George Carlin had his infamous “Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television” sketch, but Carlin’s got nothing on Facebook’s new COVID-19 rules. It’s been known for quite some time that Facebook is heavily invested in promoting a certain narrative surrounding COVID-19. (I’d say that it is based on whatever helps Democrats at any given moment, but that would probably get me banned from Facebook.)
In the interest of keeping the narrative alive, Facebook last week issued new rules on posts involving COVID-19 and vaccinations, deeming certain claims or opinions in violation of their various policies, which can result in your Facebook page being flagged, suspended, or even completely memory-holed.
“As people around the world confront this unprecedented public health emergency, we want to make sure that our policies help to protect people from harmful content and new types of abuse related to COVID-19 and vaccines,” the directive began.
The policy update insists that Facebook is diligently “working to remove COVID-19 content that contributes to the risk of real-world harm.” The social media company says it uses a “combination of human review, technology, and user reports” to “find and enforce on content that violates these policies.” They also “encourage people to report content when they see it.” (I guess it’s like porn—you know it when you see it.)
“As the situation evolves, we continue to look at content on the platform, assess speech trends, and engage with experts like the World Health Organization (WHO), government health authorities, and stakeholders from across the spectrum of people who use our service, and we will provide additional policy guidance when appropriate to keep the members of our community safe during this crisis,” Facebook declares (pay no attention to all those ChiCom apologists at the WHO).
With that in mind, here are seven things you’re not allowed to say on Facebook:
- Saying or suggesting that COVID-19 is a man-made virus or claiming that it was bioengineered. You’re allowed to say that it was studied in a lab or may have been leaked from a lab, but you can’t say it was man-made or that it is a “bioweapon.”
- You can’t say that vaccines or their ingredients are “toxic” or “poisonous.” You can’t even say that they may be “harmful” or “dangerous.”
- Claiming that “natural immunity” from having been infected with COVID-19 is safer than vaccine-acquired immunity is verboten. Saying that gaining immunity via a mild case of COVID-19 may be safer than taking the vaccine could get you booted from Facebook. Facebook wants you vaccinated, and that’s FINAL.
- You can’t say anything about a private individual having COVID-19 unless “that person has self-declared or information about their health status is publicly available.” That would, it seems, preclude you from asking your Facebook friends to pray for a parent or child who has the virus unless they’ve publicly announced it themselves.
- Also, don’t even think about posting anything that may “downplay the severity of COVID-19.” Says Facebook: “Acknowledging the existence and understanding the severity of COVID-19 is foundational to keeping people safe and aware of the dangers of this public health emergency.”
- “Discouraging good health practices” is also a no-no. Those practices include: wearing a face mask, social distancing, getting tested for COVID-19, and getting vaccinated against COVID-19. There’s no room for deviation on COVID panic-porn.
- Making “false claims” about the “safety, efficacy, ingredients, development, existence, or conspiracies related to the vaccine or vaccination program” is also forbidden. If you question the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, you could find yourself in hot water with Zuckerberg and co.
You’re allowed to share your personal experiences about COVID-19 “in service of [Facebook’s] value of giving people voice”—unless, that is, you “promote or advocate harmful action around that claim.” So long as you stick to the narrative, you should be just fine.
Thank you for supporting PJ Media with your VIP subscription. With your help, we can continue to tell the truth about what Facebook and other totalitarians are trying to hide from the American public. Facebook continues to insist that there is one Narrative and ONLY one Narrative—and if you deviate from it, you’ll be booted from the platform. The list of topics you cannot discuss on Facebook continues to grow. I would not be surprised to see all conservative views and thoughts eventually censored there. Rest assured, PJ Media will continue to report on the stories you care about and tell the truth about the COVID-19 virus and other important topics.
