Trump looks to rally controversial online allies at White House social media summit

Correction: An earlier version of this story inaccurately described the findings of an investigation by the California attorney general into a 2009 video produced by activist James O’Keefe. The investigators did not conclude that the video was false, but that it had been “heavily edited” and did not reflect “a fuller truth.” The earlier version also omitted O’Keefe’s acknowledgement of an aspect of the finding, which has now been included in the story.

President Trump has summoned Republican lawmakers, political strategists and social media stars to the White House on Thursday to discuss the “opportunities and challenges” of the Web — but his upcoming summit, critics say, could end up empowering online provocateurs who have adopted controversial political tactics entering the 2020 election campaign.

The high-profile gathering follows months of attacks from Trump claiming that Facebook, Google and Twitter — all services the president taps to talk to supporters — secretly censor right-leaning users, websites and other content online, a charge of political bias that the tech giants strongly deny.

“I’m concerned there are people who work at the major technology platforms who want to put their thumb on the scale,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), who plans to attend the White House summit.

View the complete July 9 article by Tony Romm, Michael Scherer and Amy B. Wang on The Washington Post website here.