Social Media Wars

In the ‘old days’ the newly created social media platforms like MySpace were designed to help people more easily connect with one another, share news, keep in touch, and so on. And like many new technologies, some did really well and some not so well.

MS now seems to be a thing of the past, while other sites like Facebook continue to rise, or so it seems. But all the various big cheese internet media platforms, such as FB, Google, Twitter, YouTube, etc, have increasingly been becoming politically active and hostile to conservative and Christian values.

When things like FB and Google have such a commanding monopoly, that can really become problematic, and one must start looking for alternatives as things get worse and worse. Of course if one uses these various internet thingees for quite innocuous purposes such as sharing a pic of the morning coffee you had, it may be no big deal.

But if you have interests in posting or sharing somewhat more serious and important stuff, say, about your Christian faith or your conservative beliefs, you will know that both are increasingly taking a hammering from all the big media sites.

Facebook Fascism

One clear example of this is Facebook. More and more I am finding myself in the FB sin bin for some ludicrous reason. Indeed, I am getting real sick of FB and the way it is going. It is now absolutely clear that this is nothing more than a secular left indoctrination centre, and any dissenting points of view and any dissidents WILL be attacked, censored and banned at some point.

I am getting so tired of being banned, of having my stuff deleted and censored, of being told my posts or comments are “spam,” etc. And for me this is a real concern, since for the past decade I have used FB as a ministry tool. For me it has been a secondary CultureWatch where I share all sorts of crucial information, news and commentary.

As a result of this social media ministry, over the years people have become Christians, people have been discipled, people have been pastored, people have been informed, and people have been challenged and inspired. So for me it has been part of my Christian calling to be salt and light, and seek to make a difference for the Kingdom.

But as my efforts there become more and more threatening to the thought police at FB, my effectiveness is of course taking a nosedive. Whether it is “algorithm” issues with FB, or just plain mischievousness and censorship, fewer people are seeing my stuff, and less of it as well.

Even if my material is not banned or deleted, it really has become a joke to have 87 kazillion FB friends, but only 1 – 2 per cent seem able to see it, share it, comment on it, etc. Sure, FB is a business and wants to make money. So it sends me notices that I can “boost” my posts if I pay them for the privilege.

That I have not done, and I will not do it. But exactly because it is a business, it should ease up on all the PC censorship, and concentrate on letting people have some freedom there. But as they become more and more of a secular left Big Brother, they will keep losing aggrieved customers.

And I may soon be one of them. I really have had enough of the FB follies. The only question is whether I leave FB before FB gives me the boot. And I know I am not alone in this, as I have so many friends who are complaining about the same thing. Some of them are getting one 30-day ban after another, all for refusing to sing from the secular left song sheet.

Let me offer a list of the various ‘transgressions’ that FB thinks I am supposed to have committed in just the past week or so. First of all, FB posted on my page an older post of mine, encouraging me to ‘share the memory’. This I did, only to have the folks at FB promptly delete it, claiming it was spam! Good grief!

Second, someone posted something on another FB site which someone had made me an admin of. I have no idea what the ‘offending’ post was, but as a result I – and any other admins – I got another ban: this time a 3-day jail sentence from the tolerance brigade at FB. Incredible! I have only just completed serving that sentence!

Third, I just got another warning from FB saying that another page I must be an admin of or something has violated intellectual property rights or some such baloney. Evidentially there were two harmless but cogent quotes from Thomas Sowell (who of course would be happy to have his material shared), yet FB claims that someone reported them. It goes on to say this:

“If repeat infringement continues, Facebook will be required to block the ability to upload videos and photos to your Page. Ultimately, we could remove the Page entirely. The admin who posted the content has also been notified separately. You should delete all content you don’t own the rights to or don’t have permission to upload.”

Oh give me a break! Probably half of what is posted on FB would be stuff folks do not own the rights to. What utter foolishness. It seems that FB is now intent on getting rid of conservatives like me altogether, and any lame excuse will do.

Indeed, the reasons FB gives for its heavy-handed censorship are laughable. They whine about their “community standards” being violated, etc. Yeah right. That have no standards except the orthodoxy of leftist ideology. They are not just a business seeking to make a hefty profit, but a PC organisation punishing those who dare to differ from their leftist agenda.

Thus if you soon no longer hear from me there, you will know exactly why. I do believe my days are now numbered with them. It is now vital to find alternatives to the Big Brother PC censors at FB. And many do exist. Sure, they would be smaller and have far fewer people, but it is time to break the FB monopoly.

