Abusive Content?
This ban first came to my attention when reading comments on my article Woke Culture – What Are They Smoking At Microsoft? in which a DCT reader pointed out that DCT articles/links could no longer be posted on Facebook. Due to its tone, at first I thought it was maybe a sarcastic throwaway comment, but when checking my own Facebook page, where I had also posted the article, I was surprised to find that the entire post had disappeared. No notifications and no signs that I had ever posted it appeared anywhere. I then tried to post it again and was met with the message below:
I then raised the issue with Richard Pedersen, our editor at DCT, and he confirmed that he too was having problems posting links to DCT on Facebook, receiving the message in the first image in this article, as you can see above.
Your message couldn’t be sent because it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive. If this is a mistake…
Are DCT Articles Abusive?
Well, that’s a worn-out word if ever I heard one — abusive. It can cover a multitude of interactions and is generally grossly exaggerated. But that isn’t the point here. “…other people on Facebook have reported as abusive…”, is the real point and even in my wildest dreams, I cannot think of one single DCT article that could be described as abusive. I write off-topic articles that are generally related to political correctness and other social issues that I feel strongly about and I have a sneaky suspicion that maybe a few readers on Facebook have taken offence to some of my opinions. But that’s just me making wild assumptions and perhaps being a little paranoid, so it doesn’t get us very far.
We Disagreed With Their Decision
As with most corporations today, contacting a human being for a response is almost impossible, so our only recourse has been to use what limited support options are available. In this case, to disagree with Facebook’s decision to NOT allow any and all DCT URLs. But the problem here is that it doesn’t nail down the precise issue, making it impossible to take any action to remedy the situation. This reminds me very much of my YouTube demonetisation problem, where I am not being told specifically how to fix the problem. Or, to put it another way, to fix the problem that Facebook perceives as such.
I have an opinion about Facebook in general, but at this juncture, it’s probably not appropriate to air that opinion but to simply continue to appeal to the company to right the wrong. Naturally, when we have any further information on this sinister development, we’ll be sure to share that information with you here on Dave’s Computer Tips.
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I gave up on FB years ago when they first started dictating what people should say , read and think and I am all the better for it, my life has been exponentially calmer and my anxiety levels have dropped noticeably. You should try too.
Depending on the outcome of this vile censorship, I’m seriously considering removing myself from the Facebook universe as well, Ed.
However, for the time being I need to stay chained in order to add what little assistance I can to remove this unwarranted blight from the good name of DCT.
I did so as well…the F word I use when I refer to them has a totally different meaning than face!
This type of unilateral censorship is intolerable. There is virtually zero by way of explanation and no right of reply. Presumed guilty with zero opportunity to defend oneself- totally contrary to the very essence of justice and equity. These mega online entities have become a law unto themselves.
There you go violating their “community standards”, which consists of the standards of those within FB’s monoculture. We mustn’t allow dissent to jeopardize the greater cultural revolution!
This is so true … I quit FB bs over 3 years ago because it has to start with one, then two, then 3 to bring down FB, Twitter, etc. These mega tech companies are changing our norms (even our form of justice) and must be stopped. This is why I quit FB first, Twitter will be next. Have already moved to Duck-Duck Go in lieu of Google. We all have to join in or these behemoths will continue destroying this country from within (as Russia predicted)!
I just changed from Google to DDG as well. Checking it out to see if there is any lack of function. So far so good. It has a pretty clean look to it.
I just posted the following on my facebook page:
So one of my favorite Tech sites,
h t t p s://davescomputertips . com
was banned from Facebook with virtually no way to appeal that totally unfounded decision. The site apparently contained an article that didn’t sit well with the powers @facebook and the
site now can’t post on Facebook.
It would be nice if you shared this post and draw some attention to another of Facebook injustices.
I had to make the URL non clickable because it also alerted me that I couldn’t do my post if the url was left intact.
These big tech giants apparently can do no wrong and without any recourse the consumer suffers.
Thank you Norbert, appreciated.
Some great tricks there, Norbert, most of which I’ve tried myself since this debacle started.
I’ve even tried URL shorteners and other ways of disguising the DCT URL, but they must have some aggressive algorithms at work in Zuckerberg Towers. In the end I had to upload this article’s featured image, the article title and the URL with loads of spaces without the dots.
Crazy, eh?
Bob, it’s Facebook that’s abusive, obviously. They bear out the maxim that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Good for supporting DCT! I wish fb would concentrate on the spammers, conspiracy nuts and the myriad mis- and disinformation pushers instead of harmless tech sites.
