UPDATE 12/20 11:30 AM PST: Facebook just removed the block. Does this herald less censorship of dissenters? Not likely. But it’s a positive development.
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It’s just a technical problem, right? All I have to do is secure my account with two-factor authentication, right? Sure, except I did that when Facebook blocked Jihad Watch in September, and all seemed to be well. A Facebook operative repeatedly assured me at that time that there was no silencing of dissenting voices going on in my case, that it was purely a technical matter, and it was quickly cleared up.
As of yesterday, however, it isn’t. Facebook is demanding that I do again what I did in September: prove that I am in the United States, apparently to establish that I’m not a Russian bot (contrary to the claims of Malcolm Nance on MSNBC), and give them a phone number. I’ve given them everything they’ve asked for more than once now, but nonetheless the block remains. And now the Facebook employee who was so helpful in September is not answering my emails.
The Facebook fascists are increasingly open about what they’re doing. And remember that in July 2017, Facebook Vice President Joel Kaplan went to Pakistan to assure the Pakistani government that it would remove “anti-Islam” material. Is Facebook closing down my site because it dislikes my views, which assuredly must annoy the Pakistani government, and is steadily endeavoring to silence all dissent from the hard-Left agenda? That is blazingly obvious.
I would have nothing to do with Facebook were it not the portal through which so many people get their news, but I am not too concerned about these new developments: people are abandoning Facebook by the droves now that it has become clear that it’s just another Leftist propaganda outfit, and so I’m willing to bow out there, and sit back and and watch as the whole corrupt and compromised Sharia-compliant Zuckerberg edifice eventually tumbles down.
I’ve asked a couple of Facebook operatives for on-the-record comment on this. If they answer, you’ll be the first to know.
Jacob says
Your website is also blocked in the UK as classed as over 18 by my mobile network provider, Three UK.
mortimer says
FACEBOOK is now run entirely by GLOBALIST FASCISTS.
(Robert Spencer is correct in calling them ‘FASCISTS’.)
GLOBALIST FASCISM is a new phenomenon on an old theme, a new RECONFIGURATION combining STATIST government, PRIVATE CONTROL of the economy by a giga-rich overclass and CENSORSHIP OF ALL CRITICISM of the KLEPTOCRATS.
George Soros is the QUINTESSENTIAL KLEPTOCRAT.
FACEBOOK, twitter and google should be BROKEN UP under the ANTI-TRUST legislation.
lisalles says
I agree that Social media is now and has been censoring any news that shows democrats in a bad light, they censor the accomplishments of Trump and they are censoring what the citizens in Europe are going thru. But then, the media in Europe is doing the exact same thing. They are censoring what is actually happening. Merkel actually CALLS the media and demands they NOT run a news story or they must eliminate certain facts. SAME IN ENGLAND AND CANADA.
In the tabloids, you can find medical breakthrough articles…but at the top of the article, it will state ADVERTISEMENTS. I believe the same should be applied to news that is actually OPINION. Any media that presents their opinions as news should have their FCC license revoked or the class of license changed. They are misleading the public. And if a news media decides to censor news, then the FCC should be brought in to decide if the media is censoring to the detriment of the public. Get caught censoring repeatedly and lose your license.
gravenimage says
I don’t think there is a problem with labeling advertisements as such.
J says
FYI Soros is actually funding campaigns to break up these monopolies e.g. Open Markets Institute.
gravenimage says
No surprise, Jacob.
RonaldB says
I keep my Facebook account because it occasionally helps me find people I knew in high school, or is convenient for messaging people with whom I have business. And some non-profit organizations, such as animal rescue groups, work through Facebook.
The thought of giving Facebook any hand in my selection of news sends chills down my back. Any service Jihad Watch uses as a Facebook alternative, I’ll be there. I get Jihad Watch updates for each article: also, I buy and read many of Robert’s books. Facebook is, on the whole, irrelevant.
One problem with the mega-companies like Facebook, is they just don’t care about an individual customer. Why they given any credence to the views of Pakistan, which is the original Mudistan, I don’t know.
mortimer says
Facebook has no business ENFORCING CENSORSHIP against POLITICAL DIVERSITY. As a SECULARIST ORGANIZATION Facebook has NO BUSINESS enforcing a BLASPHEMY LAW.
