Fixed: Facebook automatically blocks WikiLeaks’ DNC email links

FBtutorial.com — Facebook is in the news again after it automatically blocked WikiLeaks’ Democratic National Committee (DNC) email links. But a Facebook Staff responded to complaints on Twitter, promising the WikiLeaks block issue has been fixed.

In other words, Facebook admitted it briefly blocked links to Wikileaks files containing internal DNC emails. The block, as always, appears to be the result of another Facebook’s algorithm accident that may have incorrectly determined the links to be malicious or spam.

Facebook WikiLeaks Block Discussion on Twitter

A user on Twitter (@SwiftOnSecurity) had on July 24th, called out Facebook’s Chief Security Officer Alex Stamos, in a tweet that reads:

“@wikileaks Facebook has an automated system for detecting spam/malicious links, that sometimes have false positives. /cc @alexstamos”

Facebook’s CSO then replied hours ago in a tweet that reads:

“@SwiftOnSecurity @wikileaks It’s been fixed.” – @alexstamos

According to several news sources, this isn’t the first time Facebook has accidentally blocked high profile news events on the platform.

Facebook Censorship: How Bad Can It Get?

Earlier this month, Facebook briefly removed a video showing Philando Castile dying, covered in blood, moments after being shot by a police officer. Prior to that, the company admitted to removing a meme circulating about convicted Stanford rapist Brock Turner.

WikiLeaks is a known and trusted entity, not some torrent dumping ground or spam site. Facebook cannot and should not be allowed to program its robot to algorithmically continue to sanction free speech on its platform.

Many have suggested for years, that Facebook’s algorithm could potentially lead to the death of the social network giant. How true is this? Probably, the more false positives the algorithm is producing, the more likely Facebook Users would start quitting the platform [?]