Facebook issued a new policy update yesterday that said that it is permissible to post death threats and incite violence against any individual or organization covered in their “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations” policy. Essentially, this policy change makes it completely within community standards to raise a ‘fatwah’ against any group or individual that Facebook deems dangerous.
An article on by Paul Joseph Watson, who himself was deemed a ‘dangerous individual’ in May of this year and banned from Facebook and Instagram, give a synopsis of the new policy (emphasis his):
“Do not post: Threats that could lead to death (and other forms of high-severity violence) of any target(s) where threat is defined as any of the following:
Statements of intent to commit high-severity violence; or
Calls for high-severity violence (unless the target is an organization or individual covered in the Dangerous Individuals and Organizations policy)….”
Watson goes on to explain:
Facebook has designated me a “dangerous individual” and now says it’s acceptable for its users to issue death threats against me.
This is a crime in the United Kingdom under the 1988 Malicious Communications Act which states, “Any person who sends to another person a letter, electronic communication or article of any description which conveys….a threat….is guilty of an offence.”
The largest social media company in the world with over 2 billion users literally says its fine to incite violence against me, despite this being illegal.They are painting a target on my back.
Similarly, Laura Loomer, who has also been banned on Facebook and Twitter, posted her concerns about the new policy on Parler.
Yesterday Facebook updated its community standards to approve death threats against me.
I sent this to the mainstream media and none of them will help me and won’t report on this.
Crazy how the White House social media summit is tomorrow and they act like I don’t exist.
I’ve had everything taken away from me because I support President Trump, but I wasn’t invited and I am
More banned than anyone who is attending.
Not a single representative or elected official will help me, even as my life is threatened by Facebook. I have contacted many of them and asked them to help me.
Silence.
How is this legal? How can Fox News continue to ignore this?
It’s truly despicable how nobody with power will help me even as Facebook says it’s ok for people to kill me.
I have been banned on every platform and now my life is in danger.
The media is turning a blind eye to this, and my civil rights are being violated.
This is criminal.
According to Miriam Webster, the legal definition of terrorism is:
The unlawful use or threat of violence especially against the state or the public as a politically motivated means of attack or coercion.
Facebook banned these individuals and deemed them ‘dangerous’ based on their conservative political ideology. By allowing criminal threats and potential for violent actions against individuals and organizations, based on their political ideology, it may appear to some that Facebook is dangerously close to being in support of terrorist activity.
UPDATE: After much backlash, Facebook has deleted the policy updates that allowed death threats against “dangerous individuals and organizations.”
