Facebook Censors Ron Paul!

[KingTheoden]

Everyone on facebook, test this out.

In the upper left hand search bar, type in Ron Paul and hit enter. Returned are only 'people'- no groups, no events, etc.

Now hit back and try this.

Type in any other presidential candidate and hit enter. Voilà! Amazing...

[TechnoGuyRob]

Yeah, I saw this happen this morning...

Wtf?

[bp2519]

I also noticed that... and that the homepage for US Election application is run by abc news.........

[walt]

holy crap

this isn't an election, it's a civil war and it's already been declared by others.

[dspectre]

someone needs to tell the people on the facebook forums about this.

[silverhandorder]

Is there any way to contact them? This hits home since I use facebook...

[OceanMachine7]

I sent a message, by clicking on "Help", then "US Politics", then submitted my own question.

[tanverenzo]

I'm getting the same thing. Ridiculous!

[Green Mountain Boy]

It's also the same for Groups. If you click on the Groups link in your left hand column and search for Ron Paul I get NO results whatsoever. I get plenty of results for all other candidates.

[theprolific]

someone needs to submit a story to digg/ reddit about this facebook censorship asap

[me3]

Maybe it was the public S*P*A*M campaign that was being run here for 11/5.

I really think members do the campaign and Dr. Paul's chances a disservice when they publicly post poll bombing or mass emailing campaigns in detail.

Everything you post on the internet in a public forum can be read and searched by anyone else. Get used to it.

[yoshimaroka]

someone needs to submit a story to digg/ reddit about this facebook censorship asap

Don't do anything like that yet. First let the people who run Ron's campaign on Facebook deal with this.

[Green Mountain Boy]

Maybe it was the public S*P*A*M campaign that was being run here for 11/5.

I really think members do the campaign and Dr. Paul's chances a disservice when they publicly post poll bombing or mass emailing campaigns in detail.

Everything you post on the internet in a public forum can be read and searched by anyone else. Get used to it.

It wasn't sp am because we were only messaging known Ron Paul supporters.

[Bradley in DC]

My guess is either oversight or the searches were disabled because only "Ron Paul" searches were jeapordizing a crash. Did you see the Alexa web traffic numbers on the official site this week?!

Heck, even on this very forum they used to disable searching to avoid overtaxing the server.

[Sematary]

have you guys considered contacting facebook about it?

[walt]

have you guys considered contacting facebook about it?

congrats on your 3,000th post sematary - you rock.

[James R]

You should take screenshots for proof. This is actually a "good" piece of news you can publish.

[walt]

You should take screenshots for proof. This is actually a "good" piece of news you can publish.

agreed

[LinearChaos]

Hmmm, methinks we should put our Jumping to Conclusions mat away for now.


Heck, even on this very forum they used to disable searching to avoid overtaxing the server. I wouldn't doubt if this had something to do with it. I've read that Paul related web traffic is exploding, and if a bunch of interested RP noobs were researching him, chances are that his facebook popularity will come up, so they might have removed the search terms for the time being or something.

Although something similar happened some months ago with myspace.

I can't imagine them not making a statement about it if enough people create a storm. I imagine the people at Facebook are at least somewhat cognitive when it comes to business, and they know that RP brings good business, so it makes no sense for them to voluntarily "censor" anything about RP, as that would eventually cut into their web traffic and cost them a lot.

[Thom1776]

You get results when you search "Paul" and not "Ron Paul".

[Green Mountain Boy]

They definitely disabled searches for Ron Paul. If you search for groups with "Ron Paul" there are no results. However, if you search "Paul" you do get all the results.

[njandrewg]

one of the founders of facebook is now working for Giulliani or Thompson campaign...I forget

[Brinck Slattery]

who owns facebook now?

[OceanMachine7]

My message said that there appeared to be something wrong with their search algorithm.

[maxmerkel]

My message said that there appeared to be something wrong with their search algorithm.

they accidentally checked the "censor ron paul" box ??

[KingTheoden]

Hmmm, methinks we should put our Jumping to Conclusions mat away for now.



Usually I say this, but in this case, there is no question what has happened: Ron Paul is not a searchable keyword. Period. The fact that traffic for the good doctor has explored bodes only well for Facebook because that means more advertising cash.

Either the company from within decided to throw a wrench at Ron Paul's works or they were pressured. Probably both.

