Facebook took down this post by The Vindicator, a news outlet in Texas, because it included the "merciless Indian Savages" portion of the Declaration of Independence. It was later restored.

Technology

Posting about 'merciless Indian savages' can get you censored

Friday, July 6, 2018

Mark Charles has been talking about the "merciless Indian Savages" in the Declaration of Independence for years but did you know that posting about it on Facebook can get you censored?

The social media giant apologized for doing just that to The Vindicator, a news outlet in Texas. A post containing the "merciless Indian Savages" portion -- but not any other part of the Declaration of Independence -- was mysteriously removed from the site for violating its "Community Standards."

"While The Vindicator cannot be certain exactly what triggered Facebook’s filtering program, the editor suspects it was most likely the phrase 'Indian Savages,'" the outlet said after discovering the historical censoring.

But Facebook wised up and restored the post on July 3, The Vindicator said. And a spokesperson clarified to Gizmodo that the “Indian Savages” portion was indeed what triggered the original "Community Standards' violation.

“The post was removed by mistake and restored as soon as we looked into it. We process millions of reports each week, and sometimes we get things wrong,” the spokesperson told Gizmodo.

Read More on the Story:
Facebook Says It's Sorry for Removing a Part of the Declaration of Independence That Includes a Racial Slur (Gizmodo July 5, 2018)
Facebook censored a post for ‘hate speech.’ It was the Declaration of Independence. (The Washington Post July 5, 2018)
‘Fox & Friends’ gets punked by ‘Thomas Jefferson’ (The Washington Post July 5, 2018)