I earlier posted Steven Singer’s account of being blocked by Facebook when he tried to post a criticism of school choice.
The Network for Public Education tried to post an ad critical of school choice during “school choice week” and was permanently banned by Facebook.
Carol Burris wrote this description of our ouster:
“During School Choice Week, we rebranded the week, ‘School Privatization Week’. We were careful to make sure that the logo we created, which played off the Choice Week logo, was quite dissimilar and therefore could not be confused with the choice logo, or be in violation of copyright.
“We made it a Facebook ad. It was accepted and all was fine. Then, after a few days, Facebook refused our buys and blocked us from boosting any of our posts. We are still blocked from boosting or buying nine months later.
“I tried to contact Facebook by email. No reply. I called the number. It was disconnected. I spent a day trying to reach a human being. It was impossible. Network for Public Education is in the Facebook doghouse and we have no idea why.
“Yet Russians can place awful ads that try to sway our elections.”
An interesting series of questions:
Why does Facebook block posts and ads that are critical of School Choice?
Why do their algorithms fail to recognize ads that interfere in our elections but block criticism of School Choice?
Why do their algorithms ignore ads placed by Russian troll farms yet block ads placed by the Network for Public Education?
Is this chance, bad luck, faulty algorithms, or the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative at work?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
CHAN-ZUCKERBERG AT WORK! Wish people would stop using FB. Vote with your money and our online presence.
Does anyone else see the fingerprints of Facebook’s new content editor Campbell Brown?
Facebook is determined to become part of regressive, reactionary AmeriKa:
Facebook looks to conservative Weekly Standard to combat its fake news problem — Quartz https://qz.com/1095509/facebooks-latest-solution-to-its-fake-news-problem-sign-on-a-right-wing-fact-checker/
A likely explanation is that a series of fake complaints were made by deformers, taking advantage of FB’s algorithm based “decision to block” system. It is possible that no human ever examined the situation. It is also possible that this is in fact a blatant case of censorship by Chan-Zuckerberg on behalf of the other tech elites pushing their toxic agenda.
This is censorship. It is selective. The owners of Facebook are not innocent. They are being paid to block the NPE website. They are pronbably charging a premium to block selected websires.
They are dictating the content of a huge chunk of speech, and part of the strategy is to eliminate access to “customer service.”If nobody is there to hear the questions then the questions become useless. That is the way of any dictator.
Facebook is being paid to promote the ads of troll farms, whether from Russia or in the USA. One challenge is to figure out who is censoring what, how, and why.
In the case of educational policies favoring private control and surpression of organized public support for public schools–no one is better poised to impose censorhip than Chan/Zuckerberg. If NPE is being censored, can Diane be far behind? and her commenters, including me?
What is really troubling is the belief that more and more content should be circulated by Facebook. I heard that on a major news channel, and it was presented as if it was a self-evident truth.
I do not post on FB.
They may block my posts when reposted by others but I will never know if they do
Buford,
You attempted to post a two hour video on my blog.
I know nothing about the content.
I don’t have two hours to watch it. I don’t post any videos without reviewing content. For all I know, it could have been pornography.
You were not censored.
But if you write insulting comments about me, you will never be posted on my blog.
Is now the time to organize a massive protect-free-speech campaign? Is this a task for the ACLU? The ACLU got LOTS of money after Trump got elected and has been gearing up to fight back on multiple fronts. If anything is a poster child for needing to be able to have free speech, it is public education, which is under tremendous assault everywhere. I’m feeling a bit more like I’m in “1984” all over again.
“Is this chance, bad luck, faulty algorithms, or the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative at work?”
It is the latter.
Facebook’s, and Google’s algorithms have also ended linking to leftist web sites, drastically reducing the numbers of searches for them.
Mark Zuckerberg has dreams of running for U.S. President in 2018. so he must disassociate himself and Facebook from any web sites critical of corporate capitalism.
See:
How Facebook and Google’s Algorithms Are Affecting Our Political Viewpoints | HuffPost
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-anderle/how-facebook-and-googles-_b_8282612.html
and
Google Censors Block Access to CounterPunch and Other Progressive Sites
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/08/09/google-censors-block-access-to-counterpunch-and-other-progressive-sites/
Corporate AmeriKa must censor what we read when it is critical of corporate AmeriKa, capitalism, privatization, and other ills caused by neoliberalism, the dominant political/economic system in power globally since the 1970’s. Corporate AmeriKa’s prifits are sacrosanct, and much more precious than lives or a sustainable planet.
Remember what neoliberal Margaret Thatcher infamously declared: “There is no such thing as society: there are individual men and women, and there are families.”
So why should public schools even exist? Individuals and families should be allowed to choose which schools their children attend, even if that results in re-segregation, right?
