Facebook Jumps To Shut Down "Kenosha Guard" Page

Facebook tries to present itself as neutral. The social networking giant will actively tell anyone that their rules are universally applied and that there’s no favoritism based on political ideology. Everyone gets the same treatment no matter where they stand…

Advertisement

…well, except for certain people.

Despite their claims, the site has taken down a page following the shooting in Kenosha.

Facebook Inc said on Wednesday it removed the page for the Kenosha Guard, a group which had posted a “call to arms” following days of protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, saying the page violated its policy against “militia organizations.”

A 17-year-old was charged with homicide on Wednesday after the shooting deaths of two people and wounding of a third during those protests, which broke out in response to the police shooting of a Black man earlier this week.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the platform was also removing content and accounts tied to the shooting. The suspect’s page, which had featured photos of a young man holding guns, was unavailable as of midday Wednesday.

Before its removal, the Kenosha Guard had posted messages on Facebook calling for volunteers to “protect our great City” and warning police its members would be out on the streets.

However, a “call to arms” is not synonymous with a call for violence. Asking people to help protect a city may not be the best move in the world, but it’s not illegal either.

While the shooting is troubling, there’s still a lot we don’t know. It’s a complicated situation. While the actions sure look like self-defense, an investigation is going to be needed to untangle the mess and determine whether or not it really is. That’s going to be muddled with other potential factors as well.

Yet for Facebook, that’s not an issue. They’ll just yank everything down.

Advertisement

Let’s keep in mind that despite the long list of violence by Antifa, numerous pages still exist for the militant anarchist group. They’ve assaulted people, destroyed millions upon millions of dollars worth of property, and even hijacked part of a major American city, but there’s almost no effort to address their hateful rhetoric, rhetoric which often does call for violence.

In other words, Facebook is yet again being uneven with its rules as they apply to groups that support things like the Second Amendment and the rule of law. As per usual.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I understand that Facebook is a private entity and can do pretty much whatever they want. I get that. However, that doesn’t make them immune to criticism for uneven handling of the rules. Besides, they might be a private company, but they’re publicly traded. That means there are members of the public they answer to, namely their stockholders.

Maybe if enough of them get sick of Facebook’s anti-gun nonsense, they can force Mark Zuckerberg to suck it up and stop trying to shift public perception of the truth by manipulating what they get to see.

Hey, a guy can dream, right?

Join the conversation as a VIP Member