The insidious nature of censorship under the guise of “hate speech is not free speech” has infected Craigslist. Craigslist is a great place to buy and sell, as many of us know, yet there is another side to CL that few use. It’s called “Community,” and it is a public forum for unfettered free speech. Categories abound, from politics and religion to pets and senior issues; one can find questions and answers on just about anything. The section called “Rants and Raves” originally was for kudos and complaints on local issues; now it is where conversations go to be unpacked and explored in depth.
Or so I thought.
Having used CL and these forums for years, I got used to the occasional post flagging, but in the last week or so, it appears censorship has taken the place of reasoned dialogue. I write mainly on Islam, Israel, jihad, immigration, Trump and progressive liberalism, and since May 10, virtually all my posts have been removed and never allowed to be posted. In other words, when I hit the “publish” button to post my latest piece, within 30 seconds it appears on my account page as “removed,” but never appears publicly. If a piece gets flagged, it takes longer than 30 seconds for the flag to take effect. There is no way my posts would be flagged and removed in 30 seconds, unless it is done internally by CL staffers or admin.
Of 142 posts in April and May, only 26 are still up, the rest removed before being posted. The subject matter of those removed posts include mention of the decision by Trump to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, the jihad turmoil in Gaza, creeping sharia in the US and Europe, the return of three Americans from North Korea, no-go zones in Sweden, German rape statistics, the sharia-compliant suburb of Molenbeek, Belgium, and I post every reported jihad attack. None of these violate CL terms of use, and every one is carefully researched and sourced.
Of course, the left does not want these facts to be made public; we know this from the years of obfuscation, misdirection and outright lies from the media, water carriers for Islam and liberal pundits who continuously tell us that right-wing media is the biggest cause of all our problems, including the dreaded Islamophobia.
More frustrating than having posts deleted before being posted, which I am now convinced is coming from inside Craigslist rather than being flagged by other posters, is the fact that there is no way to contact CL to register a complaint. Both corporate and customer service numbers ring through to the same message tree, the only selections being for flagging, business ads and creating a paid account. Yes, one can send an email, as I have done, but there has been no reply from anyone within CL. I know my posts are not being flagged. I can only assume that my posts, and those of other conservatives I have spoken to about this are being censored by CL administration and their site monitors.
To one especially nasty detractor who accuses me and anyone disagreeing with them as being under the influence of Fox and Breitbart, I responded with a list of the news sources I regularly read, which included Jihad Watch. Wouldn’t you know, this person went to Jihad Watch and then came back on CL to mock the story about the $2,700,000 paid to jihadis who kill Israelis and the piece on Turkish/Swedish meatballs, using those stories as fodder to attack mse, Robert Spencer and anyone who reads the site. This is just one example of the rabid vitriol beginning to infect Craigslist today. Of course their post stayed up, mine did not.
If indeed Craigslist is following the dictates of the left and censoring speech they find offensive, we are in for dark times. History is being made, and whether we will be able to read and study this point in history down the road is at the least in peril, at worst to be deemed not worthy of study if the left, through social media and now Craigslist, gets its way.
In 2010, Barry Sommer was removed as an instructor at Lane Community College in Oregon after complaints from the Hamas-linked Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) over his class “What Is Islam?”
Indiana Tom says
Next…Craigs List will have child sex slaves for sale! High fives all around!
mike9a says
free genital mutilation service included
jihad3tracker says
Our counter-jihad experts here on JW might want to try a little experiment on that Craigs List community forum — Instead of STATING truth about Islam in a brief comment there, ASK A QUESTION.
Perhaps about an event from the sick life of You-Know-Who, or a verse from the jihadist’s favorite Sura, Chapter Nine. Such inquiries should NOT be censored because they are simply requests for answers.
If your questions are flagged or otherwise suppressed, that will be proof of genuine CL panic. Please consider passing on to us here whatever sort of confirmative incidents happen.
jihad3tracker says
NOTE TO BARRY SOMMER — and JW readers who may try my suggestion about posting questions:
(I use G-Mail, but this will probably work with other types.) Before getting on CL Community, open your email account, and write the intended, upcoming remarks in its “Draft” section. Then, instead of writing them again in the CL forum, JUST COPY AND PASTE FROM THE DRAFT.
This will give an easy way to send what you wrote on to JW here, as a comment or directly to Robert Spencer — director (at) jihadwatch (dot) org.
Barry Sommer says
Excellent suggestion, thank you.
