Current Events > Veteran banned from Facebook for posting a historic WWII photograph

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://sofrep.com/104403/your-algorithm-is-bad-and-you-should-feel-bad/

On June 6th I was banned from Facebook for 30 days because I shared a photo of American paratroopers with a captured Nazi flag.

Five minutes after the post, I was automatically disconnected from Facebook. My first reaction was, they cant be that stupid, but I attempted to log in again and discovered that Facebooks algorithm is indeed that idiotic; your post violates our community standards and it was removed. Apparently, the issue was the swastika depicted on the flag.

It is not the first time that Ive had swastika related issues on social media. About a year ago, I was in Facebook jail for a week because I posted a picture of a Nazi flag from Wikimedia Commons in the comments of a discussion about the direction of rotation of the Nazi swastika. It was a very common symbol in ancient civilizations and today it remains a commonly used symbol, especially in India. It is also the symbol of Jainism. It still was a stupid ban, but what the hell, it was only one week.

I also thought that it was kind of my fault, as I should know better. This is because I have some idea of how Facebooks content checking algorithm works. In this instance, though, I was pissed very pissed. The photo is widely known and its meaning cannot possibly be misunderstood for support of Nazism.

What annoys me most in all of this is that Facebook is essentially telling us you cant have a historical discussion about the WWII. Sorry Facebook, but WWII shaped modern history, and difficult to discuss this particular conflict without mentioning Nazis or their symbols. It also makes me wonder if some pictures I have from the Imperial War Museum Duxford would be allowed, as they contain captured a Bf109 and the tail section of a downed Heinkel HE 111 with you guessed it swastikas on them.

While I understand that the blanket ban on swastikas is an attempt to curb neo-Nazis, I wonder if nothing can be done to make the algorithm better in understanding the nature of a post.

One other funny byproduct of the algorithms shortcomings is people believing they are being persecuted. Facebook bans my post honoring heroes would be a very possible reaction, if I was a bit more paranoid.

Facebooks algorithm has had many fails, from banning a picture of a Robin as sexual to showing to people at the end of their year videos their deceased loved ones, and while one can understand the technical weaknesses. What I dont understand is the lack of human oversight.

While social media is by no means real life, it remains important to people for various reasons. Imagine how a ban would affect a guy that uses Messenger as his SMS app who is not so knowledgeable enough about technology to change his SMS app, or someone that runs a small business and has Facebook as means of communication with their customers in those scenarios a ban could be terribly disruptive.

These real life implications of a digital ban means that the social media companies should always strive for improvement of their content checking methods.

Mark Zuckerberg should show more respect for the troops. He wouldn't have had the freedom to have his parents send him to some $40,000/year high school, he wouldn't have had the freedom to have stolen Facebook while living in a college dorm at Harvard, he wouldn't have had the freedom to let Cambridge Analytica sell our private data to the open market, etc.
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Stole facebook?
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spikethedevil posted...

Stole facebook?

Yes. The original three founders of Facebook (originally named HarvardConnection and later ConnectU) were Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss, and Divya Narendra.
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Will have to read up on that at somepoint.
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https://tinyurl.com/yckn3wst
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Seriously..

Who goes to Facebook of all places for a rigorous discussion of History?
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It was an automatic detection of something based on an algorithm

Get over it. Should it be better? Yes. But trying to act like this is some intentional thing is completely ridiculous
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Doom_Art posted...

It was an automatic detection of something based on an algorithm

Get over it. Should it be better? Yes. But trying to act like this is some intentional thing is completely ridiculous

The guy who it happened to actually points out that it's stupid to think like that and is just wanting the way they check and handle stuff like this to be better. TC is just trying to cause trouble.

Yeah my commentary about Mark Zuckerberg shouldn't be taken too literally >_>
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Doom_Art posted...

It was an automatic detection of something based on an algorithm

Get over it. Should it be better? Yes. But trying to act like this is some intentional thing is completely ridiculous

The only way things get better us if people try to fix them
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Sativa_Rose posted...

While I understand that the blanket ban on swastikas is an attempt to curb neo-Nazis, I wonder if nothing can be done to make the algorithm better in understanding the nature of a post.

Sorry, dude. No amount of machine learning will make an algorithm understand context.
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Alucard188 posted...

Sativa_Rose posted...

While I understand that the blanket ban on swastikas is an attempt to curb neo-Nazis, I wonder if nothing can be done to make the algorithm better in understanding the nature of a post.

Sorry, dude. No amount of machine learning will make an algorithm understand context.

This
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qGVVxaosDM" data-time="
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Is it illegal to post the Nazi flag in some countries?

Swastikas are supposedly flat-banned on gamefaqs.gamespot.com as well, including the ones on the site itself.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/563433-the-legend-of-zelda/faqs/11924?raw=1