
Eight whistleblowers prosecuted under the Obama administration: Where are they now?
One month before the U.S midterm elections, Facebook deletes over 800 pages and accounts claiming they consistently displayed “spam and coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
The 559 politically-oriented pages and 251 accounts were all American. Among the blocked pages are Nation in Distress, Right Wing News, Reasonable People Unite, and The Resistance.
Facebook explains this action in their official statement:
“People need to be able to trust the connections they make on Facebook. It’s why we have a policy banning coordinated inauthentic behavior — networks of accounts or Pages working to mislead others about who they are, and what they are doing. This year, we’ve enforced this policy against many Pages, Groups and accounts created to stir up political debate, including in the US, the Middle East, Russia and the UK. But the bulk of the inauthentic activity we see on Facebook is spam that’s typically motivated by money, not politics. And the people behind it are adapting their behavior as our enforcement improves.”
Although the First Amendment does not apply to private entities such as social media platforms, many of the owners of these pages claim unjust censorship. They contest Facebook’s silencing, claiming they were simply expressing political discourse and not infringing Facebook’s guidelines, according to the Guardian.
The Guidelines on censored hate speech are defined by Facebook as “a direct attack on people based on — race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, caste, sex, gender, gender identity, and serious disease or disability.” They also define attack “as violent or dehumanizing speech, statements of inferiority, or calls for exclusion or segregation.”
The Pew Research Center demonstrates that, in the United States most social platform users are well aware of this online censorship linked to political agendas.
72 percent of the public thinks it is likely that social media platforms, such as Facebook, actively censor political views that those companies find objectionable.



“The study demonstrates slightly differing responses on censorship among political parties, with a majority of Republicans and Republican leaners (85%) believing it is likely that social media companies engage in this behavior, with 54 percent indicating they find it very likely. A smaller share of Democrats – though still a majority, at 62 percent – also think it likely that social media companies engage in this behavior.”
Nevertheless, users are surprisingly accepting of this censorship– even those residing in countries where freedom of speech is paramount. However, the data also suggests that in places such as Europe many users support Facebook monitoring their speech if it for the right cause, such as protecting minorities or monitoring fake content.

Despite a growing mistrust of big institutions including technology companies and media outlets, most Facebook users say it is still benefiting them personally to be on the platform. 74 percent of Americans say tech companies have had a positive impact on their lives, and 65 percent feel they’ve had a positive impact on the nation as a whole.
The constant influx of information, from its’ 2.13 billion users, makes it certainly hard for Facebook to monitor all its content. However, the dilemma extends beyond this technological constraint. In giving a powerful company the power to decide what should be censored can easily silence voices that deserve to be heard.
In April 2018 users gained the ability to file an appeal if they believe their content has been unfairly removed. That appeal is then sent to a new human moderator, who will issue a decision within 24 hours. However, this did not help the 800+ pages claiming injustice this past November.
Woman, Life, Freedom : a misunderstood concept ?20/02/2023 - 3:10
Journalist Adnan Hassanpour looks back at Charlie Hebdo’s January cartoons, which allegedly run counter to the “Jina Revolution.”
Urgent. Journalist and old resident of the MDJ Mortaza Behboudi captured in Afghanistan06/02/2023 - 12:05
Reporters Without Borders and 14 French media outlets are calling for his immediate release, as is the House of Journalists.
Exclusive. Does the end of the war in Tigray mean the return of freedom of the press ? 24/01/2023 - 4:03
After two years of war between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF, is a return of the press possible in the Tigray region ?
Guinea. The Presse at the Front Against the Military Junta17/01/2023 - 10:35
Journalist, TV host and documentary maker Alhussein Sano talks about the weakening of press freedom in Guinea.
SYRIA. The difficult integration of citizens-journalists in the media industry28/12/2022 - 3:26
Since 2011, Syrians have been combining journalism with activism. A look back at ten years of struggle for press freedom with Manar Rachwani.
IN IRAN, THE “JINA REVOLUTION” TO COMBAT ALL OPPRESSIONS07/12/2022 - 11:21
Iranian Kurdish reporter, Adnan Hassanpour looks at the origins and possible outcomes of the historic protests in Iran.
Afghanistan: women’s journalists cry of alarm23/11/2022 - 10:32
“We were imprisoned for four hours, threatened and tortured. They forbade us to do interviews.” How do Afghan journalists defend their right to inform under the Taliban regime?
War in Afghanistan : one year under the Taliban regime08/11/2022 - 9:57
More than a year ago, the Taliban took control of Afghanistan. But their regime has ruined the country and broken human rights.
