Facebook – The Optimistic Conservative

Fake, P.C. #NativeHistory ‘map porn’ storms Facebook

Infected with the Confirmation Virus.

Imaginary map scratches bias itch. (Map: ScientiaOmniaVincit via Reddit and Facebook)

If you weren’t sure America’s schools are turning out a whole lot of people of, shall we say, uneducated potential – well, dither no more. Certainty can be yours.

A fantasy map of North America, posted in a Reddit forum on 6 August, has taken Facebook by storm – and with it, the impressionable minds of hundreds of thousands of Facebook members.

The original map was an exercise in projecting what North America might look like in 2015 if there had been no colonization by Europeans. As the comments at Reddit indicate, the original map made quite a number of, um, uneducated errors. But the important point for now is that the map never purported to reflect any kind of historical reality (and it didn’t). It was an essay in alternative-history imagination.

That didn’t stop Facebook peeps from seizing on the map and sending it viral, with comments like these: Continue reading “Fake, P.C. #NativeHistory ‘map porn’ storms Facebook”

Facebook being used to ID Jews for physical attacks in France

Civilization hack.

"Pro-Palestinian" protesters hurl in Paris. (Image via Pamela Geller) — “Pro-Palestinian” protesters hurl in Paris. (Image via Pamela Geller)

New post up at Liberty Unyielding. Enjoy!

Double standard: What did get (briefly) banned at Facebook, versus what didn’t

Ban this.

Some things, you have to see to believe. I was alerted by a friend, a couple of days ago, to the existence of a truly revolting, anti-Semitic Facebook page called “The Untold History,” which, according to Facebook, does not violate Facebook’s standards.

We practice link hygiene here at TOC, so I offer this write-up from the Online Hate Prevention Project (OHPP) website, which contains a link to the offensive Facebook page. If you can stomach another round of anti-Semitic imagery, cast a glance at the image copied in this post from the Facebook page – one of quite a few. The page has 833 “Likes” as of this writing. Continue reading “Double standard: What did get (briefly) banned at Facebook, versus what didn’t”

One more exciting use for Facebook: Soliciting hostage-taking UPDATE

Social media rising.

Saudi cleric Awad al-Qarni is known for faithfully reflecting the views of the Western left about the sins and deficiencies of the West (e.g., “Neo-cons” are Nazis, America was built on conscript labor, etc). But even the Western left wouldn’t go here with him: al-Qarni has posted on Facebook the promise of a $100,000 reward for any Palestinian who will take an Israeli soldier hostage.

The Facebook post, added to his Wall Monday morning, was still up as of 9:00 AM PDT (noon EDT) on Wednesday, 26 October. Continue reading “One more exciting use for Facebook: Soliciting hostage-taking *UPDATE*”