Some of the alternative social media sites include secular ones like MeWe and Christian ones like SocialCross. We need to explore these and find some good alternatives, and initiate some mass migrations to them, away from FB. And that I have already started to do.

Just yesterday I joined MeWe. It is early days yet of course, and I am still learning the ropes, but it is much like FB and easy enough to get on and use. In less than 24 hours I already have nearly 100 friends. Most are refugees and escapees from FB, although most, like me, are on both platforms for the time being.

Of course that is a small fraction of the number of FB friends I have – so far. But it is nice to be able to interact with them all, instead of the 1-2 per cent I could interact with on FB. I will have to see how the new site works as my numbers grow.

Some folks might think that it is a bit much to be on two social media sites. But my reasons should be clear by now: FB is becoming more and more censorious and dictatorial by the day, banning folks, deleting stuff, labelling posts spam, etc.

I do not doubt that FB will permanently ban me and many other Christians and conservatives soon enough, no matter how ‘nice’ and ‘noncontroversial’ we may try to be. So it is best to have a backup plan and get many friends to make the migration now before it is too late!

I have made my move to keep doing what I have been called to do. I do not expect that my small exodus – even if I took all my many FB friends with me – would make any sort of dent in FB. But if enough other disgruntled FB users also tried to take their friends elsewhere, just maybe FB will start to feel the pinch.

But even if they don’t I will not allow them to bully me, intimidate me, censor me and seek to hinder my ministry. If their main aim is to be a driver for leftist anti-Christian bigotry, then let them do it. But I will not be a part of it. They can end up being one big CNN or SBS or Melbourne Age. They are welcome to it.

So who will join me? As I say, you can be on more than one site. I am not saying you should jump the FB ship now. But DO start making arrangements so you are not caught off-guard when the clampdown at FB gets too intense to deal with. We need a backup plan now.

Now you may say that you have never experienced any censorship or punishment on FB. Well, maybe if you are only posting dog memes or foodie pics, then you should be safe. But dare to speak out on the things that really matter, and you will discover that the thought police are ever on the prowl, looking to shut down Christians and conservatives.

So give it some time: if you are now posting courageously on FB, soon enough the powers that be will be dealing with you. Therefore I may see some of you elsewhere in the near future, perhaps on a place like MeWe.

[1600 words]

28 Replies to “Social Media Wars”

  1. I don’t use facebook for many reasons and what Bill has outlined is one of them.
    The fact of the matter is that God condemns the act of homosexuality while facebook, google etc. promote it – who are we going to believe especially in the fact that it is now costing over $15 Billion in the US and over $1 Billion in Australia – God knows what it is costing world wide to keep those who engage in homosexuality and some 70% of the 2% make up the numbers of those affected by HIV annually but we are not allowed to talk about this as it is not politically correct – try and stop me. For me, God is always right and only an idiot would ignore what God says: Read Leviticus 20:13 to find out what God says about the act of homosexuality.
    John Abbott

  2. I’d like to keep updated particularly if you do end up being banned from Facebook thanks

  3. Dear Bill I have shared this blog under the heading Facebook Bully boy Tactics, and that those it is coming against will just migrate away totally from Facebook and will be no skin off our nose yet Facebook will be the loser for it. Keep standing up for yourself and for Jesus Bill. Facebook will be the loser and poorer for it having bullied and driven you away. Your sister in Christ, Carmel Parker

  4. minds.com is another up and coming site which many conservatives (and others) are using. It claims to be open and uncensored.

  5. We are to expect more and more persecution of us Christians before Jesus returns. Jesus warned us many times. The social media wars are just one of many facets of that same theme. All I can say is bring it on!

  6. Well done Bill, your’e on the ball with social media sites.
    By some odd chance I also joined MeWe yesterday, and you were the first person to respond, others have already followed. Like you I am still learning the ropes, but can’t foresee any problems. We may have to help each other a little as we progress. You guessed it, Rissa was the second person in line. Perhaps we still need to cultivate a little more patience with F.B. After all it is a mighty powerful tool. Your own CultureWatch continues to grow no doubt. I often wonder how many people you reach around the world.
    Be brave, be strong, be courageous, you are all of these already, but you need encouragement like we all do. I have been in a pit for some time with all kinds of stupid worldly concerns. I should pull up my socks and tell him to get behind me.
    Greetings,
    Bill Hegger

  7. I’m glad Facebook is not the only social media platform: Monopolies in communication/publication businesses are dangerous when they stand to control the information and opinions which are fed to the masses. We don’t need totalitarian states and their propaganda machines. Nor do we need totalitarian transnational media businesses intent on similar strangleholds over the free exchange of information and ideas.

