Facebook to censor news feed based on liberal fact checking sites. What could go wrong?

Clinton Win Map via CNN:

You mean fake like the polling and predictions of a Hillary Clinton landslide?

Via BI:

To combat fake news, Facebook has partnered with a shortlist of media organizations, including Snopes and ABC News, that are part of an international fact-checking network lead by Poynter, a nonprofit school for journalism located in St. Petersburg, Florida. 
...Of the 42 news organizations that have committed to Poynter's fact-checking code of ethics, Facebook is starting out with the following four: Snopes, Factcheck.org, ABC News, PolitiFact.

Facebook Fail: Now censoring pictures of prophet Muhammad

They are already censoring Putin critics in Russia.

Via WaPo:

Only two weeks after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg released a strongly worded #JeSuisCharlie statement on the importance of free speech, Facebook has agreed to censor images of the prophet Muhammad in Turkey — including the very type of image that precipitated the Charlie Hebdo attack.
It’s an illustration, perhaps, of how extremely complicated and nuanced issues of online speech really are. It’s also conclusive proof of what many tech critics said of Zuckerberg’s free-speech declaration at the time: Sweeping promises are all well and good, but Facebook’s record doesn’t entirely back it up.
Just this December, Facebook agreed to censor the page of Russia’s leading Putin critic, Alexei Navalny, at the request of Russian Internet regulators.

Twitter Sellout: Twitter Planning to Allow Countries to Censor Tweets

Iran and China are the most happy recipients of this news from Twitter.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Twitter, a tool of choice for dissidents and activists around the world, found itself the target of global outrage Friday after unveiling plans to allow country-specific censorship of tweets that might break local laws.

It was a stunning role reversal for a youthful company that prides itself in promoting unfettered expression, 140 characters at a time. Twitter insisted its commitment to free speech remains firm, and sought to explain the nuances of its policy, while critics - in a barrage of tweets - proposed a Twitter boycott and demanded that the censorship initiative be scrapped.

"This is very bad news," tweeted Egyptian activist Mahmoud Salem, who operates under the name Sandmonkey. Later, he wrote, "Is it safe to say that (hash)Twitter is selling us out? Keep on reading...

White House Has Reuters Reporter Fired?

Earlier this week, Reuters published a story under the headline Backdoor taxes to hit middle class. The link is now dead. Reuters replaced it with this:

The story Backdoor taxes to hit middle class has been withdrawn. A replacement story will run later in the week.

No replacement story has emerged. Instead, the reporter is no longer with Reuters.

Now comes word from former Editor & Publisher editor Greg Mitchell that Cullen is now no longer working at Reuters, though the circumstances of her departure remain unclear.

What brought about this retraction and loss of employment? Only Reuters and the former reporter, Terri Cullen, know the full truth, but the retraction took place after the White House complained.

Obama administration aides appealed to the Reuters White House reporting team to kill a story by another reporter of the news service that suggested the president's new budget blueprint included "backdoor" tax hikes.

The story claimed President Obama planned to let some of the Bush tax cuts expire and this was a backdoor tax increase on the middle class. Project World Awareness has a copy of the retracted story here.

Oh, The Irony! The Chinese Censor Obama's Call To End Censorship

At a town hall with Chinese students President Obama said,

"I'm a big supporter of non-censorship," Obama said. "I recognize that different countries have different traditions. I can tell you that in the United States, the fact that we have free Internet — or unrestricted Internet access — is a source of strength, and I think should be encouraged."

Of course, most Chinese didn't hear these words because censors kept them from seeing the town hall.

The town hall meeting was one of the few unscripted moments on the president's trip. It was supposed to be carried live on Chinese state television but at the last moment, the Chinese government changed its mind and only local stations in Shanghai, and the White House Web site, carried it live.

Obama should have expected this. After all, the Chinese censored part of his inaugural address in January.

BEIJING — President Obama’s 18-minute Inaugural Address on Tuesday was generally lauded by Americans for its candor and conviction. But the Chinese Communist Party apparently thought the new American president’s gilded words were a little too direct.

China Central Television, or CCTV, the main state-run network, broadcast the address live until the moment Mr. Obama mentioned “communism” in a line about the defeat of ideologies considered anathema to Americans. After the translator said “communism” in Chinese, the audio faded out even as Mr. Obama’s lips continued to move.

"The audio faded out even as Mr. Obama’s lips continued to move." Many Americans have wished for that moment.

Baton Rouge police censoring citizens at ACORN's request (video)

Everyone in America needs to see this video. The police in Baton Rouge trample on American's free speech rights at the direction of Acorn. Is this the change people were expecting when they voted for Obama?

Obamacare - ACORN


Hat tip to BOA via FreeRepublic.