This summer, Facebook deemed the Declaration of Independence “hate speech” before reversing course amid a heated public backlash.
It’s a scenario that’s become routine, and nearly always involves conservative posts or personalities.
Now, even Santa and Jesus are apparently too controversial. Facebook user Jennifer Beachm Crawford posted an image of St. Nick kneeling beside a baby Jesus in a manger, along with a poem about the real reason for the season.
But Facebook blurred out the image with a warning to viewers that the photo “may show violent or graphic content.”
“This photo was automatically covered so you can decide if you want to see it,” read the warning, which came with the option to uncover the image.
The picture was originally posted to the world’s largest social media site on Dec. 1, 2015. LifeSiteNews revealed the censorship this week and it quickly went viral with more than 42,000 shares in less than a day.
The poem that accompanied the image read:
My dear precious Jesus, I did not mean to take your place,
I only bring toys and things and you bring love and grace.
People give me lists of wishes and hope that they came true;
But you hear prayers of the heart and promise your will to do.
Children try to be good and not to cry when I am coming to town;
But you love them unconditionally and that love will abound.
I leave only a bag of toys and temporary joy for a season;
But you leave a heart of love, full of purpose and reasons.
I have a lot of believers and what one might call fame;
But I never healed the blind or tried to help the lame.
I have rosy cheeks and a voice full of laughter;
But no nail—scarred hands or a promise of the hereafter.
You may find several of me in town or at a mall;
But there is only one omnipotent you, to answer a sinner’s call.
And so, my dear precious Jesus, I kneel here to pray;
To worship and adore you on this, your holy birthday.
Facebook claims it’s “Violence and graphic content” policies are designed to keep questionable material away from minors.
“We … know that people have different sensitivities with regard to graphic and violent content. For that reason, we add a warning label to especially graphic or violent content so that it is not available to people under the age of eighteen and so that people are aware of the graphic or violent nature before they click to see it,” according to the “Community Standards.”
“We err on the side of allowing content, even when some find it objectionable,” the site alleges.
It’s unclear why the site did not “err on the side of allowing” Santa and Jesus to have their special moment.
Regardless, the site reversed the decision on December 6 amid fierce public backlash. Ironically, the 6th is Saint Nicholas Day, the day marking the death of the fourth-century Saint Nicholas – the man who inspired the modern-day Santa Claus.
Facebook gave no explanation for blocking the picture, Christian Today reports.
The stunt is simply the latest in a series of questionable censorship decisions that drew the attention of Congress this summer, when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was forced to answer questions under oath about why the site seemingly discriminates against conservatives and Christians.
LifeSiteNews highlighted some of the most recent examples of Facebook’s “long history of censoring faith-based organizations and individuals.”
The social media giant has been forced to apologize for numerous instances of improperly flagging conservative or Christian content as “hateful” or otherwise inappropriate. It has also come under fire for letting left-wing organizations like PolitiFact and the Southern Poverty Law Center influence its “fact-checking” and “hate speech” policies.
Facebook has censored a Christian theology professor after he criticized a video selling LGBT “pride” to children. It has suspended the account of Elizabeth Johnson, a Christian who goes by the name of Activist Mommy, after she called gender confusion a mental illness. The social media giant has also blocked ads for the movie Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer, labeling the film about the serial killer abortionist ‘political speech.’
The social networking giant has also banned many LifeSiteNews’ pro-life ads, deeming them too “political” because they showed pictures of pregnant mothers, ultrasounds, preborn babies, and the tiny feet of an infant child held in her mother’s hands.
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