People Excluded From Facebook Bullying 'Protection List:' Charles Manson, Osama Bin Laden, Jesus

By Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, May 24, 2017

While Facebook has recently been tightening its anti-bullying policies and banning users for posting offensive photos, one name that is not receiving protection from the social media giant is Jesus Christ.

"The types of groups and individuals excluded from protection include Jesus, the mass murderer Charles Manson, Osama bin Laden, rapists and domestic abusers, any political and religious leaders before 1900 and people who violate hate speech rules," The Guardian reported in an article about Facebook's policies on Sunday.

Many of the recent policy changes are aimed at banning those who post images mocking people with disabilities and serious health conditions, including people with Down syndrome.

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"We ask people who discuss these topics in an insensitive way to do so transparently so that others may engage with or challenge them," Facebook explained.

"If you make these jokes on Facebook you cannot do so anonymously. We force you to publish your name next to it, otherwise we unpublish the page."

The Guardian noted that it obtained documents exposing Facebook's direction to deal with "cruel, insensitive and abusive posts on the site," and found that the social media giant regards bullying as "an attack on private persons with the intent to upset or silence them." But the anti-bullying policy does not extend to public figures.

One document reportedly specifically explains why some people are excluded from protection:

"We want to exclude certain people who are famous or controversial in their own right and don't deserve our protection."

And while Jesus does not find Himself on the protection list, entertainment stars such as singer Rihanna could be protected if posts about them include their photo and a caption that matches a "cruelty topic."

As Facebook explains: "Rihanna is famous in her own right for being a singer. She was also a victim of domestic violence. You can mock her for her singing, but not for being a victim of domestic violence."

Monika Bickert, head of global policy management at Facebook, offered further details behind the policy:

"We allow more robust speech around public figures, but we still remove speech about public figures that crosses the line into hate speech, threats, or harassment. There are a number of criteria we use to determine who we consider a public figure."

Facebook and its policies have on occasion clashed with people of faith, with the social media giant forced to apologize in February after it initially suspended a Christian video blogger's account following her post about the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality.

Elizabeth Johnston, an Ohio homeschooling mother of 10 who runs the popular blog and Facebook account "The Activist Mommy," saw her account frozen and posts deleted after she cited passages from the Bible, including from the book of Leviticus, stating that homosexuality is a "detestable" sin and an "abomination."

Facebook told The Christian Post at the time that the removal of Johnston's post and the suspension of her account was done by mistake and "in error."

"The post was removed in error and we restored it as soon as we were able to investigate," a spokesperson for the company told CP. "Our team processes millions of reports each week and we sometimes get things wrong."