Facebook Censors Press TV Blocking Page - Attacks Free Speech

Facebook permanently disabled Press TV’s account with more than four million followers, alleging that Iran’s international English news network has failed to observe the social media platform’s standards.

Without any prior warning, Facebook informed Press TV on Friday that its account had been shut down for what it claimed to be the Iranian news channel’s failure to “follow our Community Standards.”

“We have already reviewed this decision and it can’t be reversed,” Facebook said in a note, without specifying the so-called violations of its rules.

In a similar move in mid-January, Facebook briefly disabled Press TV’s account with over four million followers, alleging that Iran’s international English news network was not eligible to use the social media platform.

In a notification upon taking down the page early on January 12, the US-based social media giant said the decision was “final”, adding that it could not provide additional information for “safety and security reasons”, presstv reported.In mid-January, Facebook briefly disabled Press TV’s account with over four million followers, alleging that Iran’s international English news network was not eligible to use the social media platform.

Facebook, however, reversed the decision hours later in response to an appeal filed by Press TV.

Over the past years, Facebook — along with YouTube, Twitter and Google — have repeatedly targeted Press TV among other media outlets of Iran and the countries critical of the West and the Israeli regime’s occupation of Palestine.

In June 2020, Facebook started to label Press TV, Russia’s Sputnik, and China’s Xinhua News Agency as “state-media”, blocking them from running advertisements in the United States, following the three outlets’ widespread reporting of protests in the US against police violence and systemic racism.