Not me.
Not yet, anyway.
But a friend of mine, a fellow writer, was treated to a 24-hour suspension from Facebook for posting 'hate speech' --a link to an article from a legitimate news source about the administration's plan to deport sick immigrants.
Apparently sharing newspaper pieces critical of the administration and 45 counts as hate speech. And it only takes one disgruntled person to flag a posting and trigger a suspension.
Sometimes the suspensions are truly puzzling. Another FB poster was warned that her post about getting more rain was objectionable.
Facebook is free to use--you get what you pay for. And it's not surprising that FB relies on robot responses to complaints about content and isn't quick to respond to the suspendee's explanation.
My friend is back--and purging her 'friend' list in hopes of getting rid of the person who fingered her post as objectionable.
So far I've had no warnings, though I post and share MANY things on FB that are critical of our current administration. And my posts are public.
But most of the rabid 45 supporters have long since removed themselves from my friends list--a few, whose postings I found truly objectionable, I simply de-friended and blocked. Others, with whom I violently disagree, I stopped following so I wouldn't find myself in a pointless argument--though I may check their pages now and then to see if they still love the madman at the helm.
For better or for worse, Facebook is for many of us the public square where we expect to be able to voice our opinions. And, where we may expect, depending on our friends, to hear opposing points of view.
I want to hear what the other side believes--even when it creeps me out and makes me wonder what's wrong with them--where is their humanity?
And I intend to keep posting my objections to what I believe to be the most immoral, corrupt, self-serving, inhumane, egomaniacal, and deeply ignorant individual ever to sit in the Oval Office.
And he's tacky, too. (That's an Ultimate Southern Lady put-down, meaning he has poor taste, i.e. gold furniture, not to mention his taste for dictators.)
Still, the fact that one person can cause Facebook to suspend another's account seems like a disproportionate use of power.
Like, say, Mitch McConnell.
Or the Electoral College.
8 comments:
Vicki, I agree with you wholeheartedly. I do not post anything political; my true friends know how I feel about the "Village Idiot" in the White House. I've blocked a number of his "mass" who continue to post untrue and totally stupid things. We can only hope and pray that things will change in 2020 but so much damage has been done by this idiot, it will take a very strong, very knowledgeable person...I'm leaning toward Biden but no matter who is the Democratic nominee, he/she has my vote!!!!
It is a medium run by those sympathetic to the current menagerie from what I understand. Too bad really.
I would be inclined to shrug off my suspension and move on — BUT I am hearing way too many stories about other people who are getting the same treatment. Something is definitely going on, and that’s truth, not leftwing paranoia. There are many ways to stifle free discussion, and this is one of them. Thanks for this blog piece, Vicki.
It's funny that one of 45s complaints is that the media is making things up about him, while we who look for truth find there are now media controls that limit our free speech. Not at all funny. When news broadcasters were "required" by their corporate lords to state certain things verbatim, I knew that the manipulative guillotine had arrived. I do still believe most of what NPR and PBS say.
Well said!
I was very late in joining FB but it has truly been enlightening. Meaning...I have relatives and former classmates who are STILL strong supporters of Trump! These are college educated and otherwise normal people! Most of their posts are "shared" from bots and they have no idea they are being duped. I quit following most of them. I just can't abide how it affects my feelings for them in such a negative manner.
While not normallya conspiracy theorist, one does have to wonder if the clever folks have infiltrated the system to influence our elections in this manner. Seems McConnell doesn't have a problem with letting other countries elect our "leaders." BTW: The podcast "Embedded" did a five-part series on McConnell. It was painful to hear but tells you even more about this evil man. He enjoys his well-deserved reputation as the biggest obstructionist in history.
Vicki, I posted a photo which was deleted. I sort of suspected it would be. I let myself be goaded into a a response precipitated by a slur aimed at Michele Obama. I posted a commonly available picture of the current flotus. It was her with a towel. You probably know the one I mean. FB indicated it was against their photo guidelines and blocked it. I wasn't "jailed" the photo was removed.
Facebook is too automated. It is not a human but a computer with no heart or mind.
Post a Comment