This is why I moved to MeWe.com
WuteverCanada.com moved from Facebook to MeWe at
https://mewe.com/i/gtprice
Why not just use email to communicate? Do you really need the aggravation of ending up in FB jail for 30 days? I have noticed a lot of Memes about FB Jail posted on other sites which I frequent, Call it jail or abusive, it just does not make any common sense. Maybe it has something to do with the new Facebook name – “Metaverse”?
Hey Bill,
The trouble with disseminating information via email is, if we send out unsolicited email we are then accused of spamming. It’s a fine line. Plus, email only reaches our subscribers whereas Facebook is an open platform.
Love it or loathe it, social media is where it’s at, Bill.
I CANNOT believe what I’ve just read here. What is the world coming to? Keep ’em coming all DCT contributors. It’s much appreciated. I hope you can get this ridiculous ban removed
Cheers James, appreciated.
Hi
What is happening to this world. I follow Dr Mercola who is in USA and he is constantly being attacked.
Here in England where I live, we were told to have one vaccination against Covid, then were told we need a second jab, now we are told to have a third jab. Annual jabs are now being talked about and conveniently to support this they have discovered a new variant.
Also, the british government are now putting floride in all drinking water.
Now they are putting folic acid in all white flour.
When did we give permission for governments to control our lives is this way. Why do I no longer have a say in how to protect my health. When will the control end.
I understand if you do not want to publish this.
My wife was infected with Covid whilst in a UK hospital for an un-connected problem. She was sent home after Covid contact and I was infected as well. Due to the checks in place on patients she could only have been infected by a medical professional who had not bothered to get vaccinated.
I suggest that when you have had to have a Do Not Resuscitate conversation and waited for days not knowing if your wife would live you make anti-vax comments on a totally un-connected subject.
My apologies to all at DCT for being compelled to answer this post. You have my total support on your fight against Facebook’s dictatorial actions.
Gentlemen,
I think it might be time to end this discussion. We have allowed these two comments, while respecting Jonathan’s right to reply. However, the anti-vax topic is deeply personal and has no place here on a tech blog.
Any further comments on this subject will be deleted. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
I wish I could report the problem is as simple as explained here. When one person disagrees with one point in a Facebook post and notifies Fb, everything from that source may be banned for some period of time, usually one day, then three days, then 30 days as “offences” progress. What’s more, Google keeps records, a history, so that every reader report accumulates and is considered with each new “offence.” The “offences” of any source (individual, website, group) accumulate and punishments are handed out each time based on the whole history, not just one offence. So anyone may cause grief for any poster they disagree with.
I may not always agree with some of the views, but to me that’s a different matter. For example I hate how the word Woke has been used as a slogan e.g. too Woke, this show is crap, without giving any evidence, but your articles always seemed to be balanced and thought out.
What I dislike with a large part of today’s society, is the idea that everyone should agree with a specific set of people and anyone that challenges them or says something slightly different is wrong and should be silenced.
And the scary thing is it is often these people who also claim to believe in free speech. Basically what they actually mean is people should be able to be open and speak about anything unless I disagree with it.
The thing is I’ve read things online that I’d class as racist and I 100 percent disagree with but that is sadly some people’s believes and sadly freedom of speech allows people to say things, as long as its done in a way that isn’t specifically targeted and also isn’t used to cause issues/incite violence.
I’m very careful these days what I put online because we live in a world where things are often misread or taken out of context. I often read articles about shows and stuff where they say people complained about something specific and by people they often mean a couple of twitter users. It just worries me that even my post could be complained about by one person and it could go on from there. People have lost jobs due to social media.
I have been banned from leaving reviews on AMAZON for years, but they have no problem taking my money. I have contacted them by email and phone to try and get to the bottom of the problem. Nobody at Amazon can give me an answer. Not even a clue as to why I am banned.
Yet after every purchase I get an email asking me to rate my purchase. (-:
I suspect I gave an “honest” review sometime in the past and a seller objected. Now I am banned for life.
Because of where I live Amazon is a great source of goods I could not purchase without traveling hundreds of kilometers.
Welcome to the USSA, I knew the article in question was going to cause backlash. This has been going on for a while and getting worse because of the “Woke” movement.
I personally have never used any kind of social media.
Because of all the recent censorship many new alternative sources have been developed to replace some of the common platforms.
Mainstream Media has a hand in providing false information that promotes this biased thinking.