    Once again, Chesterton’s flabbergasting declamation, “…It will not be necessary for any one to fight again against the proposal of a censorship of the press. We do not need a censorship of the press. We have a censorship by the press.” Orthodoxy, (The Bodley Head, 1908,1927), p. 212 [Accessed on line at: https://archive.org/details/orthodox00ches ] springs readily to my mind.

  8. Thank you Bill for your courageous stand against the flow of this fallen world. My only fear is by our absence from such MSN will only make this fallen world a little more fallen, also by retreating to alternative media we will be preaching to ourselves “the converted. Thank you again Bill& GOD bless

  9. Thanks Conway. As to having a Christian presence and witness to unbelievers on the social media, it of course depends on which FB alternative you use. Something like SocialCross is basically a Christian site, but something like MeWe is a generic site, and you can have as many non-Christian friends there as you choose to have, just like on FB. And as I said in my piece, chances are good FB will permanently ban me sooner than me deciding to leave FB!

  10. I honestly don’t use facebook as much as i used to. I’ll be honest and say i at first deleted it about a year ago,but then one day i decided to go back on it and tried to get people aware about everything that is going on (including with Islam.) Sadly it seems like it back fired and there were some people who removed me from my friend’s list (they didn’t say but im 99% certain that was the reason.) Whats bizarre is that the majority of my facebook friends are Christians and they make posts defending Islam but never once Christianity. It both saddens and baffles me how they are brave enough to defend islam but never Christians.

  11. Thanks for sharing this important topic Bill. I’ve had the same kind of problems and have had multiple bans, often for 30 days. The facebook page that I run has been censored more than any other facebook page I know of, with 40 banned posts so far (mostly for speaking against abortion, Islam, and atheism). I’ve documented each and every one of them on my blog here:
    http://godorabsurdity.blogspot.co.nz/2016/09/is-god-or-absurdity-most-censored.html

  12. Hey Bill, I’ve had problems with FB also but my hunch is that it is individual users, not FB corp culture who are making the attacks both for you and me and possibly others. That said, Amazon, FB, YouTube, Google are all in the SanFran PC fascist geographical California bubble of Silicon Vlly group think. But reporting you as ‘offensive’ or adding you to a group and making you an admin then having the group do something questionable. This is sinister manipulating. I did a purge of friends with I did not know somehow or with whom I did not have at least a half dozen mutual friends and now I post all sorts of non PC things and haven’t been hassled. That said, keeping all doors open and adding new ones is wise. MeWe eh? I’ll give a look. Like you say, Ya Always Have Other Options…no wait, that is the left leaning YAHOO slogan. Anyway, yes. And thanks for the tip.

  13. Both FB and Google are becoming leftist ideological filters far from thier original intent. It’s amazing to see how bad it has become.

    But I totally agree. Let’s jump ship.

  14. Hi Bill!

    Recently, I’ve deleted my Facebook account. I so sick and tired of it that I no longer see the point and purpose of it. It’s more becoming like FakeBook and it’s useless as a tool to connect with people. With more and more ‘friends’ on FakeBook, I find it becoming more like a public forum, which means I have to be more and more restraint on what I say and stop becoming myself. It’s useless as a tool for engagement and I’ve curtailed my engagement prior to the complete deletion of my FakeBook account.

    Regarding witness on FakeBook, I had sticked out my head during the recent SSM campaign, but I’m not sure how much of a difference I’ve made because I’m not sure how many are listening.

    It may be that social media has reached its peak and on the decline. In the US, there are 700,000 less people using Facebook compared to a year ago.

    So, I’m not sure I’d bother with any social media anymore. I’ve made the conscious decision to pivot towards face-to-face engagement and instant messaging (eg WhatsApp) where it is more private and meaningful.

    Maybe it is time to think of alternatives to social media in its entirety as a ministry platform? A website is a good start as it is outside the control of private monopolies. And supplemented by instant messaging for more private and intimate conversations.

  15. Terence, I’m with you on ministry being best in person and in real relationships. People who see us week in and day out are hard to hide reality from, and bring accountability and help and support – I don’t think conducting ministry and relationships via Fakebook is healthy or a good idea.

    I disagree that there is no place for social media. There is a place for being able to listen to key content creators like Bill, and listen in to what your friends can see and hear. Movements and social change don’t happen if people aren’t getting together to talk and protest and wind each other up. We need unity, not just little communities – we need both, and unless leading christians and people who stand for truth are actively listened to on a wider scale we will cease to be an effective social movement. That is why silicon valley is having an inquisition (of sorts) – because they will do anything to avoid helping us – and why social media was so key to the Arab spring.

