We are not concerned with the age of this column (August 2018), but it is the importance – not only of Elizabeth’s story, but the story of Facebook, Google and others, with continued suspension of specific types of columns and postings – chiefly of conservative type concerns and beliefs. We are now just weeks over a year from this original post, and because of my personal experience with the Master’s of Facebook – I can attest to the continued blocking of subject matter that ‘THEY’ do not agree with. May the Zuck rot in Hell! ~ J.B.
Elizabeth Johnston, the Activist Mommy
Less than two weeks after suspending the “Activist Mommy” Elizabeth Johnston for alleged hate speech, Facebook has suspended the Christian family blogger a second time on similar grounds.
As was preciously reported a week prior to this post, Facebook suspended Johnston, a homeschooling mother of ten who comments on various cultural issues, for an unspecified post that allegedly violated the website’s “standards on hate speech.” Facebook apologized for “mistakenly flagg[ing]” her content, but did not identify the offending post.
On Friday, Johnston announced she had been hit with a new seven-day suspension after sharing a LifeSiteNews article about an Ohio judge who refused to approve name changes for gender-confused teenagers.
“This is what bullying looks like in 2018!” Johnston wrote in her post accompanying the link. “‘Normalize our mental illness or we will sue you!’ Small minds must use these tactics. Pathetic!” She concluded the post with the hashtag #GenderInsanity.
She then received a message from Facebook saying she couldn’t post, comment, or use the Messenger app for seven days. “This is because 2 of your posts go against our Community Standards on hate speech,” it read, “and because you previously posted something that didn’t follow our standards.”
“That’s right folks. If you don’t bow to the trans agenda, you’ll be muzzled and lose your platform. Free speech is dead in America,” Johnston responded in a post she was only able to get on Facebook “because it’s coming through Instagram.” During her previous suspension, she was able to have other admins keep the Activist Mommy Facebook page updated.
Despite Facebook’s suggestion that calling gender confusion a mental disorder constitutes “hate speech,” the American Psychiatric Association still classifies gender dysphoria as a mental disorder, as did the World Health Organization until this summer.
Studies indicate that between 80-90 percent of children experiencing gender dysphoria outgrow it on their own by late adolescence. In cases where it persists, a variety of studies from around the world find that gender-confused individuals have a heightened tendency to engage in self-harm, which is not mitigated by “identity” reinforcement up to and including full sex-reassignment surgery.
“It’s time something is done about the discrimination,” Johnston declared. “If Facebook can discriminate against conservatives, then restaurant owners can discriminate against liberals. How do you think that would go over?”
Censorship of conservative voices using “hate” as a pretext is an ongoing concern at every major social media platform and many online services. Others restricted since 2016 have included Prager University, the David Horowitz Freedom Center, theologian Dr. Robert A.J. Gagnon, Islam scholar Robert Spencer, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, conservative video bloggers Diamond and Silk, numerous pro-life videos and advertisements, the Twitter accounts of prominent Republicans officials, and ads from various GOP candidates.
Written by Calvin Freiburger for LifeSite News ~ August 29, 2018