Facebook has never been known for being friendly to conservatives, but it seems the social media giant has become even less friendly for those who fall to the right of Josef Stalin. A number of conservatives have complained bitterly that the site is targeting them because of their political views.
As a result, some have started Facebook-like alternatives to give conservatives a safe place to connect and share information, free of the nagging, security warnings and constant bans.
Scott Rohter, a grassroots conservative who writes when he can, started a site called WePluribUS. Rohter told Examiner that Facebook became so punitive he couldn’t share his work without having to endure multiple security warnings.
Like many grassroots conservative bloggers, he relies heavily on Facebook to spread his message.
“All it takes is for someone to report you to ‘daddy Zuckerberg’ and you’re out,” he said.
Another site, Tea Party Community, is set to officially launch on Saturday, although it has been online for a while. Like WePluribUS, Tea Party Community was founded as a result of the treatment conservatives have received at the hands of Facebook.
“Most of us are subjected to censorship on Facebook, co-founder Ken Crow told Fox News’ Todd Starnes. “I’ve been suspended there as have many of my friends. You also absorb a lot of abuse from liberals.”
Crow, like many conservatives on Facebook, believes the social media giant — now with over 900 million users — is targeting them because of their political posts which are frequently critical of Obama and liberal Democrats.
“There’s absolutely no question in my mind,” he said.
“As many as 100 Facebook users contacted Fox News with complaints that the social networking site had either removed conservative content or blocked them for posting conservative content,” Starnes wrote.
A number of conservatives have expressed the same to this writer as well.
One 68-year-old Facebook user told Examiner in an email that she was blocked from posting after sharing a video link to just six pages.
“I don’t know who to turn to,” she said, adding that her health prevented her from participating with local conservative groups.
Recently, Facebook targeted the fan page for “Chicks on the Right,” but backtracked and apologized when the situation was reported by Fox News.
But most conservatives who run pages on Facebook do not get the coverage Weaver got, and as a result, are frequent targets of liberal “trolls” who seek to silence them any way they can.
“Had we not gotten exposure on Fox News, we’d be off line right now,” said Amy Jo Clark, one of the page administrators. “Some of the smaller sites are getting pinged and hit by these liberal trolls and there’s no one they can talk to,” she added.
Worse yet, Facebook allows sites like “I hate it when I wake up and Sarah Palin is still alive” while blocking or banning conservative sites, causing many to believe the social media site has a double standard with regard to political content.
In April 2011, one poster at the site, a 54-year-old Marine veteran, expressed a desire to see Palin dead.
“PS Sarah Palin is still breathing which distresses me,” wrote Mark Hamblett.
The page remains live, despite a number of complaints to Facebook.
During the general election, Facebook allowed a page advocating the murder of Mitt Romney to remain live for nearly an entire month. the page was eventually pulled, but Facebook rebuffed complaints, saying the site did not violate their standards.
Facebook is still the most popular social media site of its kind on the Internet, but many are looking for alternative sites where they can exercise free speech and free expression without censorship.
Related:
- Double standard? Palin ‘hate’ page flourishes as Facebook bans conservatives
- Tea Party Community: Conservative alternative to Facebook to launch this weekend
- Media silent as Facebook removes page calling for murder of Mitt Romney
- Facebook page calling for death of Sarah Palin gets more violent
- Facebook targets conservative page for closure, backtracks and apologizes
- WePluribUS.net: A conservative alternative to Facebook
- White House yanks petition asking for action on Facebook censorship
- Is Facebook actively censoring conservative bloggers?
If you like this article, you can follow Joe on Twitter @jnewby1956, or visit and join his Facebook page.
