Sci-fi author Daniel Arenson was just trying to post about Holocaust remembrance, something Facebook’s censors deem inappropriate these days. Arenson reports:
A few days ago, on my Author Page (separate from this account, which is my personal account) I shared a post that commemorated the Holocaust. It was a project created by a Jewish artist, and included some images of Holocaust victims. Facebook removed the photos, claiming they feature “nudity or sexual activity.”
This seemed to be the work of a bot. I figured it was just a bug in the algorithm. So I applied for a human to review this case, and to potentially restore the photos. A human took a look, told me the memorial photos (created by a Jewish artist) are “hate speech,” and that I’m banned from using Facebook for 24 hours.
Three days went by, and my Author Page was still in “Facebook jail.” Meanwhile, Facebook charged my credit card $1,100 for running ads using that page. The same page I’m locked out of.
I contacted Facebook support, and I finally got a hold of a human. I asked why I was banned, and how long the ban would last. They simply threatened to extend the ban. From their tone, it sounded like they might hit me with even more bans, maybe affecting my personal account (this one) too.
They did not provide reasons why this is happening. I explained that the photos were created by a Jewish artist, who wanted to commemorate the Holocaust. Facebook support staff simply threatened further bans against my account(s).
Today, even on my personal account, I’ve had some trouble accessing the website. Maybe it’s just a Facebook-wide issue, though, and unrelated to my troubles.
If I disappear entirely, this is why. I shared photos by a Jewish artist who wanted to commemorate the Holocaust. Since then, Facebook has been smacking my accounts around, and every time I contact them, it gets worse.
These social media sites have become increasingly anti-social. Once Facebook changed their algorithm to not allow people to post from their business pages without “boosting” or no one sees the posts, it became pay to play. Now apparently you can’t even discuss certain topics it deems it doesn’t want on its site.
How long until people get banned solely because of their identity?
It’s a shame what’s happened to these social media companies as they try to tightly control information, and sell their commodities — which is YOUR information.
You bet Facebook is making money off of Arenson’s Jewish heritige — AND off the ads he’s put up for his books.
It’s a crime what’s going on, and these companies desperately need regulation, or at the very least, anti-trust suits brought against them.
Anyway, I’ll switch it up from my general self promoting post endings today. Arenson is a great Mil SF author. Check out his books:
It’s quite simple, really… Don’t use them. Seriously. All you’re doing is fueling the BS as there is going to be nothing good of regulation…and short of that or bankrupting them, they’re going to continue it.