SHOCKER: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg Makes The Case For Free Speech in WSJ OpEd While Censoring and Banning Conservatives

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In an extraordinary oped in the Wall Street Journal, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg makes the case for freedom of speech and freedom of expression. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Extraordinary because Zuckerberg’s Facebook has systematically censored, blocked and banned my colleagues and me on what is the most influential news portal in the world. My newsfeed is still in lockdown. Mr. Zuckerberg, let my thoughts and ideas be free.

I have a million and a half followers on Facebook – and that is just my page. That does not include my groups AFDI, SIOA and the other SIO groups. At one time my organic traffic from Facebook was 100,000+ a day, now – because of bans, blocks and shadowbanning the Geller Report newsfeed, it barely reaches 2000. Never Trumpers, on the hand, have enjoyed the benevolence of the little dictator as have left-wing media pages.

Facebook has instituted a fake news meter – which is nothing short of digital authoritarianism.

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And now Zuckerberg is announcing the creation of  an independent Oversight Board that will make binding decisions on what content stays up and comes down. Who will be on this board?  Hate groups like CAIR, SPLC? Zuckerberg claims that Facebook is  “going to appoint members to this board who have a diversity of views and backgrounds, but who each hold free expression as a paramount value.” Who is that? Outside of my colleagues and I, no one on the left or the RINO right believes in free expression.  On whose side did the elites come down when jihadis opened fire on my free speech event in Garland, Texas.

Facebook Stands for Free Expression

In a democracy, a private company shouldn’t have the power to censor politicians or the news.By Mark Zuckerberg

By Mark Zuckerberg, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 17, 2019:

Since starting Facebook in 2004, I’ve focused on building services that give people voice and bring them together. Throughout history, these objectives have gone hand in hand—even if it doesn’t feel that way today. Frederick Douglass once called free expression “the great moral renovator of society.” Movements like #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo depend on people openly sharing their experiences. And the ability to speak freely has been central in the global fight for democracy. Allowing greater numbers of people to share their perspectives is how society becomes more inclusive.

But increasingly, this idea is being challenged. Some believe that free expression is driving us apart rather than bringing us together. Others from across the political spectrum believe that achieving their preferred political outcome is more important than allowing every person to have a voice.

The power of individuals to express themselves has expanded rapidly in recent decades. But in times of social turmoil, there’s often an impulse to pull back on free expression. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” while locked up for protesting peacefully. When America was polarized about its role in World War I, the Supreme Court ruled that the prominent socialist Eugene V. Debs could be imprisoned for an antiwar speech.

Today, in another time of social tension, the impulse to restrict speech is back. We face a choice: We can stand for free expression, understanding its messiness but believing that the long journey toward progress requires confronting ideas that challenge us. Or we can decide the cost is too great.

I believe we must stand for free expression. But three major threats stand in the way.

First, laws around the world are undermining expression by restricting speech and imposing one country’s speech restrictions on others. Until recently, the internet was mostly defined by American platforms with strong free-expression values. But there’s no guarantee these values will win out. A decade ago, almost all the major internet platforms were American. Today, six of the top 10 are Chinese. While encrypted services like WhatsApp are used by protesters and activists everywhere, on TikTok—the Chinese app growing quickly around the world—mention of protests are censored, even in the U.S. As American policy makers define internet regulations to address public safety, they should help free expression triumph.

The second challenge to free expression is the internet platforms themselves—including Facebook. Facebook makes a lot of decisions that affect people’s ability to express themselves. Our values are inspired by the American tradition, but a strict First Amendment standard would mean allowing content like terrorist propaganda or bullying. Most Americans agree that people should be free to say things others don’t like, but no one should be able to put others in danger. So the question is where to draw the line.

At Facebook, we’re focused on addressing viral misinformation that could lead to imminent physical harm, like misleading health advice. We’ve built specific systems to remove threats such as child exploitation. In countries at risk of conflict, we take down content that could lead to imminent violence or genocide, and we’ve built systems that can detect risks of self-harm within minutes.

There are diverging views on what people consider dangerous. If someone shares a video of a racist attack, are they condemning it or glorifying it? Are they using normal slang, or using an innocent word in a new way to incite violence? Now multiply those challenges by 100 different languages.

Or take misinformation. No one tells us they want to see misinformation. But people enjoy satire, and they often tell stories that have inaccuracies but speak to a larger truth. Even with a common set of facts, media outlets emphasize different angles. I worry about an erosion of truth, but I don’t think most people want a world where you can share only things that tech companies judge to be 100% true.

I don’t think it’s right for a private company to censor politicians or the news in a democracy. Like the other major internet platforms and most media, Facebook doesn’t fact-check political ads. And if content is newsworthy, we won’t take it down. There are exceptions—even for politicians we don’t allow content if there’s a risk of real-world harm, and we don’t allow voter suppression.

I’ve considered whether we should ban political ads altogether. They are a small part of Facebook’s business and the controversy they create isn’t worth it. But advertising is an important component of free expression. Banning political ads gives an unfair advantage to incumbents and media favorites. It’s also unclear where the line should be drawn. Many ads are about issues, not elections. Would we ban ads about immigration or women’s empowerment? If not, would it really make sense to give everyone but candidates a voice in political debates? There’s no simple answer, and I believe we should err on the side of allowing greater expression.

