And Now My Blog is Fit to Share

Facebook symbol from Wikimedia Commons.

For the past several weeks, this media blog has been forbidden on Facebook.

I don’t know why. True, I do express political opinions here—but also true, they’re pretty mild opinions. In my commentary on American media, I opine all the time, and I’m not very kind to President Donald Trump in this venue.

But being anti-Trump is still allowed, not against the law. Yet. I certainly have not engaged in any discourse here that is iffy from a First Amendment point of view—no true threats, no fraud, no libel. Calling Trump an idiot is not libel—mostly because he’s a prominent politician and is thus open to public criticism. And, also, he’s an idiot; truth is a defense against libel.

Yeah, I’m having some fun as I write this. I am feeling a little liberated. Over weekend, several Facebook friends tried to post links to my blog, and all were blocked. They all got the “violates community standards message” from the company.

Well, being OK with the First Amendment doesn’t give me the right to have my blog promoted on Facebook. It’s a private company, and sets its own rules. On the other hand, one reason the site is so popular is that it is a fairly open venue for expression. I don’t mind that Facebook attempts to establish some rules—let’s hope the election of 2020, unlike the one of 2016, is not hijacked so much by fakery spread by Facebook.

The story changed this morning. I was tagged in a post that linked to a blog post of mine--I was back on Facebook! I posted a link myself to be sure, and it was not blocked. So, thanks, Facebook. You’ve let this mostly harmless little blog back in to your Marketplace of Ideas. I think that’s great.

But it was inexplicable that the AI bots at Facebook blocked me in the first place, with no explanation other than a generic “this post does not meet our community standards.” I did read those standards, and found nothing relevant to this blog.

As inexplicably as it appeared, the Facebook ban evaporated. Bravo? Score one for mild free speech?

Thanks, Mary Vermilion. Your post was the first sign Iowa Media Life was Facebook safe once more.

 Still, it leaves me feeling a bit odd. The ban descended mysteriously. It wasn’t quite as mysterious why it was lifted—family and friends played a role—but still. It’s a reminder that Facebook is a private reserve, not a public park. It has a lot of importance in our lives and politics, but is not under any public control.

It’s just a reality to keep in mind. It points to a problem for Facebook, when it's rules appear capricious and it's actions can frustrate its users.