DISINFO: CIA-influenced Facebook introduces the mechanism of preventive censorship of Sputnik
SUMMARY
Today, the Internet market of Poland and the entire world is dominated by two corporations: Google and Facebook. The cooperation of these corporations with the CIA and other American state agencies responsible for Internet control is dangerous for freedom of speech in the Western World. Information about the introduction of clear censorship against Sputnik or Press TV [by Facebook] puts the situation to a new level. Before, social media used to carry out repressive censorship. In other words, they intervened only after the information was presented to the public. Today, however, we face the mechanism of preventive censorship. The history shows that preventive censorship is introduced because of fear – it is a sign of the quick collapse of a dictatorship.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin conspiracy theory about social media (primarily, Facebook), advancing pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about “secret elites” and the West's alleged media censorship and societal control This disinformation message is a reaction to recent policy changes by Facebook. On June 4, Facebook announced that it would label media outlets that are wholly or partially under the editorial control of their government. The labels are not censoring in any way but merely inform users about the publishers' origins to help them understand the source of the information they are consuming. This is designed to bring greater transparency about these publishers since they combine the influence of a media organisation with the strategic backing of a foreign state. The labels have been applied to Russia's Sputnik, as well as other state-controlled media outlets, like Iran’s Press TV and China’s Xinhua News. See similar disinformation cases connected to Facebook - Google and Facebook manipulate information to destroy Russia; Facebook is a project of the Soros Foundation, financed by National Security Agency; Facebook is in the service of the US State Department.