Facebook Is Removing Protest Pages. That’s a Terrible Precedent.
Facebook is a central hub for organizing under quarantine — the fact that it can shut down political groups at will should worry us all
Last week, images of MAGA-hat wearing protestors, unmasked and tightly packed together on street corners, ricocheted across the internet. Their red-white-and-blue signs, reminiscent of Tea Party rallies 10 years ago, called for an end to government quarantine orders and reopening the economy. Despite his own administration’s social distancing guidance, President Trump tweeted his support. Depending on your politics — and perhaps your trust in epidemiologists — the attendees were either brave freedom-fighters resisting government overreach or reckless ideologues, risking public health to produce a moment of media spectacle.
On Monday, Recode reported that Facebook, after consulting with state governments, had removed certain event pages for in-person rallies against coronavirus lockdowns in California, New Jersey, and Nebraska. The decision was met with immediate backlash from conservatives like Missouri Senator Josh Hawley and Donald Trump Jr., who accused Facebook of “colluding with state governments to quash people[’]s free speech.” Meanwhile, the decision was welcomed by some…
