Facebook Is Doing Something To Christians That You Probably Didn’t Notice

Meaghan Ellis

There are a couple of Facebook flaws most social media users probably haven’t noticed, and the underlying stipulations have proven to be a grave disadvantage for Christians. In a nutshell, the problem centers around freedom of speech, or better yet the lack thereof, and the “fine print” that prohibits opinions where certain religious groups are concerned.

According to a report published by QPolitical, a Texas church recently became the center of controversy after being targeted on Facebook by what appears to be a hate group. Based on the meticulous social networking strategy used to troll the church’s Facebook page, it’s probably safe to say those involved definitely did their homework and are well aware of how the glaring flaw would work to their advantage.

So, here’s how it works:

With a Facebook “Like” page, you don’t have the ability to ban a person from the page unless they’ve actually liked the page. And unfortunately, clicking “like” on a single post still doesn’t give the page owner the ability to block the user. The only option available would be to change the page settings, but in most cases, like pages are public in an effort to reach the masses. So, this particular flaw is kind of like a “Catch 22.”

This small flaw has allowed the hate group to troll the church’s page. It has been reported that members of the hate group have strategically liked comments made by church goers and reviews about the church so the church would appear on their feed.

The photo below shows how the trolling began:

With time, the hate group began popping up more frequently, and the trolling escalated to the point where the church’s webmaster contacted Facebook for assistance with reporting the group. However, that didn’t exactly work in the church’s favor.
Here’s how Facebook responded:

You should definitely try to continue reporting it until hopefully the other team is able to see it and realize that is should be shut down. However, as I mentioned on the phone, I did verify that there is no contact that I have and nothing else I’m able to offer on my end. If the Facebook policy team believes that it is a personal opinion, they may not take it down. I do believe that due to the language though, there is a chance they would still take it down and I hope that is the case.

Needless to say, the complaint didn’t lead to any type of resolution. The unsettling harassment reportedly influenced the webmaster’s own social media investigation, and what he uncovered raises many more questions. It appears as if the owner of the hate group page may actually be a Facebook employee, which would explain the extensive knowledge of Facebook protocol. The group normally posts messages relative to Facebook.

The Christian-bashing post raises questions about those who support the posts, and the webmaster also decided to bring this to the social network’s attention. “I have tried to block the page from our page. Facebook does not give pages the ability block other pages. Facebook needs to implement this feature ASAP. At this point, I am beginning to wonder if the reason Facebook does not do something about this is because it is Facebook employees engaged in this horrible activities.”

But, unfortunately, the concerns were belittled yet again. “Again, I wish there was more I was able to do for you and don’t want to see you leave Facebook advertising due to one page, that is possibly attempting to do that anyway. You should definitely try to continue reporting it until hopefully the other team is able to see it and realize that is should be shut down.”

The debacle only confirms speculation regarding the blatant disrespect towards Christians. When offensive posts target Christians, the network considers it “free speech.” But, there’s another group you aren’t allowed to offend on Facebook or your posts will be removed almost immediately — ISIS. Paul Golding posted a mocking meme with an image of toilet paper with the ISIS symbol. Since the network found the post highly offensive, Golding, who operates the British First page, was kicked out of his Facebook account and forced to review the details of the post because it was a Community Standards’ violation.

Free speech practices with double standards leave Christians between a rock and a hard place on the social network. According to Facebook’s “Hate Speech” policy, organizations that promote hatred will not be tolerated on the social network. However, since there are loopholes regarding how the hatred is presented, there are ways to get away with  it.

What this action says is that it’s okay to offend Christians, but posts that offend hate groups and terrorists will not be tolerated. The blatant disregard in itself is offensive. According to Breitbart, Facebook apologized to Golding and British First for removing the mocking photo, but insisted that he should “tone down the sarcasm” if he opted to post photos in similar kind in the future. However, the fact still stands. Preventive measures were taken in an effort not to offend a hate group. Asking Golding to monitor his level of sarcasm is a subliminal request for him to cease from offending ISIS — a group widely known for beheading Christians.

Everyone should be treated equally and no person or group should be allowed to slip between the cracks just because the presentation of their offensive posts appears permissible. Also, Facebook’s harassment policy may need to be updated because this one flaw definitely gives trolls the ability to lurk without being held accountable for their actions.

[Image(s) via QPolitical; Facebook Screen Captures]