A new book, Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean, shows how the right-wing libertarian movement and the “school choice” [translation: racially-segregated schools] movement dovetailed in the 1950’s and led to neoliberal political/economic thinking which has perverted BOTH major political [corporate] parties and destroyed the last vestiges of democracy and economic/social equality and fairness. Reagan, Bush I, Bill Clinton, Bush II, Obama, and Trump shoved neoliberal economics [the market is All; austerity, except for military spending, is necessary] down our throats.
The school choice deceit has been a part of this since the beginning, with vouchers and charter schools a part of it all.
Also see:
The Merchant of Menace | Dissident Voice
https://dissidentvoice.org/2017/10/the-merchant-of-menace/
The Merchant of Menace is quite an article. Thanks!
You’re welcome. Please share it.
Time for a Ravitch/Burris NYT op-ed we can spread around the country.
I could get such a piece on Huff Post
Getting onto NY Times is next to impossible
I always suspected they had low standards! After all they print drivel by Brooks, Douthat, and Stephens. Charles Blow is their saving grace.
I agree with the other commenters here that Zuckerberg-Chan can’t be trusted. FB is not a benign platform. We have several platforms like FB, Twitter, and LinkedIn that are actively suppressing pro democracy, liberal speech while allowing Russian and libertarian/radical Right troll farms to continuing posting their disinformation regarding current events. I don’t use FB or LinkedIn. Several of my friends have deleted their LinkedIn accounts after reading reports of Russians using it to spy on cyber security workers. http://www.newsweek.com/russia-putin-bots-linkedin-facebook-trump-clinton-kremlin-critics-poison-war-645696?amp=1
That’s horrifying! What is the matter with Zuckerberg???!!!!!
Zuckerberg wants to run for president in 2018, so he must be nice to the powers that be.
O no.. one narcissist w/zero govt experience for 4 [I hope no more] yrs is all I can handle for a while. He’s young yet: maybe he can be persuaded to wait for a couple cycles :_(
How is it possible to run for president in 2018 when the next presidential election is in 2020? I swear, sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Statements like that make us look as dumb as the forces we’re fighting.
mimi: I admit an “Oops” on this. I meant 2020. I’m focused on the mid-term elections right now, so I wrote 2018 by mistake. Don’t be so harsh if we’re working together to improve this nation.
Many of us would like OFF of FB. This is perhaps a good time to accomplish that goal. PL
I saw the NPE post once on Facebook. I know for a fact that it at least ran one time so the theory about an algorithm doing the blocking seems less credible. If an algorithm did the blocking, it seems to me it would have been blocked from the start. IMHO it is more likely Zukerberg was contacted by some of his charter cronies complaining about the NPE’s post.
I know I was blocked by the ’74’s post as I used to reply to their false assertions. I still get their feed on my Facebook, that I no longer read, because the reply feature has been disabled.
I reposted it as it is on my home page. https://networkforpubliceducation.org/…/8-powerful-voices-…/
Me too – all FB users who support this site should post a complaint. I’ve gotten many replies from people saying they are growing increasingly uncomfortable using FB.
By the way, I have reposted many of Diane’s blogs on Facebook for friends, colleagues and family. I never have had a problem with censorship. Perhaps Facebook is changing its policy, or maybe they plan on blocking the big fish, not an opinionated guppy like me.
I tried to find it and got this Not found, error 404
The page you are looking for no longer exists. Perhaps you can return back to the site’s homepage and see if you can find what you are looking for. Or, you can try finding it by using the search form below.
Search this website
This is probably because Facebook removed it, but I still have it on my home page.
Retired teacher, Diane’s post above explains the specific instigator of he ban. There was likely a complaint from the organization being satirized. This brought the group to FB’s attention. FB commonly does this–Organization A complains about Facebook site B, they shut down access to B. Happens all the time on FB.
The 74 reasons to protest Facebook: Facebook needed to deflect heavy criticism of its alt-right, fake news content, so who did it hire to “work with news organizations” and influence content? Campbell Brown, that’s who. Nuff said. Campbell Brown’s The 74, reason to protest Facebook.
I doubt it. She works very closely with Carol Burris, who says she called Starbucks and they confirmed it.
>
My apologies. I’m not sure what I did, but I somehow sent my intended response to my dad’s question (whether the Starbucks email could be fake news) as a response to your Facebook email.
I’m a big fan of your blog and frequently forward the emails to Dad, who spent his entire professional life in the public schools, first as a teacher and then as a principal. He’s also a big Starbucks fan. 😉
Go public. John Olver. Rachel Maddow.
Sent from my iPhone
>
Rachel maddow won’t/can’t do ANYTHING on education. She works for NBC which is beholden to/a part of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. She has NEVER stood up in any substantive way for public education. Alas. However, John Oliver would/could KILL this evil-doer.
