The Blame Game: Facebook and Other Nonsense
On Wealthy Affiliate, we're here to start a business, specifically affiliate marketing and creating a website for that, but many of us do other things as well. That doesn't matter, we're here to start a business.
So I find it odd and ironic and sad that people who are looking to start a business are not bothering to learn about business and are instead throwing around blame when something in particular doesn't work or it fails, or whatever.
Big Business versus Small Business
I don't know why people keep vilifying Facebook and other large businesses. Do I think they're perfect? Absolutely not. Security loopholes enabled Facebook data breeches ended up with them in super hot water. They have more money than all of us are likely to make in ten lifetimes, put together. That means the individual is not that important to big businesses.
But they are massively successful for a reason, and even if I'm not looking to run a social media platform, it's always wise to learn HOW they got to be the monster platform they are today and WHY they do what they do. Why? Because I'm starting my OWN business!
I personally really dislike Walgreens and prefer to do business at a local pharmacy. Sadly, Walgreens is a necessary evil for me right now. That said, I don't think the Walgreens corporation is actually evil and out to get me and take all my money.
I don't think because a cashier was rude or because they lock up laundry soap that they are trying to prevent me from shopping there. Their prices are ridiculous, but hey, for some reason, that's what they do. But it's not PERSONAL. They aren't out to get me.
To be honest, Facebook and Walgreens and CVS and Instagram are not about making the individual happy. They're about making as many PEOPLE happy as they can. They want to keep their massive empire growing.
Regarding Facebook
So in order to facilitate that user growth, they listen to their average, everyday user. A user hates seeing ads all the time. First they have paid ads, then they have Facebook Pages posting content that they see organically. That's like two sets of ads that the average user is seeing.
Average users don't like that.
Remember the days of seeing posts like "Mercedes-Benz will donate $1 for every like this post gets to the Red Cross"?
Or the click bait posts? Or the fake news posts where you literally had to Google EVERYTHING you ever read on Facebook. Or the forwards you received every single day in your messenger, or the crazy 'videos' of a picture with annoying music doing nothing?
Anyone else thankful those are mostly gone? I sure the heck am! I love my Facebook feed now. I can actually see a lot of stuff from people I want to see stuff from, even if I wish I saw more from my favorite authors.
THAT is their goal. They don't want to DRIVE the users away from their platform, folks. Their popularity was slowly tanking with the newer generations and they're trying to stay competitive. So they create rules to get rid of the 'trash'.
The Average User
The average user doesn't want to see ads. Especially too many ads. I don't mind ads so much because I know they are necessary to keep most of the websites free to visit, but excessive ads is a HUGE no.
Most everyday average people literally do not understand why there are ads. They really don't get it. They don't understand that a platform is free because of those ads. They don't understand how a website pays its bills with affiliate links and ads. They don't really care, either. They just hate ads. So a business (or website) or social media platform has to make those ads as non-annoying as possible.
The internet has made people impatient and everyone growing up in the digital age is used to instant gratification. That means that if your website speed is slow, people will bounce your page. Too much promotional stuff? People are going to start moving to Twitter or Instagram or Pinterest.
Facebook does not want that.
So they changed their algorithm. They want people to see what they WANT to see!
Facebook's New Goal
Facebook wants to keep people engaged on the platform now. More 'meaningful' engagement. That means even if you can't 'see' the link, that doesn't mean the link isn't there. The link preview is just the same as the link. BECAUSE A LINK IS A LINK! URL being shown or not. Y0u can post the URL or not, and FB will see it the same way.
You need to create more content that is actual content and NO links, no link previews, no promotional crap. Polls, random pictures, stories, etc. Post one promotional link or non promotional link to every 10 posts of otherwise fun content you do.
I know a ton of businesses are complaining about the algorithm, but I have honestly found the people most hit by bans and blocks are those that have been abusing Facebook anyway or creating the most annoying promotional content. People who like to tag a bunch of people in a promotion for a book, or invite a zillion people to an event.
You will NOT get banned for posting a link or an affiliate link. Unless it is to something against their rules. You want to use your Facebook page to post Amazon links? You won't get banned. No one might see the posts, but you won't get banned.
That's why you need to create polls, ask questions, create fun memes and graphics, take pictures, go live on Facebook. People are STILL seeing success with Facebook if you do it right.
