Earlier today we reported on Facebook banning Alex Jones from Instagram, which they own. They’d already banned Jones from Facebook in the fall of last year.
Well now Facebook has banned Paul Joseph Watson without even an explanation:
Reports are true.
I have been banned by Facebook.
Was given no reason. I broke none of their rules.
In an authoritarian society controlled by a handful of Silicon Valley giants, all dissent must be purged.
Please visit https://t.co/4psjfSdF96 while it still exists.
— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) May 2, 2019
I believe Paul Watson Jones has worked with Infowars in the past, so that may have something to do with Facebook’s rationale.
But even so, well known conservatives are vouching for him, suggesting he’s not a crazy loon or conspiracy theorist by any stretch. And they are saying this is flat out censorship:
@prisonplanet Paul, I am sure you and I don’t agree on much, but this is wrong. America cannot stand by as voices are silenced. I would like to have you on my radio show tomorrow to discuss. @scrowder joins me tomorrow as well as he has been targeted by YouTube. You in? https://t.co/kWJ6Tp8VM1
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 2, 2019
This is crazy. They just banned someone who has never broken any of their rules or violated their terms of service in any way. This is political censorship, straight up. https://t.co/E7S0Wx9C01
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 2, 2019
Every conservative should be up in arms about this. @PrisonPlanet is not some kind of extremist figure. He’s just a conservative. If they can do this to him they can do it to anyone.
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) May 2, 2019
Facebook wants us to believe that they are a neutral public forum and they want the protections that come with such a designation. Yet they are clearly censoring certain people they disagree with, justifying it by suggesting they are hate groups.
Pretty soon, all of us will be thrown into that category for one reason or another. It might be our unflinching stance against homosexuality or abortion that gets us thrown off these platforms. Or it might be because we are Christian. Who knows.
The trend is certainly headed the wrong direction with this.