Sarah K. Burris
August 20, 2022
(Shutterstock)
Facebook and its parent company Meta left the progressive conference Netroots Nation after protesters didn't give them the warm welcome they anticipated.
Attendees and 101.1 The Wiz radio station revealed that the Facebook Users Union organizers attacked the company's signs with their own, attacking them for collecting private and sensitive data from those seeking abortions.
There was a report earlier this month about Facebook turning over information about a teenager who had a pharmaceutical abortion after the cutoff date in Nebraska.
At the same time, Facebook has allowed fake pharmaceutical producers to offer "abortion pill reversal" drugs, Media Matters reported.
"Netroots Nation attendees entered the area around the Meta booth to the call and response chant," the Wiz reported, "When abortion rights are under attack, what do we do…stand up, fight back."
Facebook has had a long and complicated relationship with progressives after allowing former President Donald Trump to violate terms of service with posts and ads during the 2016 campaign season. Facebook also made money off of international companies that were driving wedges and stoking fears targeting races.
A 2021 analysis by The Washington Post revealed that the site gives an advantage to conservatives on the platform. Facebook says that the right-wing is just better at stoking fears and responses than progressives. The reality is that Facebook has allowed false information to stand from conservative sources. While there are supposed to be protections in place to stop fake news, it typically takes so long for the review and removal that the story has already spread across the platform. As a result, the top 25 posts on Facebook are very rarely from Democratic sources.
Late last year, a Facebook whistleblower told Congress "she studied how the social network's algorithm amplified misinformation and was exploited by foreign adversaries."
Frances Haugen told Congress that the social media site always chose to increase the user base over implementing safeguards. When there were studies that revealed the harms of the site, they intentionally hid it from the public.
"The result has been more division, more harm, more lies, more threats and more combat. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people," Haugen testified.
"During my time at Facebook, I came to realize a devastating truth: Almost no one outside of Facebook knows what happens inside Facebook," Haugen said. "The company intentionally hides vital information from the public, from the U.S. government, and from governments around the world."
Netroots Nation isn't merely a conference for progressive people, it's for progressive activists who seek to be better activists and organizers. The attendees are incredibly well versed in news, as Netroots Nation came out of "Yearly Kos," a gathering of bloggers. Until Meta fixes its problems with progressives, they're likely to continue seeing an angry response.
The protests took place on Friday, and by Saturday their booth was gone from the exhibit hall and a panel they intended to host had been canceled.
See some of the videos and videos from the action below:
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