Finally, someone has the guts and resources to take on the thought police. I can tell you first hand that the ‘fact checkers’ on Facebook have been out of control. They have created a culture of fear among small, independent and conservative publishers leading to dystopian levels of self censorship and deplatforming.
As you can see, we are afraid to write about anything, we cite ever claim and avoid expressing opinions on hot button topics, all for fear of being deleted while we sleep. I appreciate the fact that Mark Zuckerberg has said over and over how much he values freedom of expression, and perhaps he does, but the ‘fact checking’ program on his ‘platform for all ideas‘ does not seem quite as interested in letting right of center ideas be heard on the site, IMHO.
In full disclosure, this is why we created Spreely.com, a social media site, similar to Facebook, where the ‘1st Amendment is the community standard’ (overtly sexual content being the exception.)
Fox News explains, ‘Conservative activist Candace Owens said Thursday that she plans to sue Facebook‘s third-party fact-checkers over perceived censorship of her social media posts.
“It is time to fact-check the fact-checkers,” Owens said in a video posted to her Twitter account. “I’m going to put these suckers through discovery and figure out what the relationship is that they have with Facebook.”
Owens gave an example of an instance that she alleged crossed the line.
“Quite literally a doctor gave his opinion about COVID-19, which I shared, and Facebook issued a strike on my account because they said only information that they agree with about COVID-19 … was acceptable,” she said.
She said her Facebook page was demonetized as a result, meaning she could no longer use the page for income purposes.’
Guess what?! I am OFFICIALLY suing the “Fact-Checkers” who are really just activists. https://t.co/nvLBLZaQEH https://t.co/UGbJzMrMk0
— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) November 6, 2020
It’s not just pages who have been repeatedly flagged for ‘false’ or ‘misleading’ posts that have lost their monetization either. We have been exceedingly careful not to publish or post anything that is even close to the line, yet we are forbidden from monetizing on the platform as well.
While I can not prove it, it sure feels as if the ‘fact checking’ program is merely an excuse for identity and viewpoint based censorship. I have a feeling that this is what Ms. Owen’s lawsuit will uncover, provided they pass summary judgement and she gets discovery.
Fox went on to write, ‘“I decided I was not going to give up and sit down,” Owens said before railing against the presidential election, which was still undecided late Thursday as votes continued to be counted in several states. “The fact-checkers. .. they are activists for the left that shut down your speech if they don’t like it.”
To file the suit, Owens said she retained a pair of attorneys, including Todd McMurtry, who was part of the legal team for former Covington (Ky.) Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann.’
In all honesty, I think Facebook built a great tool. Initially they gave a voice to anyone with the initiative to speak out and a message that resonates. I only wish they had embraced their control of the modern public square with a desire to protect the right of all people to speak, regardless of viewpoint, identity or market cap, instead of deciding to become the thought police.