Yes–& we know that Rachel never consented to interview you, Diane, or have you on her show–& that’s why (what Dorothy wrote). CNN treated Diane badly during the Rhee years, but praised Rhee/gave her air time (at that time, the Worldwide Pres./CEO of CNN was none other than a Walton). Anyway, why would FB/Zuckerberg be any different; a crony of the DFERs, first, & now even more so of the privatization corporates & supporters.
Yes, definitely contact John Oliver w/this story!
Too bad about Rachel Maddie as I love her show. I ran into her at NBC in the make up room and directly asked if she would interview me. She changed the subject. NBC was all in for Rhee-Gates-Superman. Randy Kaye at CNN argued Rhee’s Message with me.
GREAT idea.
Thanks for letting us know. Would be awesome to get this information into the Huffington Post.
Great idea, Sarah! It would shine a light on how the privateers try to control the message and show Zuckerberg for the intolerant, small minded twit he is.
HuffPo already knows: How Facebook and Google’s Algorithms Are Affecting Our Political Viewpoints | HuffPost
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-anderle/how-facebook-and-googles-_b_8282612.html
This is absurd. They let Breitbart post a comment saying the Las Vegas murderer was a mad liberal but they won’t take serious discussion on important public issue that offend their moneybag supporters. Write your Congress person with this story.
We need to start a petition now!!!
The evidence suggests that Suckerberg (aka: Zuckerberg)and his wife are also agents for Putin and the oligarchs. But with his wealth, isn’t Suckerberg one of the oligarchs?
Power corrupts. Money buys power. Suckerberg is just another fascist.
He is an enfant terrible . . . . full of himself and his narcissism. And his horrible wife is no better, the snake that she is.
Not sure what happened to my post. Was it denied because I linked to a commercial product A Facebook alternative? Or was it user error (my own?)
I’M PUZZLED.
ACTION REQD! I re-read the Burris post more carefully & now understand that NPE’s 2 FB pages are not blocked [indeed they’re right there when I search FB] but that NPE has been blocked from buying ads or boosting their own posts. That’s OUTRAGEOUS. Being as NPE Action has prox 24k likes & NPE prox 10k likes, could we multiple thousands not do something about this pronto online? It takes just a few mins to set up a gofundme, there must be something similar for political pressure on FB, maybe petition?
BUT… I AM PUZZLED re: Ed Ciaccio’s link to CounterPunch’s August article stating that google is placing search results for CounterPunch & other progressive sites like World Socialist Website 50 pp into search results, effectively blocking them. So far on those 2 sites at least, searching on site name gives me their site as first hit. Is there some nuance I’m missing?
Bethree, you are EXACTLY RIGHT.
NPE and NPE action have FB pages.
But FB will not permit us to buy ads or promote our sites.
My question: why did FB sell 3,000 ads to Russian troll farms and will not sell one ad to NPE?
Our ad was intended to say that school choice was school privatization, and FB refused to accept the ad.
They will not accept any ad from NPE.
Oh–& other info. outposts–The Nation (which has had a # of good articles), on tv, YouTube, website & radio: Democracy Now!, TruthDig, The Intercept & even Rolling Stone.
Maybe Amazon will run ads for one of your books. You get to write the ad yourself. I’ve been running Amazon ads for two of my books, and sales increased.
I read this about Exxon, under Tillerson’s leadership, but it certainly is germaine to FaceBook (or Starbucks) as well. These international corporations have no loyalty to the United States, its citizens, or its laws or constitution. They have such large bases and take in such huge profits that they essentially operate as their own nation states. All the decisions they make are about them, their leaders and their profits. Suing sometimes helps, but is often futile – they have deep pockets and just don’t care.
They are not American companies. They are transnational
I asked my friend in advertising what she thought of all of this. She deals with Facebook all of the time for a private corporation. She has had many ads rejected. Here is her response:
1) Hmmm.. The Network for Public Ed experience is very disturbing. However — This is a lie:
“I tried to contact Facebook by email. No reply. I called the number. It was disconnected. I spent a day trying to reach a human being. It was impossible. Network for Public Education is in the Facebook doghouse and we have no idea why.”
I (my friend) called this a.m. with a fake question and got through just fine.
There is a (written) review process – petition to be reinstated – and I don’t see where they tried to do that. Blocking doesn’t magically go away. They need to petition to fix it.
Carol Burris is not a liar. What a nasty slur and completely uncalled for.
Can your friend explain why FB will not allow NPE to place an ad?
Maybe you have to be Russian?
Numb with the anonymous friend,
I am the person who called Facebook. It was not a working number.
And I repeatedly contacted them under their contact us email. No response.
I am glad your friend reached them today.
I called in January. The number did not work.
I suggest you and your friend no accuse people of lying when experience differs.
Please send a link to the petition to be reinstated because I cannot find it.
If Facebook is refusing to sell NPE ads, and it’s not some glitch, what we have learned is that NPE is powerful.
“We are many. There is power in our numbers. Together we will save our schools.”
– Diane Ravitch