But you have to get people to engage. The more people who like your posts, the more people will SEE your posts. ALL of your posts. But with so many posts being made every second, they need to prioritize what the user WANTS. Which is friends and family first. Favorite pages next, maybe. Then other pages if it's relevent to other pages and posts they liked or visited.
Yes, there is more success with their ads, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT!
Banning/Blocking/Removing
As for people getting their FB pages blocked or posts removed.... If you have a post removed it is up to you to figure out WHY. Facebook is NOT targeting you. Facebook, honestly, doesn't give a crapity crap about you personally, OR your business.
They do not care enough to target you.
Ouch, I know. We all seem to think we're more important than we really are. Most things in life are NOT personal. Yet so many people take EVERYTHING personal.
It is NOT personal. Repeat that until you get it.
But seriously, if one post is removed. Go through the rules. I made a training about it here if anyone wants a quick(ish) list:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/training/how-to-get-banned-from-Facebook-what-not-to-do/how-to-get-banned-from-Facebook-introduction
See, if you post something AGAIN before you figure out the reason the first post was removed, you will trigger the fun little Facebook bot again (he's now watching you as a suspected spammer/scammer/whatever) and he'll see you violated the rules a SECOND time, and bam, you may lose your Facebook page OR your whole account!
Facebook and the MMO Niche
To be honest, if you're in the MMO niche, you might be better off not on Facebook pages because Facebook has a rule against MLMs and get rick quick schemes. Unless you are really good and actually understand what Facebook is looking for, you're going to get flagged. The MMO niche, no offense to anyone in it, is literally full of spammers and other people looking to profit off of other people's naivety.
Sorry folks, it is. Too many scams has made Facebook take a stance against a lot of making money online stuff. Even Wealthy Affiliate has people join and then they think spamming their WA affiliate link is going to make them a ton of money and they go and tick off a lot of algorithm bots by being little pests.
To be honest, I think the Facebook bot is flawed and picks up things as spam or scams when they aren't, but it might LOOK like it because you're using terms scammers or spammers use. Same thing with your email list. You have to think about what words you're using so that spam blockers don't block your email on accident.
Pinterest itself has categorized Weathy Affiliate links as spams/scams because of this. It's frustrating, definitely. But short of going on to advocate for your website or Wealthy Affiliate to the powers that be on Pinterest and Facebook and convincing them that it ISN'T what they think it is, you're stuck.
You have to be way more careful on Facebook if you're in the MMO niche. But maybe be angry with scammers and spammers who caused the mess, not Facebook. I can't even tell you how many messages in my email spam folders are about 'getting rich' and making 'easy money overnight' and a load of other BS.
You're choosing a niche that is highly competitive AND full of tricksters and frauds and spammers.
Personally, as a user of Facebook to keep connected with friends and family, I LOVE the new algorithm. I LOVE my email spam blocker. Makes life so much less annoying!
But as a business, we need to learn to adapt.
My Experience on Facebook
I've never had a post blocked, banned, removed, or my page given a warning. I don't have only had ONE post receive negative feedback for ALL posts I have made over THREE Facebook Pages and TWO groups. That was probably someone hiding it from their feed. It wasn't reported.
This includes affiliate link posts, blog posts, random shares, etc.
That's right folks, Facebook can work. But you have to stop seeing it as 'the enemy' and just see it as a tool to utilize.
Do You Study Other Successful Blogs?
In my quest to start a successful business, I study other Facebook pages, Facebook ads, blogs, websites, Instagram accounts, YouTube videos, etc. I see those people who are MAKING it, and I am trying to understand why.
I've seen blogs use cursing and succeed epically. Every blog I follow personally uses fun language and slang. They all use proper grammar, just not all use 'perfect term paper English'. They have fun engaging Facebook posts and ads. They educate, they stay VISIBLE. They have FUN posts, serious posts, little polls, questions, etc. They know what people WANT to see.
In order to succeed, you need to take a step back from what you think you know or what you think you need to succeed and study other people who are succeeding. On AND off, Wealthy Affiliate.
I love Wealthy Affiliate, but there are a lot of people who don't know what they're doing. I study people here who are succeeding. But I also try to figure out why this random non-WA blog is a favorite of mine, and then I use it to inspire me to create my OWN voice when writing. I study, emulate (in my own way), and I create.
Get a Business Mindset
If something fails, I try something else. I try to find out WHY it fails so I don't fail again in that way.
