Tag Archives: guardian

Report Expresses Concern for Facebook Moderators’ Human Rights (While They Revoke Yours)

Facebook is notorious for censoring individuals based on their political beliefs. But The Guardian newspaper has rushed to the defense of the company’s moderators, saying they are left with “psychological scars” and “pushed towards the far right by the amount of hate speech and fake news they read every day.”

One of Facebook’s contractors told The Guardian: “I think it’s a breach of human rights. You cannot ask someone to work fast, to work well and to see graphic content. The things that we saw are just not right.”

Another moderator expressed concerns over a shift in political views due to exposure to the censored material:

“Maybe because all this hate speech we have to face every day affects our political view somehow. So a normal person, a liberal person, maybe also a progressive person, can get more conservative, more concerned about issues like migrants for example.”

According to Facebook moderators, and The Guardian, becoming right wing is a violation of human rights.

There is legitimately graphic and concerning material on Facebook the employees describe, such as the sexual exploitation of minors in private conversations.

However The Guardian dedicates just as much if not more of the article to Facebook moderators shifting in their political views than them having to see genuinely graphic and inappropriate material.

The newspaper has essentially equated the psychological impact of viewing right wing material to that of viewing the sexual exploitation of minors.

What is The Guardian‘s real concern? Do they genuinely care about the human rights and mental health of the employees, or do they just fear the right?

Sofia Carbone is a reporter for RaheemKassam.com and tweets at @SiCarbone_

Guardian: ‘Are Satanists Now the Good Guys?’

The Guardian newspaper has asked a revealing question in one of its latest television reviews, with an article entitled: “Devil’s advocate: are satanists now the good guys in the fight against the evangelical right?”

The answer is obviously, “No”. But the framing gives an important insight into the mentality of fake news media journalists and editors, especially at an historically leftist publication like the Guardian.

The feature, by freelancer Steve Rose, is about a new television series produced by Magnolia Pictures, the same firm that created the anti-Steve Bannon movie The Brink.

“Hail Satan?” is described by Rose as portraying “the Satanic Temple as a voice of reason and humanism in the US”. He then asks the question: “Has the time come to rehabilitate the dark lord?”

“Now, a documentary threatens to rehabilitate Satan. Directed by Penny Lane, Hail Satan? follows the early adventures of the Satanic Temple, an institution that has hit upon the perfect counter-strategy to the evangelicals’ efforts to recouple church and state. Based in Salem, Massachusetts (where else?), the Satanic Temple is officially recognised as a tax-exempt religious organisation. As such, it has been claiming the same rights and privileges as those obtained by evangelical Christian groups – albeit with a prankster sensibility.”

…

The release of Hail Satan? is a blessing and a curse for the Satanic Temple. It should bring new members and much-needed revenue to the cause (the church’s only income is direct donations and merchandise sales), but it also puts [Lucien] Greaves in the limelight, possibly even the crosshairs. Towards the end of Hail Satan? we see him appearing at a satanist rally in Little Rock, Arkansas, next to the notorious Baphomet statue. Before he steps out, he puts on a bulletproof jacket.

Not only are Rose and the Guardian shilling for the Satanic Temple in the review, they’re also concerned for the safety of its leader, a compassion rarely shown for conservatives or Christians in public life.

Artwork for the movie portrays the Statue of Liberty with the head of Baphomet, a goat-like symbol used by the Church of Satan since the 1960s.

Hail Satan? is currently being distributed by Apple iTunes, Amazon, AT&T, Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirectTV, Fandango, Google Play, SuddenLink, Verizon FIOS, VUDU, Xbox, and YouTube.