Lookmann says
There was a brief black out yesterday.
Don’t know if it was the handiwork of FB .
Since I am not a FBer cannot say much.
Mark Spahn (West Seneca, NY) says
“people are abandoning Facebook by the droves”
Evidence, please. Is there some recognized, objective standard by which the size of Facebook is measured? Does information about Facebook depend on what Facebook itself discloses? The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) claims to be America’s largest Muslim advocacy and civil rights organization, although it’s only in the top five (top eight in Canada). Is the situation similar with Facebook? Is there a Facebook-independent source of information about the size of Facebook?
Vicky says
I deactivated FB 18 months ago. The first week was the most difficult and after, I felt so free.
The people I know on FB no longer check into their FB accounts. The phone is better.
gravenimage says
Mark, this does seem to be happening, at least to some extent:
“For Many Facebook Users, a ‘Last Straw’ That Led Them to Quit”
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/technology/users-abandon-facebook.html
Joe says
You’re right to question it. FB’s user growth in the US has been stagnant for several years. The market is not saturated, though. OTOH, FB’s ad revenue continues to climb. The FB micro-marketing model is the envy of the tech industry.
b.a. freeman says
The FB micro-marketing model is the envy of the tech industry…
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um-m-m … not so much, Joe, according to what i have read. it seems that fb is squeezing any profits that folks used to make to the point that it has to be considered a cost center, not an income source. in other words, U have to pay somebody to manage the connection if U don’t handle it yourself, and even if U do, there’s very little money in it. put all the microprofits together, however, and it’s a huge pile of money; i can see *why* zuck, et al., lusted after it. just like googal, their motto is now “do evil.”
ElderlyZionist says
“I would have nothing to do with Facebook were it not the portal through which so many people get their news…”
What did we do before Farcebook? Oh, I remember. We printed up a batch of militant leaflets on the copy machine at the Student Union, then stuffed them under windshield wipers until the mall cops ran us off. Good times.
Farcebook seems to be imploding lately. Friends are getting randomly Zucked for no apparent reason, posts and accounts deleted with no more than a form ‘violation of terms’ email, and only robo-mail non-replies to their communications. It reminds me of the classic science-fiction trope, where the clever human presents the super-computer with a logical paradox, and the AI self-destructs trying to resolve the paradox.
I’d leave too, if there was anywhere else to go. Back to Usenet, I guess.
RonaldB says
Hi ElderlyZionist,
I would suggest that over time, Facebook will continue as a profitable diversion, and left to the free market, people with political points of view will migrate to other channels of information, possibly on a subscription basis. My greatest fear is that the conservatives and alternate rightsters will jettison their principles and call for government supervision over communication channels treatment of content. Once the principle is established that government supervises content, it will be a fairly quick trip to the situation where “hate” content is supervised to the extent that the small providers of information, such as Jihad Watch, are nickle and dimed to death by regulatory requirements.
ElderlyZionist says
Government regulation is no solution to the problem of overweening corporate executives in the communications industry.
gravenimage says
Agreed, Ronald–government censorship would be even more chilling.
CogitoErgoSum says
Hey, I learned a new word today – “zucked.” I like it. Let’s see if I can use it in a sentence: “I knew I was zucked when all I could get was the BSOD every time I tried to log on to the website where I had just given away my most personal information.”
Elaine Jones says
Time to revive MySpace? What about http://www.Gab.com?
gerard says
Just now, I was able to access your facebook page.
gravenimage says
I was also able to access Robert Spencer’s Facebook page here:
https://www.facebook.com/robertspencerJW/
TWG says
They lie with impunity. Even under oath.
Well over half of my fb friends have deleted their accounts. The only reason I’m still there is that I work on legislation, and need to reach like-minded folks. With like-minded folks leaving in droves, it has become a waste of precious time. Why bother? I use Gab, but it’s like an empty cave there at this point. I hope they continue to grow and become more interactive soon.
b.a. freeman says
the de-platforming of gab has apparently failed; i just checked, and they’re back – for now, anyway.
Dave says
I had no problem accessing the Facebook page. I did NOT like that I could find no place to leave a message or comment. Has Jihadwatch designed the page to prevent viewers comments?
marc says
no, commenting on the facebook is open, you see the other comments there?