If you give up, you failed. You can only truly fail if you give up. Just because it doesn't work doesn't mean the system is flawed. It might just be you need to think about it in terms of business. Meaning, "Well, that didn't work. Let's find out why and fix it."
Be an entrepreneur, a business person. Not a hobbyist. A hobbyist doesn't keep hammering at a problem. It's too much effort for something that's supposed to be fun.
Affiliate marketing and websites are WORK. So is social media marketing and email marketing and video marketing. It is WORK. Sometimes, it'll be fun. But other times, you'll want to scream and bang your head against the wall.
You have to experiment to find ads that convert with your target audience. You have to experiment to find posts that create the most engagement. Then you study WHY. You learn, adapt, and change because of failure!
I have never heard a successful business person blame something for his failure. They simply don't accept failure as the end and CONQUER it by studying, figuring out why, and SUCCEEDING.
If my business idea does not mesh with Facebook rules, like my niche was tobacco products or alcohol or selling cow poo (which is considered part of an animal and against the rules, LOL)? Then you can't utilize Facebook. That's cool. But to blame an inanimate platform for my failures? Yeah, no. Never. An algorithm bot will NOT defeat me.
I plan to succeed. Do you?
Recent Comments
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I struggle to understand FB. Im not sure how it works without looking spammy. I read your training. Although, I am not sure what needs to be said or how to identify what looks spammy. A link to a blog is that spammy? I am too tired of one obsessing about it and became offensive about it when I said so but you are right. Its a tool that has to be used properly, follow the rules, and it should be okay. Good post. You made me less fearful about FB. Thanks. There is some hope after all. Whew.
There's definitely nothing wrong with not utilizing the tool, or wanting to support Facebook, etc. I was just sick and tired of Facebook hate going around, which could cause some people to hesitate before using it. It does work for some people more than others. The MMO niche is one that is possibly better to use LinkedIn. But being as we're all in business and learning to start our own, why are people not bothering to understand why Facebook, also a huge mega-business, is doing something, instead of just blaming Facebook for hating them. It's a corporation. There's actual logic behind what they do. Do you have to agree with it? Heck no, but it doesn't do anything crazy for no reason.
Heck, the new algorithm is an experiment. It might fail epically in some way, and they'll adjust it again. But people were acting like it was some evil monster or something that was purposely blocking their posts. Or at least the few anti-Facebook posts I was seeing was suggesting that. Especially as usually, when something went wrong I could see WHY it went wrong. They just didn't bother to figure out why Facebook wasn't liking their content.
Just like with rules on people's jobs, rules in forums online, street laws, and everything else, people need to work within the system. I just don't get why Facebook's creates such hate when other systems, like Twitter has rules too, and algorithms, don't.
Facebook is not going to remove your account or page immediately after a violation unless you're spamming porn or something. They usually give you a warning by removing a post or setting up a posting ban or something first. So when someone loses a page, it's usually after some sort of first indication you're doing something wrong according to them. So you don't need to be worried about using Facebook.
Though if you don't want to that's cool too. I just didn't want this anti-Facebook stuff to make newer members hesitate about utilizing it, especially if they are really familiar with it and don't want to start off with another social media platform just yet.
Thanks great. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings about FB. I appreciate it. Most of their revenues stems from paid advertising. Just like TV. Television network earns through ads and that why while growing up in the 60's and 70's television was free, we had a black and white television back then. Probably long before your time. We used rotary dial on the phone. Nowadays I pay for mine through cable. Comcast (XFinity), and get a lot more. And there are still advertising. FB is the same way. Im with you, your logic makes sense.
LOL! I remember the rotary phone. I'm 39. I'm before the internet, but we had color TV and paid for cable, with ads. We actually had a normal house phone as a rotary phone was phased out shortly before my time. But I have used them in my grandmother's house! ^_^; But everything is about ads. You're absolutely right. All their revenue stems from businesses. But the reason businesses pay them for ads is that millions of users are on Facebook. If Facebook started alienating the average users, they will utilize other platforms instead and then businesses wouldn't be using them for their ads, right? So it's about making sure they keep people on their platform, definitely. That's the #1 goal right now. Businesses will always pay for ads if there is an audience to see it! ^_^;
Heck, VIDEO games have ad placements now. Brands will pay to have their brand shown in some scenes in a game. Crazy! Playstation games, not just internet games. Apps are free because of ads. Everything is free.... because of ads. Shrug. It's life, been around forever, and businesses get more visibility for free in the social media age, without paying. Before that was impossible. They had to pay for billboards or commercials, etc. Now we have a choice. Paid ads are definitely more bang, but you can get away with using less money nowadays for small business stuff! Or even no money at first.
