Facebook thinks the independence statement quotes were hate speech

It seems that not all content is created equal. A Facebook algorithm categorized parts of the Declaration of Independence as hate speech and extracted excerpts by July 4th.

An editor of the Liberty County Vindicator, a community newspaper in Texas, said Facebook had taken action. started to display the text of the historical document.

The Vindicator posted the 12-part Declaration of Independence on his Facebook page before the nation's birthday. Facebook has sent notice that one of these parties "goes against our standards on hate speech."

According to the Vindicator, Facebook reported a passage that included the phrase "ruthless Indian savages" at the end of a long reprimand of King George III. After the famous opening lines of the Declaration on all men created equal and having an inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, he enumerates 27 specific grievances against the king's dominion. The last of these readings: " He excited domestic insurrections among us, and tried to draw upon the inhabitants of our frontiers, ruthless savage Indians, whose known rule of war, is an indistinct destruction of all

The paper suspected that this quote was the reason why Facebook had blocked the post, although the social media company did not mention a specific reason.

"C & # It is a great irony that Thomas Jefferson's words should now be censored in America, "wrote editor Casey Stinnett on the Vindicator website on Monday.

The next day Facebook re-established the passage and sent an apology saying that he had "made a mistake". "go against our community standards," Stinnett said.

Facebook said in a statement to CBS News : "The message has been deleted by mistake and restored as soon as we examined it.We process millions of reports every week, and sometimes we get it wrong. "

This is For the second year in a row, the Declaration of Independence has caused an unexpected return of social media

. On Independence Day in 2017, NPR tweeted the text of the founding document in its entirety in 113 consecutive messages. The tweets elicited indignant comments from users who thought the radio network was broadcasting "propaganda" and calling for a "revolution."

This is the complete passage of the Declaration of Independence that Facebook considered a violation: "" He abdicated the Government here, declaring us out of his Protection and making war against us . [19659002] " He plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our cities and destroyed the lives of our people.

" He at this time transports large armies of foreign mercenaries works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun by circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely equaled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy of the head of a civilized nation [19659002] " Citizens taken captive on the high seas to carry weapons against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brothers, or to fall themselves by their hands.

" He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has tried to bring the inhabitants of our frontiers, the ruthless Indian Indians, whose known rule of war, is an indistinct destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. "