Alan in VA says
Tracker,
My experience with CL flagging of late is that it is done to ANY AND ALL conservative content, not just those posts referencing Islam.
No matter how trivial, or even in jest, POOF!, it’s gone in 30 seconds.
J D S says
Dear God… It is hard to believe what has happened to the America I was born into?
Have I and others failed You?
Have our leaders failed You?
Has government failed you by removing every facet of our love for you from our nation?
That small still voice I hear, when it It not drowned out by worldly sounds, TELLS me the answer is YES
Dear GOd..please save us from OURSELVES.
Alien Republican says
Add Amazon’s Revie & comment sections to it. Got banned from commenting 3 years ago after a spat with german leftards.
Coquille River says
I think this is exactly what is happening. The moderators are eliminating the posts before they reach the forum. Free speech is in danger everywhere unless you are a liberal. Thank you for bringing this concern up so others may benefit from it.
DukeMagoo says
Consider posting your stuff elsewhere. Why frustrate yourself with fools who are misguided and who will do nothing but make you angry all day long.
Never use Craig’s list again. … I never use it anyway … there is Kijiji.
Barry Sommer says
I do post elsewhere but it is important for all to know where censorship is coming from. I don’t get angry or frustrated, however I do feel information must be passed along. It is the fools and the misguided that need the help to see reality. They shouldn’t be ignored, they should be enlightened if possible.
Fred says
Enlightened. Or shot.
Garfield says
I feel like the next step is some agency obtaining a list of “people critical of islam” and then a knock on the door. It’s really scary.
Diane says
You’re right: It is scary. What you described (the knock on the door, by authorities) sounds like something that could start happening, down the road….. though, I believe that having Trump as US Prez will create a DELAY, in that scary scenario. If Clinton had become our Prez, I believe we’d already be experiencing it.
Fred says
It is happening, in the UK.
utis says
Absolutely right.
Cicero says
Yes that very development is what I fear in the UK
Alan in VA says
Barry,
I too have used an East Coast CL RnR as a “sandbox” for conservative political commentary since 2008, and up until recently the debate was robust and free-flowing, with occasional bouts of censorship from the left.
On or about the same date that you referenced, the RnR that I used went through the same transformation, and I am also experiencing immediate flagging, but the kicker is that it is without the tell-tale “Flagged & Removed” emails from CL that show a post was removed by forum other users.
Just prior to the 2016 election, a similar bout of this type of flagging occurred, and when I complained about it one of the more mouthy leftists on the forum snarkily repeatedly replied “Craig’s List, Craig’s Rules”, and when further pressed made mention of the existence of “Craig’s List Volunteers”, before vanishing from the forum completely.
I share your theory that this is an “inside job”, as another leftist RnR poster made gleeful references to RnR forums across the country being “wiped clean”, something that I researched and found to be true. It’s also telling that 99% of leftist posts are left intact, just as you have noted.
There is a concerted effort across all social media platforms to complete do away with any conservative thought, and CL is just the latest victim of this leftist fascist purge.
Feel free to contact me via my email if you’d like to see the evidence of my mistreatment at the hands of CL, as this is absolutely a reality, and I would be glad to assist you in making this known to a wider audience.
Alan
Barry Sommer says
Alan, so now that we know that CL is in process of censoring speech they don’t like (with your story showing that to be true) I am now going to gather as much info as I can on what is happening and your offer is greatly appreciated. I hope others who have experienced this will also be willing to tell what happened to them in their area. I am not sure how we can communicate as posting emails here is not safe. What do we do to get in contact with each other? Maybe Robert has a suggestion.
the Oracle says
Craig Newman no longer owns CL, and it shows.
Larry says
I’m a patriot who is presently hunted by ISIS assassins in America. I never sleep in the same bed twice. Craigslist is used by them to locate me. Pretending to be buyers, they hope for a personal meeting should I ever post on CL an item for sale.
Under Islamist John Brennen, NSA’s four super computers are linked to CL’s computers. My CL posts are sorted out via my email address, then given to ISIS assassins in America
We patriots have a big battle on our hands
Reference: Edward Snowden
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-23123964
TL says
“Larry”, when did you first suspect that your tale of persecution makes you appear to be a troll?
Go back to CL and report your failure to your friends and allies in totalitarianism.
gravenimage says
Do you have anything to back this claim up?