Hi Rochelle
This post is so refreshing
I have never had an issue with FB- I submit my posts there and always try to write wee blurb to engage people before I publish.
I have 3 biz sites on FB and all of them bring me traffic
It is so great to read this post as Yes, often people blame externals and the more we learn the more we understand how to treat each social media platform
Favourite post today- love it
You rock
Thank you
Vicki
Aww, thanks so much! I'm shocked my 'frustrated lecture' is such a big hit! ^_^
I just tired of seeing people being so negative about everything that isn't working immediately, which is discouraging to newer members who might give up on it just assuming it's not going to be helpful.
Every platform has its rules, algorithms, etc. We have to work with it. Each platform is better with certain niches better than others too. But as a user as well as using it for business, I can say it's algorithm has improved user experience for me, so if I have to learn a new set of rules to be seen, that's what I'll do. ^_^
Thank you. This is an amazing post and well needed. Whether it's Facebook changing... or Napster, Uber or Netflix disrupting their respective industries, it's the "disrupted's" responsibility to adapt. Not because it's right, wrong... fair or unfair... but because it is.
I couldn't agree more with your post and it was a breath of fresh air 😀👍
Aww, thanks so much! You're exactly right. It happens ALL the time in every platform, tool, industry, business, laws, AND society whatever. We have to adapt to it. Whether we agree with it or not. We do it daily anyway, I really don't understand this level of Facebook-hate going around this week.
Plus I was kind of concerned this level of Facebook-hating would turn off newer members that might actually succeed with the platform with their niches. Plus... a little frustrated, obviously. ^_^;
Whew! A lot of information. Thanks for the info.
I don’t get too excited about social media, or what others are doing. My eyes are on my personal goals and I just push on toward that. No excuses - no apologies. Just get it done.
Enjoy the Journey
Joe
Just get it done! An excellent way to handle it. It just gets old when I see like twelve Facebook hates me posts in my email box in one weekend, is all. I'm kind of over it. It's a platform and a business. It's useful. It's a tool. It doesn't hate anyone.
I am pretty new and am just about to the point of beginning to use social media for my business. I appreciate seeing a thorough post like this as I learn how to market best, what works and what doesn't. I am an avid Facebook user for keeping up with my friends and family and for my writing so I already have a good start, I'd hate to mess that up by doing some noob thing that had I taken the time to learn would not have done and would therefore have been more successful in my marketing.
My biggest desire is to help people so I was leaning toward that already for marketing but hadn't decided yet whether to use my own voice (conversational and usually fun and a bit sarcastic at times) or to make it more business-like (which really isn't me at all anyway). So again, thank you for taking the time to post this. It seems borne out of frustration but I'm thankful you took the time to put something cohesive together for those of us interested in learning.
Cheers,
~ Heather
Happy to help! Yes, it was born out of frustration, I was tired of people posting about hating Facebook all week. BUT I'm great at communicating, so luckily, I don't just scream. ^_^
I love Facebook for connecting with family and friends, I even like their new algorithm for my personal account. Makes having a business page harder, but I don't mind having to work with that. It's not evil or anything. It's just a tool.
Even members who have been here a while are finding blame where there is none. In life, we have to work within systems every day, every minute, following random rules we may or may not understand.
I have to buy the original Sudafed at a pharmacy because of drug addicts making meth. It sucks for me, but it keeps it out of the hands of drug dealers, so we have to suck it up and deal, right?
The same can be said of anything we utilize, so I just don't get where all this "Facebook hates me" is coming from. It's like getting mad at the cop who pulls you over when you're clearly speeding. Just apologize and fix it? Or punch the cop and go to jail?
Or maybe it's more, get mad at the cop for pulling you over for speeding when you didn't KNOW the speed limit. But same choices, you could be like "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't aware, I'll stop" or "Hey!" and punch the cop, and go to jail.