I only block users from commenting that come out with genocidal crap or attack other commentators,
And yes, i block many islamic states fully from seeing the page at all, where all they do is threaten everyone.
Dave says
On other pages, there is a Write Post or Send Message section that allows a visitor to create a comment or communicate with the page owner. I do not see that on the page. Some people clearly have the ability to create posts, others only to have the opportunity to comment on existing posts. If I am incorrect, where on the page can this be done?
Ashley says
I’m heartened to hear this, Robert.
Facebook has always given me the creeps.
I also don’t think you should associate with a social media platform that requires you to provide a phone number. FB is constantly being hacked and personal information is being leaked to God knows who. You need to be cautious, Robert.
I’ve read horror stories about FB. Bullying. Stalking. Harassment. Blackmail. Humiliation. Threats.
Keep your privacy, Robert. You are a controversial figure. You don’t need Facebook.
Ross Lloyd says
Twitter is just as bad. Gab.ai is the future of Free Speech! And MeWe.
mummymovie says
I think that the “closing-in” on Trump by the Mueller probe currently being celebrated in the left-leaning establishment media, and the vanquishing and swift doling-out of “justice” and/or imprisonment to anyone in Trump’s circle of support is influencing these outfits to err on the side of caution, and is a good indicator of the extent to which leftist smear and unscrupulous reputation/career-destruction tactics have scared people and organizations into silence and/or feigning to side along with the left, and this all is further perhaps indicative of how they are placing the odds with regard to their bets on whom will be running the show in the near future: The cultural Marxist hard-left, anarchist/socialist/communist-affiliated Democrats intimidation tactics have been VERY successful, much like the way in which sharia law dominates by intimidation through terror and terrorism.
The balance of power in the U.S. seems to be shifting: The hard-left’s coup d’etat is nearly complete. They have been made successful through terror, and this is hereby evidenced with Farcebook’s and Twitter’s recent assumption of the role of sharia law enforcement and most astonishingly “Blasphemy” Police for the Pakistani theocracy.
The left fascistas are certainly having their day, it would seem.
gravenimage says
More Left-fascism: Facebook again blocks Jihad Watch page
…………………..
Disgusting–and they are not even honest about it.
Michael,B,Budinger says
We all know that Face Book is sharia compliant. And just like our government,judiciary and police they lie.
Paul Ominyi says
I have been on facebook suspension now for nearly three months for a com.ent that I made in a group about the prophet of Islam. He had asserted that Mary the mother of Jesus was the sister of Moses & Aaron. This a complete lie. He mistook Miriam the sister of both Moses & Aaron. They lived at different points in history and may never have been related. Facebook said that my comment was a hate speech & therefore suspended me. They say one thing & do exactly the opposite. Their sins are catching up with them , what with all the allegations going on right now.
Philip Damon says
Join MeWe.com. I left fascistbook for it. It rocks!! It is also the fastest growing alternative out there.
mewe.com/i/philipdamon
https://mewe.com/join/hisgraceissufficient
b.a. freeman says
if they answer …
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mr. spencer, we all know that they won’t answer. being nazi means never having to say U’re sorry … because it’s *always* somebody else’s fault.
i’m a nobody, which means that they don’t care what i say. that means that i’m safe from being shot, knifed, or poisoned, but the downside is that when they silence U, i – and millions of others – will be next. and there is nothing that anybody can do to the fascistBook nazis …
… or maybe there *IS* something that can be done. somebody could write a python robot to create up to 10 000 fake fascistBook accounts, and publish the code. if 10 000 people copied the code and ran it, that would be 100 million fake accounts that fascistBook would have to sort through in order to make sure that they are real users (which they wouldn’t be). and that’s just one possibility. if they didn’t get rid of those accounts, the robot could also generate fake account activity (like uploading thousands of virtually-identical images) to use up fascistBook resources.
people in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks if they don’t want to piss off their neighbors.
Henry Mansfield says
Author Colin Flaherty experienced constant problems on facebook and Youtube due to the subject matter he covers, which is black crime. He’s shifted over to Minds.com, a newer web service, and at least is able to post short videos without disruption.
The proven bias among the upper echelons of social media companies, let alone the privacy problems, may eventually be why a lot of people stop using them.