018should have the option to appeal the decision,\u2019 but the button to appeal it doesn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NSSF isn\u2019t alone in noting Big Tech\u2019s silent treatment of the shooting sports. Tim Rupli authored an op-ed in <\/strong><\/a>The Wall Street Journal<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>noting that Meta is censoring Olympic athletes. He quoted Kelly Reisdorf, USA Shooting\u2019s CEO saying, \u201cBy silencing an athlete\u2019s voice, you infringe not only on their freedom of expression but subtly on their right to bear arms as well, as these platforms are critical for educating and sharing the legitimate and safe use of firearms in sport.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Target: Shooting Sports<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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