It's a tool. It's a USEFUL tool to get your brand name out there, too! You have to be visible a lot before people start to trust your brand, so even if your traffic doesn't come from Facebook? Getting people engaged on Facebook helps you indirectly.
Oops, sorry. I was kind of ranting again. Anyway, I'm glad you could glean something useful out of my frustrated lecture!
Haha, no worries! I saw some of those posts you are talking about. I sometimes wonder the same thing about why people don't learn from the part they did wrong and adapt for the future. I don't know enough about the situation from one particular poster to know if that is the case there or not but I understand what you are saying here.
Thanks again for sharing.
Sometimes I can see what went wrong because I did a training on all 9 million rules Facebook has. Especially if the subject of the post in question is mentioned. But that's only because I literally spent 2 weeks immersed in Facebook rules. People AREN'T learning from it, like you were suggesting. If you get a warning, wouldn't someone try to figure out why before doing it again? If you don't know, I'd be nervous about getting FB mad at me and go through the rules and community standards to figure it out so I could avoid it in the future. Right?
Why on Earth would we get mad? I truly don't get it. FB is a business. We're looking to start a business. Isn't it smart to understand what's going on? Fix it, or if your niche isn't compatible, just moving on and keeping a minimal presence on FB?
Yeah I totally get it. I guess some have different ways of doing things. I will be taking some time to learn it before I start posting on there but others might have a jump in and see if you swim approach. haha.
Thank you for taking the time to write this post! I had forgotten all about Facebook's rules against animal parts. At least we can try to sell cow poo on Craigslist. lol
As I mentioned on my blog post, I am in the process of doing more with both Facebook and Pintrest. I have spent so much time in the last 48 hours "researching" how some of my favorite businesses area handling the two platforms.
I have also used Googled to research some of my competitors. For those on page 1, I went looked at their Facebook and Pintrest profiles - if they had one.
I don't plan to promote WA actively on either one because I can't figure out a way to do it without sounding spammy.
I hope you have a great weekend.
ps. Now that I know that you work with racehorses, I'm trying to rationalize a trip to your part of the world. We would talk about WA, affiliate marketing, kitty cats and horses of course. Of course I would want to come at a time when the horses are racing.
Thanks a ton! I was TOTALLY over the Facebook-hating and saw your post, but was already planning on this one. It's more than one person too. It's crazy.
Sometimes they screw up. They did with a group of over 4,000 people got the group frozen until Facebook decided they weren't, in fact, violating the rules and restored the group.
I do know "Get Rich Quick" schemes including MLMs are totally prohibited on Facebook. That's why the one blog post about sharing a link from a 'social media platform competing with Facebook" got removed because they were talking about "webtalk" which is an MLM. Against the rules. They don't care if you share posts from competitors! Twitter links work on Facebook. LOL But everyone is just assuming "Facebook is evil!" No, Facebook is under scrutiny and trying to please the masses, they adjusted their rules and algorithms to tighten up their processes. We just have to deal, right?
I have shared a blog post from WA to my Facebook profile before when sharing a useful blog post, no problem at all. I think it just triggers the algorithm when it talks about things about making money online or something. Unfortunately, WA links aren't allowed on Pinterest at all, and they don't like link cloaking there either. So yeah, if you're in the MMO niche, LinkedIn and Twitter might be better options.
For other websites, even if all you get is some visibility with random memes and fun posts and no links, your brand gets seen! The more times it's seen, the more it's trusted by someone. ^_^:
PS: Oooh! That'd be fun. Totally melting HOT, because we race near here in the Spring/Summer and it's sweltering. New Orleans is in the Winter. Though I'm not there the past few years. ^_^;
Wow. If someone's group of 4,000 people ended up in Facebook jail for a while, I bet they were panicking. For their sake, I am glad they got it resolved.
Colorado's race track was only open from late May - August 11. For us that is like spring time weather in the gulf coast states.
I'll be in touch....
Thank you for sharing this very detailed and interesting post, I really enjoyed reading this.
You are so right.
This reminded me of a Michael Jackson Song.
"Don't blame it on the sunshine, don't blame it on the moonshine, don't blame it on the good times, blame it on the boogie" LOL
Success is totally up to You.
Here's to making it happen
Jennifer
I thought I was reading Kyle's post. lol
Thanks for the wealth of information you shared here. I share your point of views although I feel guilty of some of the things you've mentioned. I think, in no time, we will find you hanging around with our Ambassadors here in WA. Keep moving up! :)
Wow, that is perhaps the best compliment I've ever gotten on WA, thank you!