But I also believe Facebook shouldn’t be making so many important decisions about speech on its own. That’s why we’re establishing an independent Oversight Board that will make binding decisions on what content stays up and comes down. Neither my team nor I will be able to overturn these decisions. We’re going to appoint members to this board who have a diversity of views and backgrounds, but who each hold free expression as a paramount value.

The third challenge to expression comes from politics. Some say free speech is dangerous because it may lead to outcomes they find unacceptable. Others believe the stakes are so high that they can no longer trust their fellow citizens with the power to communicate or decide what to believe for themselves.

I believe these views are more dangerous for democracy than any speech could be. You can’t impose tolerance from the top down. It has to come from people opening up, sharing experiences, and developing a common understanding of the society in which they live.

So how do we turn the tide? Someone once told me the Founders thought free expression was like air—you don’t miss it until it’s gone. I’m more optimistic. I believe in giving people a voice because I believe in people. Progress isn’t linear. Sometimes we take two steps forward and one step back. But if we can’t agree to let each other talk about the issues, we’ll never even take that first step.

The Truth Must be Told

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felix1999
felix1999
4 years ago

He knows how to play the game. Speak in opposites. Censor those he hates while advocating against censorship..
Maybe data that is more colorful is worth more money when he sells the data. He is making allot of money selling personal data.
comment image?itok=-UYwwVGq

Chaim
Chaim
4 years ago

FaceBook gestapo just banned me too. Free speech? LOL! Violation of Constitution!

felix1999
felix1999
4 years ago
Reply to  Chaim

That is something to be proud of.
Congratulations!

Hans Wellington
Hans Wellington
4 years ago
Reply to  Chaim

My page is still there. It can still be accessed by others. I have not been able to use it since October 2018. Only get a crazy comment about some supposed to be violation. There are other platforms. Don’t need and want FB anymore.

Drew the Infidel
Drew the Infidel
4 years ago

Rush Limbaugh calls it “Fakebook”.

Philip
Philip
4 years ago

He’s lying of course.

Bill
Bill
4 years ago

Him speak with forked tongue.

Dave
Dave
4 years ago
Reply to  Bill

Globally, social media is becoming a free speech mousetrap. In certain “social” spheres, it is becoming a threat to criticize certain speech or topics: If you can’t criticize or discuss it-it is not free.
I leave the inferences to you.

0349 JAT
0349 JAT
4 years ago

I deleted ( banned) facebook years ago

Halal Bacon
Halal Bacon
4 years ago

Anonymous fact checker, now where have I heard that before? Sounds like a whistle blower?

Tom Validakis
Tom Validakis
4 years ago

Jennifer Aniston sent a hidden message on behalf of the deep state, claiming victory for regaining CONTROL of the internet, with new rules that can censor world leaders, Obviously with the focus on President Trump fighter of freedom and democracy.
The MSM and social media have been fighting a relentless war against President Trump, freedom and democracy, this will lead to WWIII as they will never backdown, ever.

Jim Mac
Jim Mac
4 years ago

AND I RISKED MY LIFE AND SAW FRIENDS DIE FOR THE LIKES OF HIM AND HIS ILK. I just knew when I lost friends that someday there would be a time when the sissies of the world would take over America ,along with the Islamists we see being coddled by the left into our government positions at all levels. Many Americans are just blind to Dearborn and Minnesota and other places being ruled by Islam. Muslims have not built on Hospital. How many Catholic, Baptist, Methodists and Jewish Hospitals are there. THOUSANDS. MUSLIMS ARE INTO NOTHING BUT BRUTALITY AND KILLING ,MEANWHILE CLAIMING TO BE PEACFUL WHILE GETTING MICHELLE MILIKEN AND BRIDGETT GABRIEL CANCELLED AT MAR LAGO . THE HORRIBLE CAIR AND SPLC HAS ANY TRUTH LABLED AS HATE SPEECH AND IDIOTS BUY IT, INCLUDING HOLLYWOOD AND ZUCKERBERG WHO’LL BE THE FIRST TO LOSE THERI HEADS SOMEDAY.

Achmed Mohandjob
Achmed Mohandjob
4 years ago
Reply to  Jim Mac

The decision to ban ACT for America, where Ms. Malkin was to be the featured speaker, was made by “Team Trump”. Throw that in with his “Criminal Justice Reform” that just released over two thousand felons, convicted of firearm related crimes … most VERY violent. Yup, Team Trump strikes again.

created4el
created4el
4 years ago

What a wonderful op-ed by Senator Palpatine.

Brian Ozzy
Brian Ozzy
4 years ago

Zuckerberg you are a lying, dangerous, hypocritical scumbag! It shows the madness of the world today that some leftist drip like this should be rolling in money and dictating to the world what they may think, believe or say. Thank heavens I’ll only see another decade or so of this debilitating world meltdown before my allotted time is up.

felix1999
felix1999
4 years ago

Off topic – Conservatives leading in Canada!!!!!!!
Hope it holds to election day.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Polls show Trudeau falling behind one week before Canadian election
By ALEXANDER PANETTA | Oct. 14, 2019

Justin Trudeau is in severe political peril as Canada’s national election campaign enters its final week, with his incumbent governing party falling into second place and in danger of losing next Monday’s vote.

