The United States holds that an individual charged for a crime is innocent until proven guilty. But Facebook, along with a handful of other tech companies, has decided that it is more capable of casting judgment than the U.S. court system.
A video that conservative YouTuber Mark Dice said shows alleged Kenosha shooter Kyle Rittenhouse responding to a wounded protester in an EMT’s capacity was removed from Facebook. Dice had posted the video but was warned by Facebook after the post’s removal that “Your page is at risk of being unpublished because of continued Community Standards violations.”
Facebook did not respond for comment. And the video would appear to be newsworthy, which might be exempt from the Community Standards.
Initially, Dice wrote in his Facebook caption: “Newly uncovered video of Kyle Rittenhouse shows him helping an injured protester after she was struck in the foot with a projectile. In another video he told the cameraman he brought a medical kit, which is the bag he was carrying. Further proving he had no malicious intent by showing up. In fact, he was there to help anyone who needed it.”
“It’s horrifying that Facebook is now censoring evidence in a criminal case that helps exonerate Kyle Rittenhouse,” said Dice in a statement to the Media Research Center. “The post was going viral and had been shared almost 10,000 times and debunked the mainstream media’s false narrative that Kyle went to the protest to cause trouble. Quite the contrary.”
Facebook also told Dice that “We don’t allow symbols, praise or support of dangerous individuals or organizations on Facebook.” While Rittenhouse is certainly accused of murder, he has not been convicted of murder. Dice defended himself on Twitter, saying, “In no way did I ‘glorify’ or celebrate him, nor ‘praise’ him. I simply posted a non-graphic video, and stated as a matter of fact what it showed. He helped a protester who was injured and didn't show up in Kenosha with any malicious intent to cause trouble.”
Dice currently has 813,072 followers on Facebook. He has been censored in the past, receiving two strikes for sharing one meme. Dice explained that after three strikes, Facebook throttles the reach of one’s page.
Facebook is even going so far as to block the name of Kyle Rittenhouse from its search results, according to The Verge. A Facebook spokesperson told The Verge that “‘We’ve designated this shooting as a mass murder and have removed the shooter’s accounts from Facebook and Instagram.’”
Twitter is also strategically censoring people who are involved in the Rittenhouse case. L. Lin Wood, the attorney representing Rittenhouse, was suspended from Twitter on September 1 for “glorifying violence.”
Conservatives are under attack. Contact the FCC at 1-888-225-5322 and/or via the MRC’s FCC contact form to give your take on the petition filed by the Department of Commerce regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996. Demand that Big Tech be held to account to mirror the First Amendment while providing transparency, clarity on “hate speech” and equal footing for conservatives.
