Conservative columnist and author Michelle Malkin has had one of her posts censored by Facebook for supposedly violating its community guidelines and, as always, Facebook has failed to provide a specific example of how the post broke its rules.
It seems to have been taken down because it featured photos of two people who have been banned from Facebook – independent journalist Laura Loomer and political commentator Gavin McInnes. Facebook has already said that it bans people for associating with individuals that are banned from its platforms and now it appears to be further tightening the rules and making posting photos of banned figures a crime.
Malkin posted the photos featuring her, Loomer, and McInnes to Facebook and Instagram on the same day Loomer and other high profile figures were banned from both platforms. Here’s her original post:
It reads:
“These are two of my friends, Laura Loomer and Gavin McInnes. They are banned from Instagram and Facebook for exercising their free speech—while violent jihad groups are allowed on these platforms to spread their murderous poison. I spoke out passionately about de-platforming at CPAC and have done what I can to use my voice to speak for the voiceless. Laura and Gavin are suing the radical forces (SPLC and CAIR) behind the insidious agenda to criminalize political dissent. I have donated to their causes and I hope you will, too (DefendGavin.com and LauraLoomer.us). I do not know how much longer it will be before I am next. Anyone and everyone who refuses to capitulate to the open-borders, sharia-enforcing social justice agenda is “DANGEROUS.”
And here’s the notice Malkin received from Facebook when the post was taken down:
It reads:
“We Removed Something You Posted
It looks like something you posted doesn’t follow our Community Standards.”
To make matters worse, Malkin says that after her post was censored, Facebook asked her to buy a boost in order to spread the news about her post being removed:
When Facebook banned Loomer and the other figures, it said that interacting with Gavin McInnes was one of the reasons they were banned. This set a new precedent of Facebook banning people based on who they associate with.
Now it seems that Facebook is stepping up its restrictions on what you can and can’t post to the platform by prohibiting the posting of photos that feature people who have been previously banned.
