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This Website Graded Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Samsung on Their Political Leanings

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
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By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 17, 2017, 11:20 AM ET

A site that ranks companies based on their commitment to conservative values has some problems with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names.

On Tuesday, Bloomberg published an interview with David Black, the co-founder and former CEO of Aegis Science, and the husband to Republican representative Diane Black, herself a co-founder in Aegis. In that interview, Black described a site that he’s built with more than $1 million of his money called 2ndVote. The goal: to determine how closely companies hold conservative values and rank them on a scale of one to five, with one being most liberal and five as most conservative.

In its look at rankings, 2ndVote appears to have given some of the most major tech companies generally have low scores.

Amazon

Amazon (AMZN) generated a score of 1.9 out of five in the 2ndVote test.

According to 2ndVote, the e-commerce giant scored low marks for prohibiting the sale of firearms on its site and its support for the “liberal 2015 Paris climate deal” as a problem.

However, Amazon got some points back for supporting the Salvation Army, which 2ndVote describes as “a group supporting traditional marriage” and “a pro-life organization.”

Apple

Apple (AAPL) came in at the bottom of the 2ndVote scale with a rating of one out of five.

In every metric 2ndVote considers, including gun rights, the environment, marriage, life, and immigration, among others, Apple scored a one.

In the marriage measure, for instance, Apple was cited for supporting same-sex marriage. The site also gave Apple low marks for being a corporate supporter of Center for American Progress, “a liberal think tank” that “supports abortion as an equal right for women.”

There’s even a button on the site said to direct site visitors to e-mail Apple CEO Tim Cook directly.

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Google

It’s a similar story for Google (GOOG), which earned the lowest-possible one out of five from 2ndVote.

The site criticized Google for matching gifts to the Brady Campaign, an effort that 2ndVote says opposes “Stand Your Ground laws and concealed carry.”

In its discussion on the environment, 2ndVote says Google “engages with the World Wildlife Fund, which is an organization that supports a carbon tax and also supports the 2015 Paris climate deal.”

Microsoft

Microsoft (MSFT) also couldn’t break from its competitors and ultimately scored a one out of five in the 2ndVote test.

Microsoft is another supporter of the Brady Campaign, which earned it low marks on 2nd Amendment rights. The tech giant was also hit for being “a partner of The Nature Conservancy, a liberal and active proponent of cap-and-trade and a carbon tax.”

In its evaluation of Microsoft, 2ndVote also says that the company supports organizations, like Center for American Progress and the League of United Latin American Citizens, which support sanctuary cities.

Samsung

Not even the Korea-based Samsung (SSNLF) could sidestep a 2ndVote rating. And like many others in the technology space, Samsung received a one out of five from 2ndVote.

Interestingly, 2ndVote didn’t have much to say about Samsung. While other companies were tapped for having relationships with multiple “liberal” organizations, Samsung’s score was based on its support for one organization: the Center for American Progress.

From the 2nd Amendment to religious liberty, it was Samsung’s support for the Center that earned it just one point in all the metrics. No other evidence was cited by 2ndVote, nor were other organizations with which Samsung might be involved.

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By Don Reisinger
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