    I don’t have time to chatter much on social media but being present and being part of the listening-and-reacting crowd makes a difference. Keep talking Bill!

  16. FB and Google are both leftist mouth-pieces. FB is losing customers at a great rate.

  17. Hi Bill. Thank you for the mention in your article.
    I am the founder of SocialCross.org and I run Warriors for Christ ministries.
    Facebook has deleted our page and we had to start over. We were actually in the middle of counseling a young woman who wanted to take her own life when Facebook Zucked us.
    Please feel free to join SocialCross.org (still in beta). We have a new site coming along with our apps (main app and a messaging app).
    You’re gonna see an article come out soon that will utterly prove Facebook is against Christians and are using people to report people and pages so they can ban them.

  18. Hi Bill,
    I have never used FB and dont intend to.
    I get all your posts through Gmail are you suggesting that may stop?

    Keep up the work you do so wonderfully well.
    God bless
    Julyan

  19. Thanks for the MeWe tip Bill. I had not heard of it. I will look and join too.

    I have experienced the FB censorship police and know what you are saying. Always important to keep finding new ways, places and opportunities to proclaim Christ. The gospel never admits confinement- and nor shall we who proclaim it.

    It would still be good to maintain even a minimal FB presence – as long as possible, so you can keep links between the FB community and the platform “less travelled”.

  20. Hi Bill et al
    Like many other readers, I also do not have a ‘Fakebook’ account. When FB comes up in general conversation with colleagues & friends (non-Christian and the like etc.), almost all of them state that they only use it to keep in touch with friends overseas and that they don’t actually like it. I agree that FB is on a decline thanks to their hell-bent left ideology. In saying that, I will become a member of MeWe and the like to show my support for free thinking, mature and opened sites. Keep up the great work Bill. God bless.

  21. You can avoid giving personal information to Google via your web searches, by using an alternative search engine, which doesn’t track users or collect personal data, like DuckDuckGo.

  22. I still have not figured out how to find friends on MeWe. Only three Bills show up.
    I’m also on Gab and Twitter as well as Facebook. oh and almost forgot linked in and liberty me. Is that six? Feels like more. lol.

  23. Hi Bill, I share your concerns and as you probably know, Robert Spencer’s Jihad Watch has been downgraded by Google. Pat Condell has been put in the “sin bin”, and The Pickering Post is also having issues with Google. For my part, I am using Brave as my browser, and Bing as my search engine. Political censorship is everywhere, and I have taken issue with the Brimbank City Council library blocking thereligionofpeace.com site. They would not tell me why the site was blocked, except that it was “inappropriate”. My local Councillors were informed, but did nothing.

  24. Dear Bill,
    The very concept of Facebook as far as I am concerned is rubbish so you are not missing anything if they write you off. I was put on it a few years ago by my grandson when it was new but I have never bothered with it.It can become an obsession and addictive as I did find out when I travelled ten thousand miles to see a sister in the UK who spent most of the day on it and practically ignored me.I prefer to contact people by email or even snail mail.

    However, my daughter uses FB regularly and I was shocked to discover today [27/2/18] that someone had posted the image of Donald Trump with the lower body of a very fat pig.If this is the way that someone will try to dehumanise another human being and think it is funny and FB will allow the posting we are all well rid of this disgusting service.I don’t care if you like someone or not you have no right to portray someone in this way. It is unChristian, unkind and unneccesary and it says a lot about the person who posted it and FB who allows it.You are right when you say that it is becoming more and more left wing.

  25. Forgive me Bill if my view is over the top. I have never joined facebook and while I understand it allows non-tech people to share information easily on line with family and friends, as a tool, I do think that the algorithms and some of the employees at facebook are part of the kingdom of darkness and personally responsible for the spread of evil on numerous occasions. After all, we are all in one of two kingdoms whether we like it or not. To hear your report makes me think even more that facebook is little more than a vast censorship engine that is actively against the spread and witness of Bible-based Christianity.

    I use your website as the only source to hear you speak and I would encourage you to make sure for people who come across you in facebook to provide links on facebook to your new social media site(s) and your website here. Keep up the good work as you intelligently and wisely continue your own online presence.

  26. I joined MeWe tonight after being put back in Facebook jail. As a Constitutional Conservative and Christian, I resent being disciplined by a bunch of fascist freaks. Anyone wanting to join up at MeWe, I have a group called Constitutional Conservatives.

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