I could only find a privacy contact form and submitted a short message on the situation. We shall see if they reply.

[Green Mountain Boy]

My guess is either oversight or the searches were disabled because only "Ron Paul" searches were jeapordizing a crash. Did you see the Alexa web traffic numbers on the official site this week?!

Facebook is the #7 site in the USA and yer tellin me their servers can't take the load from Ron Paul searches? I highly doubt that.

[njandrewg]

http://rpdaily.blogspot.com/2007/11/facebook-censors-ron-paul.html

digg

[walt]

Facebook is the #7 site in the USA and yer tellin me their servers can't take the load from Ron Paul searches? I highly doubt that.


thank you, common sense.

[HarryTuttle]

I've never used Facebook before, but if you type in "ronpaul" (no space) it returns a couple profiles.

[walt]

http://rpdaily.blogspot.com/2007/11/facebook-censors-ron-paul.html

digg


dugg

[davidhperry]

Anyone thought that it might be a bug or something else innocuous? Like anything else, shouldn't we wait until we know what's going on before we make assumptions and jump to conclusions?

[njandrewg]

Anyone thought that it might be a bug or something else innocuous? Like anything else, shouldn't we wait until we know what's going on before we make assumptions and jump to conclusions?
the keyword is banned, if it was a bug then other keywords wouldn't have worked eihter

[OceanMachine7]

Ok, this is even goofier, if you do a search for "Ron Burgandy" only names come up. I'm sure there are Ron Burgandy: Anchorman groups out there. It looks like if you search for "Ron" followed by ANYTHING, you're only going to get common people to show up.

[Brinck Slattery]

Look for Ron Arteste (sp?) or Ron Jeremy. That'll sort this out.

[bp2519]

You blame the Ron Paul search failure on facebook on the creator of facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, and your reasoning behind the search ban is because the creator is a Jew.

Don't you think comments like these will illicit responses from those of us with moral integrity?

[spivey378]

make a youtube

[OceanMachine7]

Look for Ron Arteste (sp?) or Ron Jeremy. That'll sort this out.

Artest yielded only names also. Don't want to search for Jeremy since I'm at work.

[Brinck Slattery]

Artest yielded only names also. Don't want to search for Jeremy since I'm at work.

too bad, I figure if there's a facebook group about someone it's Ron Jeremy.

[Jake!]

digg this:
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Facebook_censors_Ron_Paul

[fj45lvr]

the important thing is whether there is an "omission" of information (which would obviously show that this is NO accident)

People can then speculate all they want as to "why".....it is INAPPROPRIATE to speculate the exact MOTIvATION....the important part is SEEING THE WRONG.


What sucks is that WHOMEVER owns the site can do whatever they want to. WRONG or not....all you can do is try to point it out and boycott or whatever (the reason there are groups like the Anti-Defamation League).

Things are NOT fair in life and politics. that is GUARANTEED.

[cjhowe]

Ron Paul - nothing
Paul - lots
Ron - lots
Congressman Paul - lots
Congressman Ron - none
Congressman Ron Paul - none

[njandrewg]

People… relax.

It's probably a bug and Jeff Frazee will keep us informed. Chilll…
if people don't bitch then facebook will never catch and fix it.

[jake]

UNBELIEVABLE

type RUDY GULIANI and you can see his groups just fine. This is censorship at it's worst! what is going on here?! :confused:

[Lord Xar]

whats the status, is this still happening?

[pazzo83]

Message sent. I encourage others to do the same. Be polite, frame your message by assuming it is simply a bug, not some malicious attempt to censor us. I think that will be received better.

[njandrewg]

this thread is now linked to from Techcrunch

[TexMac]

Everyone on facebook, test this out.

In the upper left hand search bar, type in Ron Paul and hit enter. Returned are only 'people'- no groups, no events, etc.

Now hit back and try this.

Type in any other presidential candidate and hit enter. Voilà! Amazing...

Maybe Michael Arrington can get an answer.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/07/facebook-censors-ron-paul/

Kudos to whoever thought of emailing him.

[maxmerkel]

i'm sure this was a stunt after/during yesterdays news-blitz. in that way they prevented ron pauls facebook group growing very effectively - when they release the ban tomorrow no one will remember that he wanted to join some facebook group yesterday and try again.

[Highstreet]

Maybe it was the public S*P*A*M campaign that was being run here for 11/5.