There are quite a few antiFacebook blog posts that were posted this week, so I wasn't targetting any specific one, just all of them in general. We all have blind spots, don't feel guilty! That means you recognize it and a different point of view, made you realize something. Whatever it was, recognizing something is the hard part. (If it makes you feel better, I tend to overexplain things AND I have NO tolerance for stupidity or malicious people. I tend to be really blunt to people like that. And despite the fact I communicate very well, people STILL assume something they KNOW I 'meant' instead of what I SAID, and that drives me BATTY! I'm trying to teach myself to ignore it. It's a process.)
I just don't understand why people get upset at big businesses for basically being a big business and trying to please the majority, not the individual.
Plus, we have to work within the system of laws, job rules, society rules, etc. all day every day, so I don't get why people can't realize this is exactly the same thing.
I made a comparison in another comment about having to buy Sudafed at a pharmacy now because lawmakers want drug addicts and meth cookers to have restricted access to the medication as it's used in making meth. So that means the rest of us normal people have to buy Sudafed at a pharmacy counter with an ID instead of the gas station like 20 years ago. People had to suck it up to try and reduce meth in the streets. Facebook is trying to stop scammers, spammers, fake news, increase privacy options users can opt-out of, etc, and improve USER experience and whatever else. We have to adjust to those new rules and algorithms. That's just... life.
I don't have any bones to pick with the Face book by no means. I do think it's a great way to spread the word around to people.
For me, I had way too many bad experiences to even think about marketing there.
My number one thing I always say to people who follow me is don't just do what I do I can be wrong.
I also know there are other alternatives for engagement on social media.
like twitter or Pinterest stuff like that but I won't shy away from facebook if it is a key to my answers
I am glad you made this post.
I am usually paranoid about these things myself but I don't think someone's paranoia should prevent people from marketing their own way.
Thank you!
Each social media platform has its own set of rules and algorithms. One might be better than another for your purpose. And there isn't anything wrong with that. I just don't want people to avoid Facebook because of the whole anti-Facebook posts going on all over WA lately. I was frustrated.
Facebook, even if it never drives traffic, is still useful in getting your brand seen and trusted. It's a good presence to have if you want to communicate with people too. But if you're in the Make Money Online niche, you do really have to be careful about that. They are against MLM and get rich quick schemes, so if your posts look suspiciously like that, they will get flagged.
I hear you on that as for myself I could never really get the hang of marketing wealthy affiliate.
But even still it's good to have at least something to keep tabes on everything you researched.
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Interesting rant (or maybe I should say harangue).
The problem is that I haven't seen any significant evidence of people at WA going around blaming FB for their failures.
In that vein, your post is off the mark completely. What I do see are
people explicating some serious issues with it and the issues related to engaging it brand new, with the new changes they've imposed.
Aside from these difficulties, particularly malevolent and distasteful is their propensity to censor views they don't agree with.
Some things you've said though, particularly about mindset, are spot on!
Cheers Marc
[Edited for clarity]
By blame game, not every post said that, but people are blaming Facebook for their mistakes as if they are being targeted. Not every post, but enough.
They are making accusations like you just made about Facebook 'censoring' things they don't agree with. That's actually untrue. Facebook, honestly, doesn't care what you or I or anyone wants to promote or write, or whatever. It is about money and it wants people to utilize their platform. That's the ONLY thing it cares about.
It's their USERS and the laws they have to enforce that makes them 'censor' content. If average users spend all day on Facebook hate seeing racist posts... They report them. Then someone goes on a killing spree, spouting the beliefs of the racists on Facebook, then the government and people turn against Facebook for ALLOWING racist content. So boom, now rules about hate speech.
The measles epidemic and other serious problems the CDC attributes to antivax propaganda, they then put the pressure on Facebook to remove access to those posts and other harmful 'fake news' posts. Thus, now you don't see anything that is contradicted by the general scientific consensus anymore.
You can't promote nicotine patches because it's illegal to put those ads in front of people under 18. Can't have 'fake' before and after images of unrealistic results to 'fool' average readers into purchasing your weightloss product? Why? The average reader hates that, if they get 'scammed' by the ad, it's misleading.