IRAQ. Abduction and disappearance: Powerful weapons to intimidate protests activists01/09/2021 - 12:47
On February 22, 2020, at around 8 p.m., the young protester “Muhammad Ali” (a pseudonym) was waiting alone near Kahramana square in central Baghdad, for a taxi to take him to New Baghdad in the south-east of the capital, where he will continue his way home on Palestine Street, but the vehicle he took moved […]
Everything France has given me17/06/2021 - 1:50
Paris, April 29, 2019. It was raining, passers-by were looking for shelter while running. No one noticed a wet bird. I looked at this bird while thinking about myself : the confusion of ignorance, the fear, the anguish provoked by the unknown… I was wondering, Meiirbek, why are you in France ? I kept wondering […]
Exile and Journalism in a Global Pandemic: Voices from the MDJ05/08/2020 - 10:32
After a three month-long state-mandated lockdown, a historian interviewed the staff members and exiled media professionals who respectively work and live at the Maison des Journalistes regarding the impact of the covid19 pandemic on their lives. While the personnel talked about their current preoccupations vis-à-vis asylum applications and press freedom in professional terms, the asylum-seeking […]
Chronicles from Egypt 3/4 – Searching for Justice09/07/2020 - 9:29
Let us go back to the tense moments following Hossam’s disappearance.
Suddenly, his family and friends found themselves into an unprecedented situation that required careful consideration. What were the best steps to take? Which were the most suitable people to reach out? Which organizations could help following his case? Who could be trusted?
Chronicles from Egypt 2/4 – “Systematic torture and abuses in Egyptian prisons”07/04/2020 - 4:01
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Art. 3 recites. This appears not to be the case in today’s Egypt, where reinforced security measures have increasingly been constricting Egyptian citizens’ life, liberty and security in the last years. The government’s reaction to the wave […]
Chronicles from Egypt 1/4 – “Not only afraid to talk… Total state of fear un today Egypt”03/03/2020 - 4:39
“Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Art. 3 recites. This appears not to be the case in today’s Egypt, where reinforced security measures have increasingly been constricting Egyptian citizens’ life, liberty and security in the last years. The government’s reaction to the wave […]
New balance from collapse of a weakened Iran04/02/2020 - 11:49
New balance from collapse of a weakened Iran The death of Iran’s terror chief, Major General Qassem Soleimani, the second most important figure of the regime, and Abu Mahdi Mohandis, the central figure of the Iran-backed Hashd al-Sha’abi paramilitary force in Iraq, has brought the strategic edifice of the Iranian regime crumbling down. The Iranian […]
10 journalists and media workers killed in 2019 in Afghanistan22/01/2020 - 11:05
According to NAI – Supporting Open Media in Afghanistan, 10 journalists and media workers killed and 21 injured in 2019. 115 violence cases recorded by NAI against journalists which include: assassination, wound up, beaten up, threats, insult, short-term arrestments, kidnap, attack on media outlets and lack of access to information in 2019 in the country. At the […]
Facebook’s political censorship13/11/2019 - 10:34
Eight whistleblowers prosecuted under the Obama administration: Where are they now? One month before the U.S midterm elections, Facebook deletes over 800 pages and accounts claiming they consistently displayed “spam and coordinated inauthentic behavior.” The 559 politically-oriented pages and 251 accounts were all American. Among the blocked pages are Nation in Distress, Right Wing News, […]
Eight whistleblowers prosecuted under the Obama administration: Where are they now?13/11/2019 - 10:17
Eight whistleblowers prosecuted under the Obama administration: Where are they now? Barack Obama is often criticized for waging a war against whistleblowers, but this may not be the entire truth. During the two terms Obama held office, eight whistleblowers were prosecuted, a number greater than those punished by the law under all U.S. presidential administrations combined. […]
“I need to rebuild myself. But I need to continue my work for Syria.”12/11/2019 - 11:24
At only twenty four years old, the syrian photojournalist, Abdulmonam Eassa, has already witnessed and documented the ruin of his hometown, Hamouria, on the outskirts of the capital, and the carnage of his people.
“I would like you to mention it in the portrait as the “syrian revolution”, it was not a “civil war” or a “movement”, we have to call it as what it was: a revolution.”01/08/2019 - 12:27
Hasan, a detached look in the eyes, a wristband to the colors of the Free Syrian Army, is struggling to remember of any independent journal: “At least, I am certain that there no media covering of what happened in the country.” In February 2011, Hasan is 21, he is living in Douma in the east […]