Urban Freedom Magazine The Anniversary Issue FALL 2017 | Page 13

Business & Technology
FACEBOOK
DISCRIMINATION-
NO, IT’S NOT YOUR IMAGINATION
By Mercedez McIntyre
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
Credit- Business Insider
R
esearch studies have shown that Facebook deliberately
has settings to remove or restrict content views based
on Demographics of who is posting. So let us call
this “Reverse Urban Freedom”. Upon recent review
via reports & full receipts by ProPublica Facebook censorship
guidelines are geared to do minimal in protecting minorities and
those protesting racism. The root of the problem comes from
the rules Facebook created to censor users. Their guidelines
are to prevent nudity, violence and hate speech.
Can you spot the problem here? The first two are clear; if
someone posts a nudity or violence Facebook removes it.
Now the next question, who dictates hate speech? In my eyes
hate speech can be from an angry driver at a red light to the
very speech content given by our current president. So now
what? Facebook creat ed a list of “protected categories”. To
help the censorship team Facebook created a training program
that includes a quiz to test censorship comprehension of their
employees.
Let’s Play Can you pass the Facebook Censorship Training
Below:
So how can Facebook get away with this? Quite simple now
that we live in the land of verbal gray area. The United States
protects the marginalized via affirmative action. However,
this is where things get gray...Facebook refuses to accept
nor acknowledge the existence of marginalization. With this
perspective, Facebook says its goal is to not protect one person
over another.
In retrospect, this seems to be a great plan. The problem is
what happens when a Black Man is gunned down & users want
to vent, share or release? They are now in censorship violation.
In the home of our city, University of Maryland professor
Danielle Citron states colorblindness is not protection but the
Photo Credit: ProPublica
lack thereof when it comes to people
who need it most.
How is it possible that someone can
create hate speech on Facebook
promoting gun violence or race bans
but someone who speaks against
it is now performing hate speech?
Facebook says all systems have their
faults including them but it’s just
the hit we have to sometimes take.
I would say this is the best passive-
aggressive answer for a billion dollar
company with more control than it is
willing to publicly admit.
Now, do we see the importance of
Black-Owned Media? The purpose of
our own media streams is not to seg-
regate but to create platforms where
support & standing up for wrong
isn’t considered “Hate Speech” but a
movement for change.
Urban Freedom Magazine - Fall 2017 Vol. 2 | 13