Everything I've tracked down in their rules about various things they 'censor' is because of their users or the Government wanting search engines and social media platforms to stop showing. It's not Facebook. It's society.
Also, saying Facebook is censoring content is a form of the blame game. Instead of trying to figure out where a post went wrong by looking into the community standards and such, people are assuming Facebook is 'censoring' because it can't be OUR fault, of course. We're not to blame for a warning. It has to be Facebook who is doing something totally unreasonable.
I did training on every single rule they have. I immersed myself in Facebook policies for over two weeks. They aren't censoring content. Every time someone posts about a post being removed, I can actually see the place they violated those policies.
We have to live with rules all over society to utilize things. Bus rules, street laws, rules at work, rules at home, rules to use the internet at Starbucks.
Meth cookers make the drug out of the medicine Sudafed is made out of. So 20 years or so ago, the government made it illegal to sell outside of a pharmacy without an ID. A BIG pain in my butt as it's the only thing that prevents my ear infections when I get a nasty cold. But I'm not mad at the government. I have to adapt to rules that *I* didn't cause problems with. I just adapt. I'm not blaming the pharmacy for making life a pain in the butt. It's LIFE, we adapt to continue using what we need to use.
I don't even get why we as business people refuse to even TRY to understand a huge business like Facebook. It's just simpler to not accept you screwed up by not reading their expectations and say Facebook is targeting specific things. I don't agree with all the laws in my state, but that doesn't mean I can ignore those laws if I want to live here. It seems awfully counterproductive to get all bent out of shape about a bunch of laws and rules that I'm forced to live by if I want to use a tool. It is what it is. It's life. It's not unique to Facebook. We have laws and rules EVERYWHERE.
I also find it ironic that us soon to be entrepreneurs are so anti-big business when all of us would KILL to be as successful as Facebook. We're starting out in the business world. People believing fault lies elsewhere are actually trying to deny they made an error. So simple to see where we went wrong and fix it, understand Facebook as a BUSINESS so that we can understand BUSINESS in general. Facebook is under pressure from Congress, the UK, and elsewhere over privacy violations. Every time a school shooting happens or a racist says something the media gets ahold of, social media gets blamed for not stopping it. It's SOCIETY that wants these things censored. Not Facebook.
Like the times they used to blame violent video games and heavy metal music for tragedies created by young kids. Now it's Facebook's turn. So it's no wonder they 'censor' fake news. MLMs ARE often scams and get rich quick schemes, so they aren't allowed. People do not like them in their feed. I don't like them in my email box, either. So they don't get allowed.
It's not a conspiracy. It's easy to figure out why Facebook and Google have started doing things like the medic update to their algorithm if you just pay attention to it and try to understand WHY instead of trying to find maliciousness where there is none. I'm not happy with everything they do, but I understand it's necessary.
Sorry, I think you're wrong in a lot of ways.
1. Facebook does pick and choose to not publish and/or block access certain political views it does not agree with. People think they are getting unbiased news in FB, for example. Further, it does not only care about making money for itself, but how people make money.
2. A civilized and free society does not shut down alternative views but allows discourse to play out. This allows for changing community standards, which are by no means ever locked in. But that is what FB is doing with these rules and you seem to concur. I do not.
3. A civilized company does not put together and engage plans to keep track of positive and negative comments on its and other platforms in order to create a list of naughty or nice people and potentially treat them as if we should live in a one-party state, run by a gangster regime.
4. To your other comment, you can label anyone you want as a 'blame gamer' if they disagree with you or FB, but that doesn't make it so.
5. The attitude that some sort of community standard arises in an ever-changing milieu and this gets frozen into place by some unbiased set of observers at FB and we have to go by these rules? Sorry, but it's at best misguided to think people at FB are remotely close to being unbiased. One might think so if one happens to agree with that set of biases that they run with.
6. Finally, rules against illegal behavior do not, by any stretch of the imagination, involve censoring opinions on matters that are disagreed with by some so-called community standard. It's true that FB can make whatever rules it wants for its platform, but that doesn't mean we have to hang around and play with them. Instead, and fortunately, we can work with other platforms.
That's called taking advantage of a free and competitive market, not 'the blame game.' And yes, that's what we're going to do, when FB is being obviously unreasonable.
If you don't think they are, by all means you are free, in the free and civilized society that I assume you live in, to continue with FB to your heart's content and I wish you good fortune.