Censorship in the name of SCIENCE!111
On the internet you can find out that the earth is flat, you shouldn’t vaccinate your children or that men need rights.
Ridiculous right?
Groups holding unpopular opinions, especially popular groups, have been the targets of censorship of social media companies. Now Facebook has pissed off Crossfit after they shut down a low-carbohydrate support group with 1.65 million followers.
From their website: “CrossFit, Inc., as a voluntary user of and contributor to this marketplace, can and must remove itself from this particular manifestation of the public square when it becomes clear that such responsibilities are betrayed or reneged upon to the detriment of our community.” In the statement is a list of eight complaints, including:
“Facebook’s news feeds are censored and crafted to reflect the political leanings of Facebook’s utopian socialists […]”
…and…
“Facebook is acting in the service of food and beverage industry interests by deleting the accounts of communities that have identified the corrupted nutritional science responsible for unchecked global chronic disease.”
It all started when on May 14th, with no warning or explanation, Facebook unlisted the group’s platform. It was reinstated 48 hours later, again without explanation. The group, Banting 7-day Meal Plans, was started by Cape Town low-carb advocate Rita Venter. “Banting” is the common South African name for a low-carb, high fat or ketogenic diet and the groups followers shared recipes, support and before-and-after pictures to show their success.
Although Venter was the one who started the group to “share what helped [her] lose weight & get healthy”, Tim Noakes, is the more prominent figure behind the South African Ketogenic Nutrition & Treatments.
Kevin Bass sided with Facebook, tweeting:
“Facebook group of @ProfTimNoakes deleted today. Facebook make the right move. Noakes claims carbohydrates are THE cause of cancer, denies statins work, denies that vaccines work, and spreads much other misinformation. Professor Noakes’s garbage is a threat to public health.”
Venter tweeted back at Bass: “We are not anti vaxxers. I have 4 adult kids all vaxxed. We are a LCHF support group. I don’t know where you got your information. It’s wrong.”
And another reply from paleo diet author Robb Wolf: “Yes, censorship has always worked better than debate and discourse. Great work Kevin Bass, you will make an awesome doctor. […] So, on this censorship gig: many of you support deplatforming for a variety of reasons. If you step back, do you see that process making all this worse or better? Do you not see potentially terrible consequences? I’d be just as upset if vegans were attacked. That asymmetry…”
It may not be a coincidence that last month, a self-proclaimed “bi-partisan” organization called Science Feedback announced it will be partnering with Facebook as a fact-checker. Science Feedback’s network of experts are to review and analyze Facebook posts for scientific validity.
…I’ve heard stories about scientists in the middle ages being censored by religion. It makes you wonder what “science” means today when it is used as a tool to censor.
***
I do news summaries every week to be read on Honey Badger Radio’s news show. This is one for tomorrow’s show.
https://thenoakesfoundation.org/tag/banting-7-day-meal-plans
https://www.dietdoctor.com/facebook-shuts-down-then-reinstates-popular-low-carb-support-group
UPDATE: Further watching, INTERVIEW – Rita Venter of “Banting 7-Day Meal Plans”
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May 28, 2019
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