An aggregate of recent polling data shows Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which has been running neck-and-neck for weeks with Andrew Scheer’s Conservative Party, now trailing by two percentage points.

The compendium of surveys shows
Conservatives leading at 32 percent,
Liberals at 30 percent, the
left-wing New Democratic Party at 17 percent and the
Green Party at 10 percent..
(wish there were fewer parties!)

“I’d say the Liberals are the underdogs now,” said David Coletto, CEO of Canadian polling firm Abacus Data. “The prospect of a Liberal government has declined a lot in a week.”

Trudeau is bleeding votes in two areas, Coletto said. Inside French-speaking Quebec, a sudden surge by separatist party Bloc Québécois has cut into the Liberal lead across the province and could flip numerous seats.

The Bloc now stands at 27 percent in that province, just five points behind Trudeau’s Liberals. In a multi-party race, that could mean far more difficult contests outside the urban electoral districts where Liberal votes are concentrated.

The strength of progressive rival NDP is also hurting Liberals. The smaller party is now five points ahead of where it stood a month ago, gobbling up valuable votes.

Coletto said one scenario is becoming increasingly clear: The next Canadian government probably won’t hold the same commanding parliamentary majority currently enjoyed by Trudeau’s Liberals. So-called minority governments, in which the party that controls the executive branch holds fewer than 50 percent of House of Commons seats, are quite common in Canada, occurring in roughly half of elections.

They make for less stable, less predictable government that struggles to advance its bills and constantly faces the risk of defeat and a new election. “It seems very likely than neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives can pull off a majority,” Coletto said. “With a week to go, a fractured Parliament seems more and more likely.”

It’s not yet clear whether Trudeau or Scheer would lead such a minority government. Coletto said Trudeau’s mission now involves convincing skeptical progressives that there’s a real chance they might wake up after the election with a Conservative government.

That’s because Coletto’s own polling illustrates that supporters of every progressive party still believe Trudeau’s Liberals are likelier to win than Scheer’s Conservatives, and would prefer Trudeau if forced to make a choice between the two.

Trudeau is now pleading, with increasing urgency, for left-leaning voters to back him. He punctuated that plea Monday with a history lesson.

He noted that the last time the NDP gained seats in Parliament, Conservatives won and pulled Canada out of the Kyoto climate accord.

More here:
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2019/canada-election-polls-2019-latest-polling-updates-by-region/

SK
SK
4 years ago
Reply to  felix1999

Maybe Obama’s endorsement will finish him off.

Drew the Infidel
Drew the Infidel
4 years ago

I was always taught that saying one thing while doing another is called lying, a liberal’s stock in trade.

James Stamulis
James Stamulis
4 years ago

Bottom line folks is the CIA does not believe in frewe speech and they created both Facebook and Zuckerberg.

Laddyboy
Laddyboy
4 years ago

Sucker boy’s behavior is called;
HYPOCRISY !!!!!!
LIAR !!!!!!
SCUM OF THE EARTH !!!!
DREGS !!!!!

CreoleGumbo
CreoleGumbo
4 years ago

“FACEBOOK STANDS FOR FREE EXPRESSION”
“IN A DEMOCRACY, A PRIVATE COMPANY SHOULDN’T HAVE THE POWER TO CENSOR POLITICIANS OR THE NEWS.BY MARK ZUCKERBERG”

“Democracy” may be the key word here. Our form of government is not a “democracy” and I suspect that MZ knows that. That is why everything he said on this issue is nonsense.

John Acord
John Acord
4 years ago

Big Brother wannabe Zucky takes a page out of Alinsky to advocate for free speech with the meaning that free speech is confined to cultural Marxists and Leftists who are using every tool to suppress those who advocate for the liberties and freedoms enjoyed by all Americans and enshrined in our Constitution. Nothing new here,just more Marxist Commiecrat propaganda aimed at disarming the low-information people among us.

“Big Brother” wannabe Zucky aligned with Bezos, Brin, Dorsey are the leaders of the New Neo-Nazi/Commiecrat Party and they are using their wealth and influence to build its base day by day. They need to be financially annihilated before they take 100% control of our lives. Thi scanbestbedone by using other platform, stop clicking on their ubiquitous ads and discouraging others from supporting their perfidy.

Kwitcherbellyakin
Kwitcherbellyakin
4 years ago

WTF Zuckerberg? You have one third of the profiles you claim because when people go to Facebook jail, they open another profile. Then there are the bots. Nobody really knows any people they met online, so we must look at their weight as Facebook sells “gathered” ideas. They are planting those ideas. He is virtue signaling, and does not blink, though he is a creator of crisis.

Recuerdodeamor
Recuerdodeamor
4 years ago

This false muslim lover and hypocrite brain mauling monster must be jailed for the rest of his life.

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