Swedish Facebook suspends journalist for defending freedom of speech
Week Three: Ninth Anniversary Fund-Raising Drive for Behind the Black
It is now the third week in my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black.
Please consider donating. I am trying to avoid advertising on this website, but will be forced to add it if I do not get enough support from my readers. You can give a one-time contribution, from $5 to $100, or a regular subscription for as little as $2 per month. Your support will be deeply appreciated, and will allow me to continue to report on science and culture freely.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
They’re coming for you next: An independent journalist in Sweden says that she was suspended from Swedish Facebook for seven days for posting an essay supporting British reporter Tommy Robinson and the concept of true freedom of speech, where you defend all opinions, even those you oppose.
Independent journalist and freedom fighter Katerina Janouch wrote a short introduction for an article in her own online magazine “Katerina Magasin.” The article, written by another Swedish writer – Madeleine Rönnqvist Lilja — is about the British freedom fighter Tommy Robinson. In her text, Katerina wrote: “Defending freedom of expression when you agree is a breeze, but if we are to have any freedom of speech worth mentioning, it must also be defended when it is challenged and not all agree.” She then pointed out that it “may be your turn next”.
And Swedish Facebook took Katerina at her word and suspended her.
It would not surprise me if this claim is 100% true. However, the article does not provide detailed information about what Swedish Facebook claimed was the reason, if any, for the suspension, and the source article that does give those details is in Swedish. It is therefore possible that Facebook had some other reason for its actions. I just can’t confirm that.
I must emphasize however that I am trying to be unreasonably fair here. The behavior of large tech companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. has been routinely leftist and increasingly hostile to opposing opinions. Moreover, this is Swedish Facebook, where I expect the political culture is even more leftist and intolerant of opposing views. I would expect them to try an shut down any postings that express strong reservations about Islam, because the left for some reason has apparently decided that Muslims are a protected and oppressed minority that must never be challenged.
For those who are unfamiliar with Tommy Robinson, he is an activist and online writer who has been imprisoned and harassed by British authorities because he has been uncompromising in his reporting of radical Islam.
It is now the third week in my annual anniversary fund-raising campaign for Behind the Black.
Please consider donating. I am trying to avoid advertising on this website, but will be forced to add it if I do not get enough support from my readers. You can give a one-time contribution, from $5 to $100, or a regular subscription for as little as $2 per month. Your support will be deeply appreciated, and will allow me to continue to report on science and culture freely.
Regular readers can support Behind The Black with a contribution via paypal:
If Paypal doesn't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
They’re coming for you next: An independent journalist in Sweden says that she was suspended from Swedish Facebook for seven days for posting an essay supporting British reporter Tommy Robinson and the concept of true freedom of speech, where you defend all opinions, even those you oppose.
Independent journalist and freedom fighter Katerina Janouch wrote a short introduction for an article in her own online magazine “Katerina Magasin.” The article, written by another Swedish writer – Madeleine Rönnqvist Lilja — is about the British freedom fighter Tommy Robinson. In her text, Katerina wrote: “Defending freedom of expression when you agree is a breeze, but if we are to have any freedom of speech worth mentioning, it must also be defended when it is challenged and not all agree.” She then pointed out that it “may be your turn next”.
And Swedish Facebook took Katerina at her word and suspended her.
It would not surprise me if this claim is 100% true. However, the article does not provide detailed information about what Swedish Facebook claimed was the reason, if any, for the suspension, and the source article that does give those details is in Swedish. It is therefore possible that Facebook had some other reason for its actions. I just can’t confirm that.
I must emphasize however that I am trying to be unreasonably fair here. The behavior of large tech companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. has been routinely leftist and increasingly hostile to opposing opinions. Moreover, this is Swedish Facebook, where I expect the political culture is even more leftist and intolerant of opposing views. I would expect them to try an shut down any postings that express strong reservations about Islam, because the left for some reason has apparently decided that Muslims are a protected and oppressed minority that must never be challenged.
