Facebook pulled the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Event page. UPDATE: Letter delivered 1/24/2017

A certified letter has been sent to Mark Zuckerberg about the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Event page.

https://www.facebook.com/events/241643326251832

I would suggest that persons who put up Facebook Event pages print them out as content is added so if Facebook pulls it, you will have some record. Also, it needs to be considered whether any anti-Racist events should be planned or promoted on Facebook if racists can get the Event page pulled.

Click on the image to see it in its entirety.

This is the letter.

                                                       January 14, 2017

                                                                                   

                                                                                

Mr. Mark Zuckerberg

Chief Executive Officer of Facebook

1 Hacker Way

Menlo Park, California 94025

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg:

I had an event page, Reject Racist Robert E. Lee, on Facebook.  Professor Phillips and I were doing an item on the Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas, Texas. It was basically an item about race, space, and place where we are practicing using social media and creating media. We do a lot of articles, but I have thought that we need to move to producing other media.

Michael Phillips is the author of, “White Metropolis: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion in Dallas, 1841-2001,” Univ. of Texas Press. I am a co-editor of “Neo-Confederacy: A Critical Introduction,” by the Univ. of Texas Press and “The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader,” by the University Press of Mississippi. My resume is online at http://www.templeofdemocracy.com/curriculum-vitae.html.  In 2015 I was awarded the Spirit of Freedom Medal by the African American Civil War Museum in Washington D.C. for my life’s achievements.

Imagine my surprise to find after the event that the page was pulled down by Facebook.

This was the URL.

https://www.facebook.com/events/241643326251832/permalink/241733749576123/

Additionally I was the recipient of a rather opaque email stating that I had violated the “Terms of Use” and slandered me saying I had engaged in abuse. The email had no information as to which posting or activity violated the “Terms of Use.” I replied to the email making inquiries about which posting or activity of mine might be considered a breach of the terms of service and have not gotten a reply. I also note that the email doesn’t provide any link for which a person might make an inquiry. Copy of email and my reply enclosed.

Further, supposing only for the purpose of argument, that a specific posting was in violation of the terms of service, why would the whole event page have to be pulled down rather than the specific offending post? Further if there was a desire to improve participation in Facebook I would think that indicating what was in violation of “Terms of Use” would be helpful. It would be instructive of what behavior to avoid.

The pulling of the Reject Racist Robert E. Lee Facebook event page raises important questions. If someone is having a Facebook event page as part of an anti-racist event, could it be deleted by Facebook upon complaints being made by racists to Facebook? In particular if the event was against institutional racism, could an institution get Facebook to pull the page?  More generally for anyone is whether their page or event be pulled capriciously after an investment of time and energy into it.

It also seems that a page can be pulled without a means of the person who had their page pulled knowing why or having any redress.

I am writing this letter to inquire as to what happened.

1     1. What specifically was in violation of your “Terms of Use” on the event page? Please provide the entire material which you decided was in violation of the “Terms of Use” in its entirety.

2. What “Terms of Use” did it violate? Please be specific as possible not only in regards to the item in your “Terms of Use” for which you felt it violated, but also why you felt the item violated those terms. If it is in reference to your “Community Standards” please be specific which standard it violated and how you felt it violated this standard. These are the terms I see online. https://www.facebook.com/terms. These are the community standards I see online. https://www.facebook.com/communitystandards.

3. What was the complaint or complaints made about the item that you then decided was in violation of your “Terms of Use?”

4. Why was the entire event page pulled down rather the specific offending item?

5. Why doesn’t your email notification of a violation of the “Terms of Use” provide any information what the item violating your “Terms of Use” was and what term it violated.

I look forward to your reply.

                                                           Sincerely Yours,

                                                            Edward H. Sebesta


This is the return receipt of the certified letter. You can see that it was delivered 1/24/2017. Click on it to view it.