Facebook censors and briefly bans JPost reporter
Melanie Lidman, JPost, Jan 15 2012
Facebook briefly shut down JPost reporter Khaled Abu Toameh’s Facebook page, possibly in response to a campaign by anti-Israel activists who objected to his views on corruption within the Palestinian Authority. On Monday, Abu Toameh posted a link to an acerbic blog post slamming the Palestinian Authority which he wrote for the Gatestone Institute and which had been reproduced in arabic in a Jordanian newspaper. In the post, he wrote:
The truth sometimes hurts. That is why the Palestinian Authority has been working hard to prevent the outside world from hearing about many occurrences that reflect negatively on its leaders or people.
Hate mail and death threats poured into Abu Toameh’s inbox. Then he received a message from Facebook stating that he had posted an item that violated Facebook’s Terms of Use. Without further warning, his Facebook profile was suspended. A notice said that the account was temporarily closed “for security reasons.” The account was reopened 24 hours later, but with the post concerned and another related post deleted, and no explanation. Abu Toameh said on Tuesday, after his profile was reopened:
Some people posted a picture of me with a Star of David on my forehead. This time looks like a concerted campaign against me. I think if Facebook get a certain number of reports, they immediately block you for security reasons. I find it strange that Facebook rushes to close you down without checking. Especially as a journalist, it really harms me. That’s my way of being in touch with my sources and my readers. Facebook allows Hamas leaders and known terrorists to maintain profiles. They decide what’s acceptable. It’s censorship. Now we have to be careful about what we post and what we share. Does this mean we can’t criticize Arab governments anymore?
Niqnaq 