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A large conservative digital-media company has taken a novel step in efforts to beat back what the right considers politically motivated censorship by major social-media platforms: It’s hired a lobbyist.
Liftable Media, the company behind prominent digital properties including The Western Journal and Conservative Tribune, enlisted the services last year of Alex Shively, the principal of lobbying firm Petra Strategies. Liftable has paid Petra $110,000 since then to lobby Congress and the White House on issues related to “Facebook and other digital-media firms censoring or blocking groups and individuals with differing political views.”
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Shively is a former chief of staff for Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-PA), who grilled Google CEO Sundar Pinchai about ideological bias at the tech giant at a hearing last year. According to his LinkedIn page, Shively is also a former government-affairs director at the Business Software Alliance, a trade association that represents tech giants including Microsoft, Apple, and Oracle—but not Facebook, Google, or Twitter.
Shively did not respond to questions about his work for Liftable.
That work takes place as the company’s public-facing properties hammer the same message that its lobbyist has pressed in private meetings with federal policymakers. In early 2018, The Western Journal published a study of Facebook analytics that it claimed proved that a change to company’s newsfeed algorithm was disproportionately damaging traffic to conservative news websites.
Liftable’s White House lobbying campaign has also taken place as the company’s top executives take out television ads boosting Trump. Liftable Chairman Floyd Brown is simultaneously running a political group called America Fighting Back PAC, which has spent more than $185,000 on pro-Trump TV spots since last summer.
Also since that time, Liftable’s PAC and its media properties have spent at least $165,000 on Facebook ads.
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Correction: An earlier version of this story said Liftable has paid Petra $120,000. The correct number is $110,000.
