LINK Facebook won’t take down AIPAC ad targeting Rep. Ilhan Omar - The Washington Post
Facebook has refused to remove a widely viewed attack ad that links Rep. Ilhan Omar to Hamas, even after her aides told the tech giant the message is inaccurate, hateful and threatened to subject her to death threats.
The controversy could further inflame tensions between Facebook and Democratic lawmakers, who say the social media company has failed to police its platform against known, viral falsehoods and refused to heed their cries about the real-world consequences of online speech.
The Minnesota Democrat’s office first reached out to Facebook on Tuesday after viewing ads from the pro-Israeli lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In one of the ads, Omar’s face is superimposed onto Hamas rockets, with text that claims: “When Israel targets Hamas, Rep. Omar calls it an act of terrorism.”
The ad distorted Omar’s tweet from last week, in which she said that Israeli airstrikes killing civilians in Gaza, not Hamas specifically, were an act of terrorism.
Omar’s office warned the company that similar images of her face with Hamas attacks have directly inspired death threats against her. Her aides told Facebook in emails later viewed by The Washington Post that it “peddles both hate speech and misinformation.”
A day of back-and-forth followed, after Facebook initially could not find the ad — then spent hours reviewing it — only to determine it did not violate company policies.
The ad ran as part of a series targeting other lawmakers including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), which Facebook’s ad tracking tool estimated could be seen by between 500,000 and 1 million people.
Facebook spokesman Andy Stone confirmed the company determined the ads did not violate its policies. However, the social network does reject ads that its fact-checking partners determine are false, and the company told Omar’s office in an email exchange that this ad would be eligible for a fact check.
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Facebook gets all out of whack. I'm on there as a political activist but right now I'm banned from Marketplace. I'm not sure why exactly but somebody got on there and tried to do something bad in my name. It was not me.
When Trump was in the WH I had Trumpers come to my page to fight me and then the babies would report me. It was my page and Facebook disciplined me!
Good lock, Omar.
DenoPenno
Level 9
May 21, 2021
3
Why do people not just boycott Facebook to death?
I haven't been on it intentionally in years, sadly sadistic fucks put up links that occasionally take me there, which I immediately leave and then I avoid that persons post from then on.
People Facebook sold ALL your information to everyone willing to pay for it, and you still trust them to open their app, what, are you fucking stupid?
Willow_Wisp
Level 8
May 21, 2021
2
@altschmerz I told my friends and family they can call, not that they do. Not that we maintained much contact on Facebook, mostly Facebook is about reinforcing the social delusion that puts a conforming coat of paint on reality.
Fuck that.
@Willow_Wisp After a 30 day jail for writing "bastards" in a post I have determined to only post travel pictures and Zen Taoist lessons/memes. This is how I transfer the pics from Apple phone to Toshiba laptop so it's useful as well as lets family who won't follow me to Twitter know I'm alive. I've pruned my feed of any current event postings so I don't reply to anything. Z's Rag is worthless, otherwise, and I couldn't get folks to boycott anything, including Exxon, while on it. People say they care about such thiings but the concern is superficial and, when they do protest, do so stupidly (like during a pandemic). That's u$a. We aren't worth much, in my view.
Omar is Muslim. I don't support any religion in government because it's not objective.
I stopped using it on January 1st. Have not felt the need to go back to it.
Representative Omar is FAR from balanced when she comments on Israel verses Hamas.
Did Omar comment on the fact that Hamas frequently uses school grounds and hospitals as sites where they launch rockets from?
Israel does take some overly aggressive actions, however they do well under the circumstances. Omar needs to shut up.
Alienbeing
Level 8
May 21, 2021
4
She is not balanced because US policy is not balanced. In any case, her advocacy is not relevant to FB not removing an inaccurate ad when it does that elsewhere.
@Krish55 ABSOLUTE HORSE MANURE! She is not balanced on anything. Additionally FB does not have not conform to your standards, whatever they may be.
Omar has not been right about anything, so in that aspect her record is perfect.
@Alienbeing you truly hate people calling out BeBe and his atrocities..it all about "Isreal, Live it or Shut the Fuck Up".. how truly sad..
@Alienbeing Facebook is not conforming to its own standards by not deleting an inaccurate ad about her.
@Charlene I never said nor implied Israel was faultless, and I certainly don't hate anyone on this site. You read into posts what you want to read.
When you have a fact let me know.
@Krish55 For your education I cut and paste an article regarding Hamas actions. The article is from the Atlantic, certainly not a Right wing publication.
Hamas Quietly Admits It Fired Rockets from Civilian Areas ...[theatlantic.com] › archive › 2014/09
Sep 12, 2014 — ... evidence about Hamas's use of residential areas as launching grounds for their rockets. ... The Israelis kept saying rockets were fired from schools or hospitals ... the entire launch process of a Hamas rocket, from the setting up of a ... (twice) that Hamas rockets had been found in UNRWA facilities that the ...
You can Google it and read the entire article.
@Krish55 Why anyone pay any attention to Facebook is a mystery to me.
I am so sick of all the us vs them rhetoric and actions of people. Why can’t humankind learn to get along?
KateOahu
Level 8
May 21, 2021
2
Because you send $12 million a day to Israel to repress Palestinians. You are not somehow above this. Instead of hand-wringing, do something to stop your government.
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