Facebook Censoring Gaza-Related Content?

Even though the Israeli government is turning to online social networks to distribute information about the war in Gaza, there are others using such social networks for their own agendas. According to Gawker, some Facebook users have found it impossible to post certain content related to words like "Gaza" or "Palestine." From the users' perspective, it seems as though Facebook is censoring some politically sensitive content. But Gawker reports that the supposed censorship is really a result of the self-contained flagging system, which enables users to report inappropriate content. To the dismay of many, this merely reflects Facebook as the user-generated network that it is. As a reflection of human nature's truest colors, users are no doubt frustrated by the act of not being able to express themselves through Facebook's network. What's a user to do? This isn't the first type of censorship we've seen in the online space, and there's only so much you can do when content is being prevented from posting as a result of other users flagging the content. Should Facebook step in, it would then become the ultimate determining factor in which content can and cannot be posted, leading to an extremely sticky situation. In fact, Facebook sometimes does find itself in such situations, even when deciding what types of groups are permitted on its social network. So what does all this say about various groups that are looking to social networks for getting their word out? In the case of the Israel government, what if its content was being reported on Facebook? While Israel seems to be focusing more on visual and instant communication feeds like YouTube and Twitter, content could ultimately be blocked from spreading further across the web if other users are reporting it as inappropriate content on networks like Facebook. Regardless of an individual's stance on the content itself, could this be the real democracy of media dissemination when users wield so much control? That certainly appears to be the case, and it only emphasizes online networks' ability to bring out the often unseen sides of people.

Social Pro Daily

Facebook Censoring Gaza-Related Content?

Kristen Nicole

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Kristen Nicole