TL says
This piece by Barry Sommer is astonishing. He’s managed to write a moralizing rant about Craigslist without mentioning its revenues, its net income, or its CEO, one Jim Buckmaster, who is “Possibly the only CEO ever described by the business press as anti-establishment, a communist, and a socialistic anarchist”. Jim has been hanging around CL for years, and “since 2000 Jim has led craigslist to be the most used classifieds in any medium, and one of the world’s most popular websites, while maintaining its public service mission.”
For more about Mujahid Jim, see https://www.craigslist.org/about/jim_buckmaster
Fred says
I’ve seen his face before. In the dictionary, under “DOUCHEBAG “.
No Muzzies Here says
Everything in “The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Free Speech” is coming true.
JawsV says
Craigslist is Murder Inc. I’ve never used it and never will.
Lydia Church says
That reminds me of that quote again about the lights going out all over Europe, only now it is all over the world. At first it made me think of the Holocaust and time before WWII, but it was written just before WWI. Either way, it fits all of those cases. Freedom of speech disappeared as fear took its place like an encroaching shadow little by little. All politics conformed to that mold. It mattered not that it did not make any sense, was irrational, was unjust, or the ‘unthinkable’ that people thought would never and could never happen. It just happened anyway. Few were the voices of resistance, like stars in the dark of night.
But it is around the corner. Remember, you don’t win just because you were able to beat them all back. You win because you are one of the stars shining the light instead of part of the darkness. To sit back and do nothing is part of the darkness. We resist and that is what counts. God wins in the end, by His own strength, and that is all that matters.
So, keep smiling!
( :
Rarely says
Barry Sommer.
It is impossible to have a considered opinion without knowing exactly what your posts said. You sound reasonable enough but I’ve been fooled before. Perhaps they are just kowtowing to the hard left but perhaps you went over the line.
Barry Sommer says
I understand, so here is a bit of one post that has been censored.
“Let’s continue. It is claimed that it is wrong for Israel to be a country based in Jewish theocracy. Okay, then riddle me this; why no protest over the 57 Islamic countries where religion is paramount and the governments there routinely enforce religious law, you know the sharia against non-Muslims?
Ah yes, the moral conundrum that makes it tough to face your hypocrisy. If you claim to hate Israel because they are a country based in Jewish theology then you must also hate those 57 countries where Islamic theocracy reigns supreme…right? But if you condemn those 57 Islamic countries, then by the standard of what I have been accused of you must hate all Muslims too! How does it feel to be a greasy Islamophobe?
There is no such thing as a “Palestinian” people or a country that those people lived in. Your hatred of Israel and Jews makes it easy for you to believe this is so, but if you would just do a modicum of research the facts would speak. But no, we all know that the deep seated hatred you hold precludes your acceptance of anything that may challenge that hate.
Don’t worry, your secret is safe here. No one will tattle on your little peccadillo.
PS, chew on these passages from the Hamas Charter. I guess these are messages of peace and tolerance.
“Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory).”
“There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”
But they really, really want a two state peace!”
Should this be banned? It does not violate CL’s TOS but no one can read it.
Rarely says
I don’t see anything wrong with it. I suppose then that if people want to be able to post these writings on social media sites they will have to come at the problem from a different angle.
Alan in VA says
And here is an example of my flagged posts
:
“”Blue Wave”? More Like “Blue Bellyflop”!
This what happens when your party doesn’t have a message beyond blind hatred.
For the very first time since April of 2017, when Real Clear Politics first started monitoring the average, the Democrat advantage in the generic ballot has dipped below 5 percent, to just 4.7 percent.
Until his week, Democrats enjoyed a steady average of a +5 percent advantage. Of late, that average has climbed as high as +13 percent. But since then, the erosion, in fits and starts, has steadily drifted downward, and now, at least in this election season, it is at a record low.”
Pretty controversial stuff, huh?
I’m telling you and every reader here, Craigslist is censoring ALL conservative thought, and leaving the leftist posts alone.
It has become THAT pervasive.
gravenimage says
Sounds reasonable to me.
stang666 says
I’m not to sure how CL works but I have posts disappear all the time. It works through the sights that use Facebooks comment section to identifie you. This is in Canada I wonder if it happens elsewhere ? No sooner do I push send and my comments are gone. It all depends on the sight I trying to comment on, lefty sights like the Government controlled CBC or any left leaning news outlet…gone. I have never been in Facebook jail but have been warned about posts on occasion, I believe they have me on their list of “ do not print “
gravenimage says
Now Even Craigslist Is Censoring Foes of Jihad Terror
…………………….
Disgusting. Thanks for the head’s up from Barry Sommer.