I really think members do the campaign and Dr. Paul's chances a disservice when they publicly post poll bombing or mass emailing campaigns in detail.

Everything you post on the internet in a public forum can be read and searched by anyone else. Get used to it.

Good points.

There are many sites and forums who simply stop/suspend/"ban" related posts and emails because of the technical problems with overloading their site and occasionally servers.

We need to represent the Respect and Integrity of Paul if we visit sites owned by others.

[speciallyblend]

RON PAUL SUPPORTERS ROCK,you guys dont let anything slide hehe,thats great:)

[njandrewg]

Maybe Michael Arrington can get an answer.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/07/facebook-censors-ron-paul/

Kudos to whoever thought of emailing him.
I emailed him, but I'm sure other people did too

[maxmerkel]

this is not "spam" related ! if it were they would not deliver messages containing "ron paul" - we can actually test that. but to ban searches for "ron paul" does not make ANY sense whatsoever.

[walt]

oceanmachine7,

This is blowback. The majority of people who will scroll all the way down and click on that link will be supporters of Ron, many who have likely never been here. They will sign up and participate. This is a good thing.

Like Michael said, this was likely just the actions of one employee (or a publicity stunt) - we'll likely never know for sure.

We'll see if it corrects itself. If they blog it or make a statement to the press all the better. I hope my concerns are proven to have no basis in the reality that follows.

[sirachman]

Check out my thread on my attempt to get it fixed.
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=33627

Hope this crap gets fixed.

[sirachman]

Just got this reply:
Hi,

Facebook Customer Support has received your inquiry. Stand by as we
should be back with you soon. In the meantime, we encourage you to
review our 'Help' page (http://www.facebook.com/help.php). You’ll find
lots of information about Facebook as well as many answers to your
questions. Check out the FAQs on our Support page too.

Thanks for contacting Facebook and enjoy the site!

-Facebook Customer Support


I will tell you when I get something else.

[Lord Xar]

As a programmer, "it" might be a rogue programmer who decided to inject his/her own political agenda into this. Meaning, they might just flipped the flag to omit Ron Paul's search results and will say "oh, I inadvertently did that..sorry'

[sirachman]

As long as its fixed..
How much do ads on myspace and facebook cost?

[theprolific]

Here's the digg link (i think the original submitted story was buried by the bury brigade):

http://www.digg.com/2008_us_elections/Facebook_Censors_Ron_Paul_2

[DeadheadForPaul]

As long as its fixed..
How much do ads on myspace and facebook cost?

I'm not sure about mySpace, but I read that Facebook ads are not worth investing in. Despite the high traffic of facebook, apparently their users rarely click on ads and hence this has seriously affected the potential worth of the business though it still stands to be worth billions. Ultimately, not worth it. Mainly college kids use it and we've captured that demographic

[maxmerkel]

As a programmer, "it" might be a rogue programmer who decided to inject his/her own political agenda into this. Meaning, they might just flipped the flag to omit Ron Paul's search results and will say "oh, I inadvertently did that..sorry'

right, and sadly there is NO way of doing something like this inadvertently. (it would at least be very very very very strange coincidence)
as you said, this might be the idea of a facebook employee or the company itself. either way it was done on purpose. :mad:
(i'm a programmer, too)

[Nefertiti]

Is my memory correct, or wasn't there someone in these forums a day or two before the 5th asking people with Facebook accounts to go to all the Ron Paul groups and message the members asking them to donate? And wasn't there some remark too about certain people getting their Facebook accounts yanked for this mass mailing?

Before blaming this on some political plot I would suggest reading the Facebook terms of service and see if this previous action would not have been in violation of those terms. And if so, we have one of our own to blame for encouraging what could only be called a spam attack.

[maxmerkel]

on the techcrunch blog is this response :



I work on our political features at Facebook.

This is a technical glitch. Facebook would never censor an individual candidate as you suggest. Mr. Paul has a politician profile on Facebook, and all of his groups are still there. This is just a bug with our search.

We are investigating the problem to see why this is happening.


:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[maxmerkel]

Is my memory correct, or wasn't there someone in these forums a day or two before the 5th asking people with Facebook accounts to go to all the Ron Paul groups and message the members asking them to donate? And wasn't there some remark too about certain people getting their Facebook accounts yanked for this mass mailing?

