THE FACEBOOK ACTIVIST PURGE
By Storm Clouds Gathering

I don’t know how many more messages I will be able to post on Facebook. I will be treating each one as my last from here on out.

You may have heard about the purges of activist pages and accounts on Facebook this week. For those who have watched trends on the platform over the past several years this isn’t all that surprising. It is however, a serious escalation.

Some of those targeted were antiwar activists I have worked with at various points (TheAntiMedia, The Free Thought Project, Mintpress News). These pages were nonpartisan. They stood up to foreign policy of both the Obama and Trump administrations. They refused to endorse candidates or take sides in e******ns. These voices were silenced because they challenged the official narratives on issues that mattered (war, corruption, police brutality etc…).

StormCloudsGathering survived the initial purge. Based on statements made by Facebook I have some ideas as to why (I have been watching policy and algorithm changes closely). I don’t expect us to be spared in the future.

We have a moral obligation to speak out on certain issues (like war and government criminality). Unfortunately Facebook has made it very clear that controversial topics are not welcome on their platform and they have demonstrated that they are willing to use brute censorship to silence dissent. In the long run I believe this will be their undoing.

Going forward I will be posting a weekly update directly on the front page of StormCloudsGathering.com. The next update will be up Friday by 5PM EST. You many want to bookmark the page and sign up for email updates.

We are in the process of restructuring and redesigning our websites behind the scenes, and working on content for the next phase. Changes will be rolling out gradually over the weeks and months ahead. This push corresponds with events building on the horizon. My goal is to have most of this work finished before the real fireworks start.

In the long run activists cannot rely on social media companies for distribution. We need to be looking ahead towards vectors of communication that cannot be so easily shut down. In the meantime, if you’re not happy with where they’re taking this I’m sure you can find creative ways to let them know.

THE FACEBOOK ACTIVIST PURGE
By Storm Clouds Gathering

I don’t know how many more messages I will be able to post on Facebook. I will be treating each one as my last from here on out.

You may have heard about the purges of activist pages and accounts on Facebook this week. For those who have watched trends on the platform over the past several years this isn’t all that surprising. It is however, a serious escalation.

Some of those targeted were antiwar activists I have worked with at various points (TheAntiMedia, The Free Thought Project, Mintpress News). These pages were nonpartisan. They stood up to foreign policy of both the Obama and Trump administrations. They refused to endorse candidates or take sides in e******ns. These voices were silenced because they challenged the official narratives on issues that mattered (war, corruption, police brutality etc…).

StormCloudsGathering survived the initial purge. Based on statements made by Facebook I have some ideas as to why (I have been watching policy and algorithm changes closely). I don’t expect us to be spared in the future.

We have a moral obligation to speak out on certain issues (like war and government criminality). Unfortunately Facebook has made it very clear that controversial topics are not welcome on their platform and they have demonstrated that they are willing to use brute censorship to silence dissent. In the long run I believe this will be their undoing.

Going forward I will be posting a weekly update directly on the front page of StormCloudsGathering.com. The next update will be up Friday by 5PM EST. You many want to bookmark the page and sign up for email updates.

We are in the process of restructuring and redesigning our websites behind the scenes, and working on content for the next phase. Changes will be rolling out gradually over the weeks and months ahead. This push corresponds with events building on the horizon. My goal is to have most of this work finished before the real fireworks start.

In the long run activists cannot rely on social media companies for distribution. We need to be looking ahead towards vectors of communication that cannot be so easily shut down. In the meantime, if you’re not happy with where they’re taking this I’m sure you can find creative ways to let them know.