Tag: Instagram

Oversight Board upholds Trump’s Facebook suspension

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Facebook’s independent Oversight Board upheld the platform’s suspension of former President Trump’s account but told the social media giant to rethink the ban’s “indefinite” nature. 

Why it matters: The decision sets a global precedent for how Facebook, and potentially other social media companies, will treat political leaders around the world.

Details: The board found Trump’s posts had “severely violated” Facebook rules but questioned the “indeterminate and standardless penalty of indefinite suspension” and “insisted” the company find a “proportionate response” within six months. Continue reading.

Twitter suspends right-wing activist James O’Keefe

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James O’Keefe, the activist best known for producing and promoting selectively edited, deceptive videos used to advance a far right wing agenda, appears to have been suspended from Twitter, and that suspension appears to be permanent.

On his verified Instagram account O’Keefe posted a screenshot of the suspension:

James O'Keefe Suspended Account
O'Keefe Instagram Post


Continue reading.

Facebook closes network of accounts and pages affiliated with Roger Stone for manipulation

Washington Post logoThe longtime Trump friend and former campaign adviser used fake accounts and other deceptive tactics to manipulate public debate, the company said

Facebook took down a network of more than 100 pages and accounts on Wednesday it said was affiliated with felon and former Republican operative Roger Stone for “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” taking the company’s campaign against disinformation closer to the heart of the nation’s political establishment.

The offending activity on Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram dated as far back as 2015 but was particularly active during the 2016 presidential election season, when Stone was advising Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and in 2017, as federal investigators were scrutinizing his activities.

Facebook officials said Stone, a longtime friend of Trump’s, used fake accounts and other deceptive measures to manipulate public debate. In at least a small number of occasions, Stone also drew attention to posts made by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks, which at the time was publishing damaging Democratic Party emails originally stolen by Russian hackers, the company said. Continue reading.

Republican humiliates himself at Senate hearing as his attempt to nail Instagram for liberal bias falls flat

AlterNet logoSen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Tuesday fell flat on his face when he tried to get technology experts to admit that major social media platforms were biased against conservatives.

While talking with assorted experts on artificial intelligence and algorithms, Johnson said that he had his staff members go to Politico’s Instagram account and record what other recommendations the app gave to them after following it.

According to Johnson, the vast majority of recommendations that came back were for news websites like the Washington Post or progressive outlets like Huffington Post, and none were for right-wing websites such as Breitbart.

View the complete June 25 article by Brad Reed from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.