{"id":183934,"date":"2019-02-20T08:04:55","date_gmt":"2019-02-20T08:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=183934"},"modified":"2019-02-23T07:08:04","modified_gmt":"2019-02-23T07:08:04","slug":"censored-facebook-bans-conservative-articles-on-jussie-smollett-hate-hoax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=183934","title":{"rendered":"Censored: Facebook Bans Conservative Articles on Jussie Smollett Hate Hoax"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Tyler O\u2019Neil &#8212; PJ Media Feb 18, 2019<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Over the weekend, Facebook prevented people from sharing two conservative articles on the unraveling case of <em>Empire<\/em> star Jussie Smollett, which seems to be a hate hoax. Both Rod Dreher, author of\u00a0<a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B01KUCY7XI\/pjmedia-20\"><em><strong>The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, and Daily Caller reporter Jen Kerns saw their articles censored on Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8220;You are not allowed to say on Facebook that Jussie Smollett carried out a hate hoax,&#8221; Dreher tweeted on Sunday with a screenshot of Facebook blocking<strong> <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/jussie-smollett-hate-hoax\/\">his article at\u00a0<em>The American Conservative<\/em><\/a><\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You are not allowed to say on Facebook that Jussie Smollett carried out a hate hoax. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/jnFx7aQFbS\">pic.twitter.com\/jnFx7aQFbS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Rod Dreher (@roddreher) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/roddreher\/status\/1097172300477140992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">According to the screenshot, Facebook blocked the article because it appeared to be &#8220;spam&#8221; and said the post &#8220;goes against our Community Standards.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Facebook lifted the ban later on Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">On Saturday, lawyer Harmeet K. Dillon shared the news that <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A62kGjAfPR\">Jen Kerns&#8217;s article<\/a><\/strong> had been blocked, also allegedly for &#8220;violating community standards.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">My friend <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jenkernsusa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JenKernsUSA<\/a>\u2019s incisive column on <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/jussiesmolett?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#jussiesmolett<\/a> and the hoaxes of the past, has been blocked by <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@facebook<\/a> for \u201cviolating community standards\u201d \u2014 but you can read and share it here \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qHkRBzdP6x\">https:\/\/t.co\/qHkRBzdP6x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Harmeet K. Dhillon (@pnjaban) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pnjaban\/status\/1096849790061563904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 16, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Rudy Takala also reported that Jen Kerns had been banned on Instagram.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Both <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Facebook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/instagram?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Instagram<\/a> have been on a roll trying to censor conservative writers this weekend. First they blocked <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jenkernsusa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@JenKernsUSA<\/a> and froze her Instagram account over this column on Jussie Smollett. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/A62kGjAfPR\">https:\/\/t.co\/A62kGjAfPR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; August Takala (@AugustTakala) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AugustTakala\/status\/1097206600400601088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Jen Kerns shared screenshots of the ban with PJ Media. Kerns told PJ Media that Facebook would not allow her to post the article as early as Friday.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Hey <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tyler2ONeil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Tyler2ONeil<\/a> I sure do. This was on Friday- it remained blocked thru Sunday. I believe it was Harmeet\u2019s Tweet ragging Facebook that got their attention. Thanks for your coverage! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/V3AuP5EpOe\">pic.twitter.com\/V3AuP5EpOe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jennifer Kerns (@AllAmericanJen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AllAmericanJen\/status\/1097575872842907649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 18, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Then when she tried to put the article in her Instagram bio, Instagram booted her from the account until she removed the link.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When I simply put the Daily Caller link in my Bio (so I could post \u201cLink in Bio??) I noticed it froze my account- Instagram wouldn\u2019t allow me to comment on other pages, &amp; would not allow others to comment on mine. I could not use Instagram again until I removed it. Their message: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/WE5OOvcwFs\">pic.twitter.com\/WE5OOvcwFs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Jennifer Kerns (@AllAmericanJen) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AllAmericanJen\/status\/1097579594323054594?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 18, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Rod Dreher&#8217;s article merely shared the previous reporting on the case, with a few paragraphs of his opinion sprinkled in. Jen Kerns compared the Jussie Smollett apparent hoax with the 1980s hoax perpetrated by\u00a0Tawana Brawley.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In a <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/facebook-bans-jussie-wrongthink\/?fbclid=IwAR1TCd0Mm4JoaHV1bX1aZ8GRZEY8CeCVZIyHn_g-kCFGrJ3ItYVNfer1Of4\"><strong>follow-up article<\/strong><\/a> about the Facebook ban, Rod Dreher attempted to make sense of Facebook&#8217;s decision.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">I fully support Facebook or any other social medium having a policy of banning certain material (porn, neo-Nazi propaganda, etc.). But when you can\u2019t talk about hate hoaxes in general, or about a celebrated hate hoax in particular? Presumably my blog post violated Facebook\u2019s \u201chate speech\u201d prohibition (I can\u2019t find any of their other Community Standards that it might have violated). <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/communitystandards\/hate_speech\/\"><strong>Facebook\u2019s policy on \u201chate speech\u201d is here<\/strong>.<\/a> This, I suppose, is what my blog post violated:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-228664\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-17-at-1.44.36-PM.png\" sizes=\"(max-width: 597px) 100vw, 597px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-17-at-1.44.36-PM.png 597w, https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-17-at-1.44.36-PM-100x11.png 100w, https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-17-at-1.44.36-PM-300x32.png 300w, https:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Screen-Shot-2019-02-17-at-1.44.36-PM-435x47.png 435w\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"64\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">But the entire reason for the post is <strong>new evidence indicating that Jussie Smollett was NOT a victim of a hate crime, but rather faked a hate crime!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The move indeed seems rather head-scratching.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Facebook also <strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/trending\/facebook-censors-articles-from-salena-zito-jenna-lynn-ellis-saying-they-look-like-spam\/\">censored a pair of conservative articles<\/a><\/strong> last August as news broke surrounding the Paul Manafort conviction and the Michael Cohen guilty plea. Both articles countered the prevailing liberal narrative about these events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It seems these bouts of censorship are likely caused by liberal Facebook users marking articles as &#8220;spam.&#8221; The social media company later removed the blocks, but censoring articles in the hours after their publication does a serious disservice in the news industry, where fresh information has the most pertinent impact.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Even if Facebook is not behind the initial decision to block, the company should make sure the posts are &#8220;spam&#8221;\u00a0<em>before<\/em> blocking them, rather than allowing some Social Justice Warrior to silence news on the internet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/trending\/censored-facebook-bans-conservative-articles-on-jussie-smollett-hate-hoax\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Facebook and Instagram now appear to be actively engaged in censorship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[42,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-controlling-the-news-andor-the-free-exchange-of-ideas-and-information","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183934"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183936,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183934\/revisions\/183936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}