25 May 2016: How Facebook Can Shape Public Opinion
by Jillian C. York | May 25 2016
-
Facebook is becoming the world’s most important media gatekeeper, with 1.65 billion users. But with this reach comes responsibility. The Sydney Morning Herald looks at how Facebook is “editing the way we see the world.”
-
Conservative activist Lauren Southern received a 30-day Facebook ban after posting about the ban of a conservative Page moderator. According to the Daily Mail, the ban was later reversed, with Facebook calling it an error.
-
Facebook apologized after banning an advertisement featuring plus-sized model Tess Holliday under the company’s “health and fitness guidelines.” The ad promotes body positivity.
-
“Facebook is no longer just a destination for virtual socialising but a media company that can shape public opinion,” argues the Economist in a piece entitled “Censors and Sensibility.”
In other news:
- Zuckerberg calls Facebook a "platform for ideas" after meeting with conservatives.
- Microsoft published new guidelines on dealing with terrorist content.

SUGGESTED READINGS
17 August 2017: The Weekly Takedown
Jillian C. York
Aug 17 2017
As white supremacists take to the streets, social media companies have begun to deny them a platform online.
11 May 2018: The Weekly Takedown
The Onlinecensorship.org Team
May 11 2018
Users deserve transparency and accountability, which is why we’ve released the Santa Clara Principles and more news in this week’s Takedown.
March 23, 2016: Politics and patriarchy
Jillian C. York
Mar 23 2016
In this week's roundup: A Turkish news site, topless women, childbirth imagery, an Indian political cartoon and more censored by Facebook.