In at least the second such encounter in recent weeks, the social media website Facebook has run into issues with conservatives posting information that has caused the site to block Tea Partiers from posting--at least temporarily.
Now, Facebook blocked two stay-at-home Tea Party moms from posting material that’s pro-conservative and critical of liberals including President Barack Obama, Breitbart News has learned. The two moms--Patty and Lisa (they requested Breitbart News not use their last names, as they have “received death threats on our page and would prefer to remain somewhat anonymous”)--have had some issues with regard to posting materials that have gotten caught up in Facebook’s web, starting as early as October 2012.Then, Patty posted a Breitbart News article, and the photograph contained within the article, on their “100 Percent FED Up” page. The article and photograph were about Rapper Snoop Dogg, and how he tweeted out a picture of a handwritten note containing reasons why somebody should vote for President Barack Obama for re-election.
Merely posting that article from Breitbart News and the photograph with it--with no editorial commentary of her own--earned Patty a three-day block from posting any content on Facebook. Official warnings popped up on her screen advising her that she violated Facebook’s “Community Standards.”
A few months later, Patty posted a photograph of Adolf Hitler bearing the text: “Never forget what this tyrant said: 'To conquer a nation first disarm its citizens.' - Adolf Hitler." Hitler actually said that, but Patty was blocked then for seven days (she ended up getting it reduced to approximately five days by contacting support) from Facebook.
Then, Wednesday evening this week, Patty posted the home address and contact information of Gracia C. Martore, the president and CEO of Gannett. Gannett publishes theJournal News newspaper in New York that recently printed a list of firearms owners’ personal information. Facebook blocked Patty for 30 days, as of Wednesday night, for that post.
As of late Thursday, she remained blocked and could not post anything on Facebook except for private messages.
But Facebook spokesman Fred Wolens told Breitbart News what happened was a mistake on the social media company’s part, and the company plans to fix the issue as fast as they can. With regard to the first two instances--the Snoop Dogg story and the Hitler photo--Wolens told Breitbart News that his team couldn’t find specific records of those blocks. “While we couldn't find the photos from the first two examples, if they were posted as described, they would not violate our policies,” Wolens said.
With the Gannett CEO photo information, Wolens said Facebook found the example and has determined that block to be a mistake. “[That] block was a mistake on our part, and we will follow up with our User Operations team to make sure this does not happen again,” Wolens said. “Additionally, we will reach out to the Page admins to communicate this error.”
Wolens added that “these actions are not politically motivated in any way.”
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