The movement to boycott corporations, etc. (the etc. is huge) that support “Wokeism” has worked in some instances.
When Facebook can ban the sitting President of the largest country in the free world, and allow Terrorist Organizations free reign that should give you an idea of what you are up against.
Free speech as we know it is a thing of the past!
Only if we allow it to be. Stop using these mind and speech control media. It is only a matter of time before it will have an effect. After all, when the money dries up change will always happen.
We can complain all we want but without action nothing will change.
Now this is REALLY amazing. My comment shows with the following:
“Your comment is awaiting moderation.”!!!!!!!!
Are you effin kidding me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I kind of agree with the Trump ban and this will probably sound hypocritical in regards to my earlier post about free speech. I believe in free speech but also belive those in a position that allows them to reach a large audience e.g. celebrities, have a responsibility for what they post online.
I’m from the UK but all I’ll say is when the soon to be out US president uses his platform to incite violence in regards to the Capitol Riots, is it any wonder no one wants him on their services
I have been on FB since 2008, merley to keep in touch with a few university friends. But what I noticed, ever since 2011 no one is using it. 90% of people even have the same status message or profile picture ever since.
So yes, FB is irrelevant for “social”, but yet it is insanely relevant as an aggregator of news and opinions. They got a lot of flack because click-bait and negative news doinated the news feed.
Now they made a 180° turn and censor everything that could be mildly offensive. I.e. every honest opinion. I started using FB to check for news in about 2015. I largely followed anti-establishment figures, not the likes of Alex Jones, but on a smaller scale. People who were telling the truth about Syria, for example. Now what I noticed is: everybody is gone, removed. The only page left is an Antifa page. Which is of course the most visibly irony, as they are partly violent, offensive and discrimnate against many other political groups.
This is what FB has become.
I tried posting a link to this article and to DCT’s home page. Neither worked. I disagreed each time and included the URL sans “.com” asking friends to copy, complete and post so they can disagree. I’d say the Texas Taliban is involved, but this is bigger than Texas. Artificial Intelligence can be evil indeed.
This is truly amazing! I just posted two comments one of which was very respectful and factual and another one a little less so because my first comment showed up as being up for “Review”. Now both comments have been deleted!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Exactly what we have been discussing here. This one will probably also not make it because it is too “Critical”. LOL
Are comments to articles on this website also subject to Moderation?
Two of my earlier comments were deleted and the last one, prior to this, is “Awaiting Moderation”.
Given the subject of this article that is stunning. WHO is the moderator for this website?
Hello Gus,
Sorry that a couple of your comments were held up due to the moderation process. Here’s the thing, our moderators are not sitting in front of the PC 24/7 and we do have to sleep. For example, I am in Australia and when comments are posted from countries in the Northern hemisphere, I am sound asleep in bed and don’t get to see them until roughly 14 hours later.
We check all first comments for spam but, other than that, pretty much all comments are approved here at DCT. The exception is offensive, abusive, or rude comments which will never be acceptable here.
Again apologies for the delay, you have merely been the victim of unfortunate timing.
Just wondering if you’ve ever considered a user account system. Have new users needing moderated but after a while this stops. This would mean regular trusted users wouldn’t need to wait for moderation, giving the mods less work, and new accounts that could be spam bots would still need moderated and could be easily banned
Hi Peter,
We use such a system now. Check your browser cookies. If you have them disabled for DCT, then you will always be seen as a new commenter and will always be moderated.
Whitelist them for DCT and this “problem” will eventually disappear.
Richard
Gentlemen, first thankyou for your Tips, I hope you are having fun.
Please try to see the big picture of how the powers that be are
manipulating you to change our world. Please wake up.
All major social media sites are a software program to nudge you into compliance.
Google is the master controller, STOP useing google, it is not a search engine it’s a control mechanism. All co-ordinated with governments and WEF, BIS, etc… the wealthyist of the wealthy.
They have been trying to use the Climate change nonsense to control us, but isn’t working fast enough, so they went Covid,
and at last they have brought fear to the masses, almost all are ready to comply and submit, and give up their freedoms for an illness that can be treated at onset with many existing meds,
ivermectin, quercitin, hydroxychloroquine, monoclonal antibodies, etc. etc……. They have killed millions, and will kill many millions more, wake up people, stop complying, sacrifice yourself so that children and grandchildren can be free again.
The naivete in the world shows that people are good and trusting,
and they are twisting that goodness against you.
