Christian Posts Blocked: Will 'Christian Speech' Be Allowed in the New Facebook World?
04-10-2018
CBN News Alegra Hall
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on Capitol Hill Tuesday responding to questions about the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal in which the data of 87 million users was gathered to build a psychological profile for political gain.
Over the next two days, a group of broadcasters wants Congress to ask the billionaire about allegations Facebook routinely blocks images and content with a conservative message.
Zuckerberg has long prided himself on building a global online community. In a 2017 message, the tech genius told users he was committed to building a platform that will “bring humanity together” to reframe the world into a better place.
“In times like these, the most important thing we at Facebook can do is develop the social infrastructure to give people the power to build a global community that works for all of us,” Zuckerberg said.
But some want to ask Mr. Zuckerberg if his new global community includes them.
The National Religious Broadcasters points to several instances in which Christian themes were deleted or banned. In one instance, a Catholic university put up a picture of a cross to commemorate Easter. Facebook rejected the ad because it did not meet its standards.
After a secondary review, the social media giant reversed their initial censorship of the ad. Still, NRB leaders want to know what was so "shocking, sensational, or excessively violent" to cause it to be initially censored.
The NRB wants Congress to hold Zuckerberg’s feet to the fire over these allegations of censorship.
They say there are five major questions he should answer, including how the social media juggernaut defines “hate speech” and how they respond to comments by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who acknowledged that some social media platforms “routinely block or discriminate against content they don’t like.”
The NRB is not alone in its concerns with Facebook’s policies on free speech.
Earlier this week, social media personalities Diamond and Silkaccused Facebook of blocking their nearly 1.4 million viewers from receiving updates because they were deemed offensive.
Specifically, they say the social media giant labeled their content "unsafe to the community."
The sisters, who are ardent supporters of President Donald Trump, told Fox News they were appalled by this new classification, saying they are just “two black chicks who are down with politics.”
