May 26, 2019

A vile doctored video of Nancy Pelosi remains up on Facebook with the site vehemently defending its decision to leave it up. Why? Because they say users should decide for themselves if it is real. In fact, their company vice president for product policy and counterterrorism said “We think it’s important for people to make their own informed choice for what to believe. Our job is to make sure we are getting them accurate information." This statement was made AFTER the video was determined to be a hoax.

So what does rise to a violation of "community standards" warranting removal from Facebook?

Apparently altering MAGA red hats into symbols of hate.

Yes, you read that right. An artist's depiction of a 2019 hate symbol (MAGA red hat) as swastikas and a KKK hood are simply unacceptable expressions, but proven hoax videos insinuating that the Democratic Speaker of the House is a drunk are totally fine with Facebook.

The artist, Kate Kretz, was banned from Facebook for violating "the platform's standards." Using red hats as reimagined Nazi paraphernalia is not ok because I guess Facebook doesn't want to offend delicate Nazis. Or make MAGA look like Nazis? I don't fully understand the violation, to be honest.

It is pretty clear what the MAGA hat symbolizes, refashioned as another symbol or if it stays a hat. It is a clear symbol of hate, like a swastika armband or a KKK white hood. No one sees someone wearing a MAGA hat and thinks "this person is an empathetic, accepting person." We all think "this person dislikes anyone who is not white, Christian and straight."

Tell me again why Trump and his GOP cult whine about Facebook censoring them? It appears they are the only ones NOT getting censored.

Can you help us out?

For nearly 20 years we have been exposing Washington lies and untangling media deceit, but now Facebook is drowning us in an ocean of right wing lies. Please give a one-time or recurring donation, or buy a year's subscription for an ad-free experience. Thank you.

Discussion

We welcome relevant, respectful comments. Any comments that are sexist or in any other way deemed hateful by our staff will be deleted and constitute grounds for a ban from posting on the site. Please refer to our Terms of Service for information on our posting policy.
Mastodon