Please do some reading online, not anything mainstream,
it;’s all the same narrative. Look within and listen to your heart,
fear is an illusion, reject it. Duck duck go is a start.
Love and Positivity to all, jmho.
You nailed it Timbo! It’s all about Control. It is rooted in Fascism, Communism and even extreme Socialism. A bunch of powerful elites who want to control every aspect of your life because they know better than you do.
Sadly, a lot of young people have already been indoctrinated and were never taught history.
Well ! Youtube and now Facebook! Getting paranoid yet, Marc?
Just hope you’re not a meat-eater, we’ll be next.
But best thing ever to be banned from Facebook. Can’t believe anyone would actually ever join! Did Youtube ever let you back? But don’t ever worry about Facebook. Be pleased! They’re doing you a BIG favour in my book.
Hey Colin,
Sorry mate but your comment is way off the mark. As is the case with most small sites, DCT relies solely on advertising revenue for its funding. It isn’t a lot, barely enough to cover expenses/overheads and there is certainly no “profit” involved. The amount of advertising revenue we receive relies heavily on numbers of folk who visit our site – the more visitors we attract, the more revenue we earn – and posting on Facebook is an integral part of that equation.
It’s all about reaching as many people as possible and, whether we like it or not, Facebook plays an important role in that respect.
“It’s all about reaching as many people as possible and, whether we like it or not, Facebook plays an important role in that respect.”
Then, Jim, in that case get down on hands and knees and beg forgiveness? If Facebook is that important to you then simply obey the rules. I’m sure you’ve been told before! By the way this thread appears to be very hot and heavy! What’s happening?
You tell him Colin! This disgraceful peasant should get on his hands and knees and beg for absolution.
How dare he post information on FB that does not meet the absolute and ultimate moral and ethical standards of the all knowing, elite members of the censor team. And that on a Public forum no less.
May be you can help him by showing him how to do this properly and respectfully because you are obviously an expert in this process like the members of the moderation team are in their area of expertise.
I would happily beg for forgiveness if I knew what what we did to require forgiveness in the first place. And if there was some way to contact anyone at Facebook.
Tell you what Colin; you seem to be the expert so why don’t you let us know which rule we’ve failed to obey (because Facebook certainly hasn’t) and we’ll make sure to obey that rule in the future. No problem.
Colin
As Jim has already stated, DCT hasn’t broken any rules that we are aware of and we are simply asking for the courtesy of a reply indicating what the problem is.
Censorship is a serious business and whilst you may have your tongue firmly planted in your cheek when commenting, it’s true that social media plays an enormous role in reaching a huge potential audience.
On the other hand, perhaps Facebook should be getting down on hands and knees for behaving in such a reckless manner.
Colin
I haven’t been banned by YouTube – that would be even more serious than being sent to jail by FB – but simply demonetised.
As Jim says, an online presence requires revenue from ads and one must use whatever tools are available.
Hope things get set right for you quickly. Unreasonable “fragility” leading to hyperreactions to ordinary discourse & media we all need to grin & bear around us in workaday life is, sadly for us all eventually, a problem amongst younger adults right now (IIRC Dr. Haidt, who has researched & written on such things, has said specifically amongst those born after 2014.) May God (if Such exists) speed the passing of this faddish nonsense out of global culture!
Jim, I believe you are unlikely to ever receive an explanation of why you or anyone was banned from Facebook. They have a Community Standards policy. But it seems to be little more than “if anyone objects, then whatever it is is against community standards.” They don’t want anyone to be offended (except sincere users, about whom they care little). As crazy as that sounds, all the evidence I have seen points to that.
I agree Bill. One only has to read the vague and flimsy reasoning put forward by Facebook… “it includes content that other people on Facebook have reported as abusive”.
In the absence of any elaboration, that message suggests that Facebook has taken these false reports at face value and instigated the ban without even confirming the claims. This type of user-controlled censorship leaves the system wide open to abuse.
Facebook has a huge responsibility that Zuck refuses to accept. So many people only get their news of what’s happening in the world from Facebook. So much of it is lies and misinformation, but Fb is not held to the same standard as traditional media outlets in this country. Congress is too busy acting like children to make meaningful legislation of hold online media outlets, like Facebook, to a responsible standard.
I, too, have felt the seemingly arbitrary nature of Facebok’s filter algorithms. Something as simple as posting a shirt for sale on the Fb Marketplace can lead to censure. I never new a shirt could be such a controversial issue. :-O