Facebook Bans Prominent Conservatives' Voices: Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer
Social media giants Facebook and Instagram have blacklisted conservatives
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Social media giants Facebook and Instagram have blacklisted various conservative figures from their platforms, including Infowars host Alex Jones, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, and Milo Yiannopoulos.
Instagram and its parent company banned some conservative personalities, according to The Atlantic.
Some of the conservatives claim they were given no reason for the ban.
British conservative Paul Joseph Watson raised the alarm following his ban saying he has not broken Facebook’s rules, and commenting, “In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged.”
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Last year Infowars and Alex Jones were de-platformed entirely by Facebook and other social media sites, but more recently Facebook vowed to remove any of the sites' related content posted by another account or page.
At the moment, content relating to Farrakhan, Loomer, Watson, and Yiannopoulos can still be shared.
However, it appears that it is only Infowars that is entirely banned.
According to an email to the Atlantic, a Facebook spokesperson stated:
Reports are true.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019
I have been banned by Facebook.
Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules.
In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged.
Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.
Neon Nettle's Facebook Page Deleted in Mass Censorship of Independent Media Social media giant wages war on independent journalism for 'spreading hate' https://t.co/a5Bgeq9yAa pic.twitter.com/21jjw5lKE7
— Jaime Garcia (@JgvJaime) June 20, 2018
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“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology.
"The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive, and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.”
But Facebook itself is not without controversy, last week the company admitted it was expecting up to $5 billion in fines over violations of users' privacy.
The penalty is a record for a tech company in the US.
Citing "a $3.0 billion legal expense accrued in the first quarter of 2019 related to the ongoing US FTC matter" in the tech giants quarterly financial statement, Facebook admitted the fine might be even higher.
"We estimate that the range of loss in this matter is $3.0 billion to $5.0 billion," the statement reads.
