To Facebook Admin, I dispute the removal of an image posted by user Navid Nasr and the subsequent banning for 12 hours of him posting on Facebook. The photo in question depicted the Ahrar al-Sham in Aleppo, Syria, flogging men for missing Friday prayers. It was posted on February 17. On March 1st Navid Nasr was notified that the photo had been reported for graphic violence and would be reviewed. On March 3rd, the photo had been removed and Navid Nasr banned for 12 hours for violating Facebook standards. The Facebook standards in question stipulate that: Facebook has long been a place where people turn to share their experiences and raise awareness about issues important to them. Sometimes, those experiences and issues involve graphic content that is of public interest or concern, such as human rights abuses or acts of terrorism. In many instances, when people share this type of content, it is to condemn it. However, graphic images shared for sadistic effect or to celebrate or glorify violence have no place on our site. When people share any content, we expect that they will share in a responsible manner. That includes choosing carefully the audience for the content. For graphic videos, people should warn their audience about the nature of the content in the video so that their audience can make an informed choice about whether to watch it. Clearly, in posting the image still taken from a 3 minute video of the public and cruel beating of two men in Aleppo by the Ahrar al-Sham, Navid Nasr was posting in order to condemn the brutality and bring awareness to such rampant acts perpetrated by Ahrar Al-Sham on civilians in Syria. Removing the photo and banning Navid Nasr was an inappropriate censorship on behalf of Facebook and seems to be dangerously close to Facebook practising social media censorship. While we understand that Facebook is a private corporate entity that does have the right to censor as it sees fit, poor social media ethics are unacceptable. Finally, there are far more graphic photos and videos posted on Facebook, and many done so without intent of condemnation but rather to celebrate the violence. The page of Ahrar al-Sham has many such photos and videos. We request that Facebook immediately lift its ban on Navid Nasr posting, as his posts are informative and with the intent to bring awareness to unjust situations around the world.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 17:38:31 +0000
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