For those who are unfamiliar with Tommy Robinson, he is an activist and online writer who has been imprisoned and harassed by British authorities because he has been uncompromising in his reporting of radical Islam.
I don’t get on to Facebook, but for those who do, you can copy and paste any foreign language article, including Swedish, into Google Translate, and while far from perfect, you can probably get the gist of the article.
Don’t we need the word ‘suspended,’ in the headline?
Tommy Robinson Song
“How They Rule Ya”
(Owen Benjamin, June 2018)
https://youtu.be/EE3tNPJMSXo
3:03
V for Vendetta:
“The Dominoes Fall”
https://youtu.be/yrwTDfdck7I?t=132
Wayne: Whoops. I posted this while eating at a restaurant. I must have typed the headline between bites. Now fixed. Thank you!
Mr. Z.,
The sad thing is–I automatically knew what category of action-verb was missing, cuz’ it wasn’t going to be something positive, along the lines of “FB congratulates journalist for defending free press.” (ya’ know!?)
Tangential–
First time ever this morning– saw a young lady walking through the parking lot at a local store, 105% immersed in her Device, to the extent she tripped over a curb. On the upside– 2 people immediately ran to her aid. She dusted herself off and proceeded, to play with her phone.
Totally off thread—
–let’s lower the voting-age in the United States…
Wild In The Streets
(1968) Trailer
https://youtu.be/rRLwV2xafpk
2:33
Tucker Carlson on free speech. 8min https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2019/01/13/tucker_carlson_free_speech_of_all_americans_is_at_risk.html
Tucker on China. 4 minutes.
https://youtu.be/qtmKNBVqG9w
What Chinese spies are costing in intellectual property. As much as 600 billion a year. 6 min.
https://youtu.be/h4kmAz6Y9xg
A list of all the FB crimes, which continues to grow.
https://www.cnet.com/news/facebooks-terrible-year-just-got-worse-what-you-need-to-know/
The games you play and apps you use will report directly to Facebook all your information. Even if you’ve never logged onto Facebook.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/28/all-the-data-facebook-google-has-on-you-privacy
A extremely large list of what they know, and how they know it.
It will make you depressed, until you think about it and realize that they have all this information on every political asset including Hillary Clinton. In fact, with the information they have on file, you know why Gov. can’t touch FB/Google (even with the interaction with China) is because they “are” the shadow government.
Who can oppose the people who know all your private sins, your bank accounts, and where the bodies are buried? They are untouchable.
Facebook’s big brother is in trouble again.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/google-antitrust-fine-by-eu-2019/
“Google is currently appealing two earlier fines levied against it by the European Commission — one $2.73 billion fine for prioritizing its own shopping service in searches, and a record-breaking $5.1 billion fine for antitrust issues surrounding the mobile operating system Android.”
They just don’t care about the law.
Tucker Carlson, two days ago, on tech tyranny. google who has removed their slogan of “don’t be evil”. They say “this corporation doesn’t care about America, only a return to their shareholders”. 3min.
https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/fed-tucker-says-cant-control-tears-apart-traitorous-google/
“And, he says, if Google’s actions can’t be stopped, it’ll cost Trump the 2020 election.”
Last week.
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/jan/16/social-media-companies-ban-conservative-voices/
And
https://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/mar/18/devin-nunes-sues-twitter-over-conservative-shadow-/
Meanwhile, in Utah, the drivers license division was asked for all the personal information on all Utah drivers to be given to the Utah University and Huntsman Cancer Institute.
They said, OK… Full name, birthday, address, drivers license number, Social Security number, mothers maiden name, banking information, health information… Everything in the file. The information was offered for sale, not research as the state was told.
Here’s part of the story.
https://kutv.com/news/local/audit-utah-drivers-license-division-illegally-shares-data
I forgot about this one, liberal progressive democrat reporters are getting the shaft blamed on Facebook and google.
https://www.thecut.com/2019/02/vice-layoffs-buzzfeed-huffpost-media.html
2,100 media workers laid off.
I guess some jobs can be done by robots…