Social networking giant threatens to close Alex Jones account over Bin Laden “Al-CIA-da” image
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Facebook is now apparently censoring political posts which violate its “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities” as hate speech, after the social networking giant threatened to close radio host Alex Jones’ account over an image of Osama Bin Laden with the words “Al-CIA-da” written underneath.
Attempting to login to Alex Jones’ Facebook account, which has over 321,000 subscribers, Infowars staff were met with a message from Facebook denying access to the account until it was acknowledged that Facebook’s terms had been violated.
“We removed content you posted,” stated the message, underneath which was a black and white image of Osama Bin Laden with the words “Al-CIA-da” emblazoned across it. Facebook removed the image because it “violatesFacebook’s Statement of RIghts and Responsibilities.”
A secondary screen then warned that other infringing images should be removed if the account was to remain in good standing.
Since the image is not copyrighted, according to Facebook’s terms of agreement one can only assume that it was removed because it represented an example of “hate speech,” yet the picture was merely a commentary on the admitted fact that Osama Bin Laden was aided by the CIA during the cold war and that Al-Qaeda terrorists are now being supported by the Central Intelligence Agency in Syria and Libya.
Facebook advertises and poses as a public commons yet, much like Google-owned You Tube, routinely censors political content on flimsy pretexts.
This is by no means the first time Facebook has shown its hostility towards those with alternative political viewpoints.
In September 2011, Infowars reporter Darrin McBreen was told by Facebook staff not to voice his political opinion on the social networking website.
Responding to comments McBreen had made about off-grid preppers being treated as criminals, the “Facebook Team” wrote, “Be careful making about making political statements on facebook,” adding, “Facebook is about building relationships not a platform for your political viewpoint. Don’t antagonize your base. Be careful and congnizat (sic) of what you are preaching.”
The spelling error contained in the email suggested that Facebook staff had specifically investigated McBreen’s political post and that he had not merely received a boilerplate message.
While the likes of Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi are free to push their political agenda without interference, individuals are being warned not to use Facebook even to express political opinions.
Facebook is monitoring private discussions conducted on its network for suspicious behavior and in some casesforwarding those conversations to police with scant regard for privacy rights.
Earlier this year, former Marine Brandon Raub was kidnapped from his home by police, FBI and Secret Service agents and forcibly incarcerated in a psychiatric ward by authorities in Virginia in response to Facebook posts which the FBI deemed “terrorist” in nature yet which were later dismissed by a judge.