Before blaming this on some political plot I would suggest reading the Facebook terms of service and see if this previous action would not have been in violation of those terms. And if so, we have one of our own to blame for encouraging what could only be called a spam attack.

something like this would not trigger a search censorship but a censorship of all messages sent around that contain "ron paul". so i say no, this is not the reason. and by the way, 1600 messages (this was the amount of contacte persons if i remember correctly) containing a special word are SO below facebooks radar - as a comparison think of a mexican beetle crawling over the border ;)

[mport1]

For once this is not a conspiracy. Something is actually wrong here and must be corrected. The RP Facebook group has 40,000 members.

[maxmerkel]

For once this is not a conspiracy. Something is actually wrong here and must be corrected. The RP Facebook group has 40,000 members.

a conspiracy would involve multiple persons - so you might be right and this involves only one malicious facebook programmer. still, there IS code somewhere that says : search_results = 0 if query == 'ron paul'

[mport1]

Try it now. When I type "Ron" i get a message saying that searching is unavailable but then when i change it to another word the search works.

[mport1]

From somebody on Facebook: "A contact of mine that works for Facebook confirmed this is a technical issue and not a deliberate attempt to censor Ron Paul."

[maxmerkel]

Try it now. When I type "Ron" i get a message saying that searching is unavailable but then when i change it to another word the search works.

yes, they changed it that way till they find the malicious code that causes 0 results. they are informed and apparently want to make clear that there ARE in fact search results, but that it does not work at the moment for "ron" and "ron paul".

[maxmerkel]

From somebody on Facebook: "A contact of mine that works for Facebook confirmed this is a technical issue and not a deliberate attempt to censor Ron Paul."

after they resolved this, i'd really like to get the explanation. the technical explanation.

[maxmerkel]

they solved their "technical problem". it works again.

[maxmerkel]

here is the explanation (so far):



the word “ron” fell out of our groups search index. so groups for anyone named “Ron” weren’t showing up in search. other terms seem to have fallen out of the index as well, but we’re still investigating which ones and why.

again, Facebook would never target an individual politician as people have suggested. we are excited that Ron Paul has been using Facebook in his campaign, and we welcome the efforts of his supporters to use Facebook to promote him as well.

[expatriot]

here is the explanation (so far):

No doubt of this, but where is this quote from, authoritatively?

Third-hand quotes are mere rumours...:D

[Pepper]

someone needs to submit a story to digg/ reddit about this facebook censorship asap

ABC owns facebook??? If so that explains it.... AIPACS biggest supporter is Eisen of Disney and he owns ABC and they are for Hillary. ABC has become another fox.

Mahatma Ghandi said:

First they ignore you
then they redicule you
then they fight you (this is the stage that has just begun)

then you WIN!!!!

The war was declared when Ron Got that huge record breaking donation on one day with 18,000 new contributors added to his already extensive support list resulting in 38,000 donors with average donations of $103 each. That is when they started to take him seriously and knew that "ignoring" and "rediculing" wasn't working. So now they are going to war against him and I have seen the slander they are doing to him on both conservative and liberal forums, Fox news,
Wolf Blitzer, THE EX AIPAC EMPLOYEE and mossad agent, of CNN has stepped up his attacks on paul and especially during interviews when Ron tries to answer his charges, he interrupts him so he doesn't get his message out loud and clear.

Wolf continues to call him a libertarian when he is in fact for 20 years a republican which Wolf refuses to acknowledge, and the slams Ron by saying the fund raiser was to support Fawlks day which was a violent revolution type act to blow up parliamnet. Wolf never talks about how it was V for Vendetta that started it and that film was a peaceful march on the elite to get them to change. He totally ignores all of that.

So the war is joined, what are we the supporters going to do to counter these assaults??? I have spent hours documenting and arguing with others on forums to counter the lies, but its hard work.... Anyone got any other suggestions???:confused::(

[Brinck Slattery]

um "fell out?" That sounds like total bull to me. Sorry.

[Lord Xar]

Besides all of this...... IS IT fixed now?

[lloydian]

Bump Has the problem been corrected

[Patronus]

I received this message from Facebook Wednesday evening and it was fixed shortly afterwards. It has been working fine since.


We are aware of the problem that you described and hope to resolve
it as soon as possible. Sorry for any inconvenience. Let me know if
you have any further questions.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Anjali
Customer Support Representative
Facebook

[walt]

not good enough, they need to apologize on their blog more publically.