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Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#11

Post by themihai »

j0e1 wrote: post #7
ProAm wrote: post #2

Facebook is not a news site, they can censor whatever they want. They are in the advertising sales business they'll tweak their product to maximize the returns on their business.

I agree. But I truly wish there was an open forum that wasn't influenced by government actors and with the same reach as Facebook. Maybe if Wikipedia had discussion rooms which were just as fancy and used by just as many people, it could prove vital during such times.

well.. there are open forums but people want facebook not forums.

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#12

Post by seangrant »

ProAm wrote: post #2

Facebook is not a news site, they can censor whatever they want. They are in the advertising sales business they'll tweak their product to maximize the returns on their business.

Point being this is exactly what people were afraid of when Facebook tried to become an pseudo-ISP for India.

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#13

Post by sbuttgereit »

j0e1 wrote: post #7
ProAm wrote: post #2

Facebook is not a news site, they can censor whatever they want. They are in the advertising sales business they'll tweak their product to maximize the returns on their business.

I agree. But I truly wish there was an open forum that wasn't influenced by government actors and with the same reach as Facebook. Maybe if Wikipedia had discussion rooms which were just as fancy and used by just as many people, it could prove vital during such times.

I expect that such forums actually exist to some extent and simply aren't very widely known or thought of as what they are. Facebook has name recognition and the advantage as being front-of-mind as a gathering place for friends and family; a place for serious and non-serious discussion. Other, more open forums, are likely to be more topical and niche in terms of appeal. In fact, it's likely that because Facebook is a gathering place first for the non-serious friend/family sort of communication, that you get any diversity of opinion and viewpoint at all.

Having said that, you are very unlikely to be able to avoid point of view constraints on what's allowed to be posted. That might be officially via administration or by the biases of the group. Even on Hacker News, certain points of view are favored over others and the up/down vote system enforces that outside of Hacker News policy or administration.

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#15

Post by gshulegaard »

ProAm wrote: post #2

Facebook is not a news site, they can censor whatever they want. They are in the advertising sales business they'll tweak their product to maximize the returns on their business.

This is interesting...and actually brings up interesting questions when viewed in the context of states that place protections on freedom of speech.

Don't really want to start a long debate...but for me I am not sure I believe that (at least in America), Facebook "can censor whatever they want." Not that I object to this application of censorship...just I don't think Facebook has carte blanche when it comes to censorship.

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#16

Post by palmanis »

DixonSeider wrote: post #10

Interesting background on Kashmir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir#1947_and_1948 Seems a plebiscite was to have taken place but did not happen. I'm guessing the majority would have voted to be part of Pakistan and not part of India. (which would have, of course, irked "minority" populations).

Those "minority" populations were forced out of Kashmir by the "majority" : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Kashmiri_H...

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#17

Post by selimthegrim »

palmanis wrote: post #16
DixonSeider wrote: post #10

Interesting background on Kashmir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir#1947_and_1948 Seems a plebiscite was to have taken place but did not happen. I'm guessing the majority would have voted to be part of Pakistan and not part of India. (which would have, of course, irked "minority" populations).

Those "minority" populations were forced out of Kashmir by the "majority" : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing_of_Kashmiri_H...

I have to admit that it's ironic that a minority tired of its rights not being respected a) lets that happen to another minority (the Pandits) and b) wants to join another country with no codified minority rights

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#18

Post by ProAm »

gshulegaard wrote: post #15
ProAm wrote: post #2

Facebook is not a news site, they can censor whatever they want. They are in the advertising sales business they'll tweak their product to maximize the returns on their business.

This is interesting...and actually brings up interesting questions when viewed in the context of states that place protections on freedom of speech. Don't really want to start a long debate...but for me I am not sure I believe that (at least in America), Facebook "can censor whatever they want." Not that I object to this application of censorship...just I don't think Facebook has carte blanche when it comes to censor…

Why not, its a private site, freedom of speech does not pertain to Facebook.

Re: Facebook is censoring some posts on Indian Kashmir

#19

Post by ignoramous »

DixonSeider wrote: post #10

Interesting background on Kashmir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir#1947_and_1948 Seems a plebiscite was to have taken place but did not happen. I'm guessing the majority would have voted to be part of Pakistan and not part of India. (which would have, of course, irked "minority" populations).

The plebiscite is an outdated demand. A lot of Hindus native to the region were displaced by the insurgency in the 1990s. And the Kashmir Valley which is apparently pro-Pakistan is a smaller region in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. A large part of the State is Buddhist and Hindu.
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