Media Matters: YouTube terminates anti-vaccine figure Del Bigtree’s account after he pushed dangerous coronavirus and vaccine misinformation. “Following Media Matters’ reporting, YouTube terminated the account for anti-vaccine figure Del Bigtree’s online show The HighWire, where he had repeatedly encouraged viewers to intentionally contract COVID-19 and pushed other dangerous medical misinformation. In a statement to Media Matters, a spokesperson for YouTube confirmed his account was pulled for violating the platform’s policies. Bigtree’s show is also broadcast on Facebook, where it remains available for streaming.”
banned people
Washington Post: Twitter permanently bans former KKK leader David Duke
Washington Post: Twitter permanently bans former KKK leader David Duke. “Avowed white supremacist David Duke was permanently banned from Twitter for repeated violations of the social media platform’s rules on hate speech. The former Ku Klux Klan leader and one-time Louisiana legislator’s most recent tweets included a link to an interview he conducted with Holocaust denier Germar Rudolf. Other posts promised to expose the ‘systemic racism lie,’ as well as the ‘incitement of violence against white people’ by Jewish-owned media. He also shared misinformation about the danger and spread of the coronavirus.”
CNN: Facebook removes Roger Stone from Instagram after linking him to fake accounts
CNN: Facebook removes Roger Stone from Instagram after linking him to fake accounts. “Facebook announced Wednesday it had shut down pages and accounts linked to Roger Stone and Proud Boys, a far-right group Facebook has banned under its hate policies. Stone’s own Instagram account was shut down as part of the takedown. The network of more than 100 Facebook pages, accounts and Instagram accounts spent more than $300,000 on Facebook and Instagram ads to promote their posts. Some of the pages and accounts included false personas, an analysis commissioned by Facebook found.”
Los Angeles Times: Twitter is suspending 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts, citing ‘platform manipulation’
Los Angeles Times: Twitter is suspending 70 pro-Bloomberg accounts, citing ‘platform manipulation’. “Michael R. Bloomberg’s presidential campaign has been experimenting with novel tactics to cultivate an online following, or at least the appearance of one. But one of the strategies — deploying a large number of Twitter accounts to push out identical messages — has backfired. On Friday, Twitter began suspending 70 accounts posting pro-Bloomberg content in a pattern that violates company rules.”
NBC Sports: Olympic champion short track speed skater banned 1 year for social media post
NBC Sports: Olympic champion short track speed skater banned 1 year for social media post. “Csaba Burjan, an Olympic short track speed skating relay gold medalist for Hungary, has been banned one year for a social media post. In early December, an Instagram photo on Burjan’s account showed a line of people at a Chinese airport with an expletive, according to Hungarian and Chinese reports.”
Mashable: YouTube surprises creators with new harassment policy. The takedowns have already begun.
Mashable: YouTube surprises creators with new harassment policy. The takedowns have already begun.. “The new harassment policy will also now cover both ‘veiled’ and ‘implicit’ threats along with ‘explicit’ ones. Any content that simulates or alludes to violence against an individual will also no longer be allowed on the platform.”
The Guardian: Court tells Facebook to reactivate Italian neo-fascist party’s account
The Guardian: Court tells Facebook to reactivate Italian neo-fascist party’s account. “A civil court in Rome has ruled that Facebook must immediately reactivate the account of the Italian neo-fascist party CasaPound and pay the group €800 (£675) for each day the account has been closed, according to local media.”
Lifehacker: All the Different Ways You Can Silence Stupid People on Facebook
Lifehacker: All the Different Ways You Can Silence Stupid People on Facebook. “Tempting as it is to tell off or block everything that annoys you, you have plenty of other options for reducing the impact stupid Facebook people have on your daily life. Here’s a handy escalation chart.” I’m not a proponent of going around calling random people stupid, but I do believe in protecting your mental health.
CNBC: Superstar German DJ ‘permanently banned’ from China for liking a ‘South Park’ tweet
CNBC: Superstar German DJ ‘permanently banned’ from China for liking a ‘South Park’ tweet. “Zedd, a high-profile DJ and music producer, has been permanently banned from China for liking a tweet from ‘South Park’s’ official account. On Friday, Zedd tweeted about the ban, and CNBC verified the claim with his publicist on Saturday.”
The Guardian: Facebook takes down fake account network used to spread hate in UK
The Guardian: Facebook takes down fake account network used to spread hate in UK. “Facebook has removed a network of more than 100 accounts and pages for ‘coordinated inauthentic behaviour’ on its social networks – the first time it has done so for UK-based operations seeking to influence British citizens.”
TechCrunch: Facebook bans four armed groups in Myanmar
TechCrunch: Facebook bans four armed groups in Myanmar. “Facebook is taking action in Myanmar, the Southeast Asian country where the social network has been used to incite racial tension and violence, after it banned four armed groups from its service. The U.S. company said in a blog post that it has booted the groups — the Arakan Army (AA), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), Kachin Independence Army (KIO) and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) — and that ‘all related praise, support and representation’ will be removed.”
