I Got Zucced
- A.J. Voiles
- Jan 6, 2017
- 3 min read
The Double Standard of Facebook Censorship
Let me start off by saying that I use Facebook as an outlet for things that are harder to say in person (or to strangers). I enjoy the interactions and debates I get into, and personally, consider it banter. Some however feel that social media is a safe space with a need to be regulated and curated as to not offend anyone with opposing views and what one might feel is offensive. What I have found is that normally when you offend a Facebook friend they will just unfollow you or possibly block you depending on how rustled their jimmies are. Some however feel obligated to report, which is sometimes necessary to prevent horrid things such as child porn or extreme gore or anything that really is not appropriate on a mainstream site such as Facebook. But there can be abuse and exceptions this system.
The First Time I Was Zucced
First to make this clear for the uninformed readers, getting “Zucced” or “The Zucc” or “Facebook Jail” all refer to being blocked from any communication on Facebook. This means no posts, no messaging and no liking posts or pages. Not even the archaic feature of “Poking” is allowed. What is allowed however is reporting others, which we’ll revisit later. So the first time I got the Zucc was after getting into a politically charged debate with a stranger, who happened to be white like myself and I ended up calling him a "cracker". He then reports my post for hate speech and I was banned for a day. Not a long time, but still frustrating as I see many people use variants of “nigga” frequently regardless of race.
The Edge That Cut Me
Not long after my ban was lifted, I joined a very controversial private meme group in hopes of having a platform for free speech without worry of being reported. The group specifically looked for people who didn’t seem to align with their morals and reporting was against the rules (although impossible to enforce due to anonymity). All in all, I asked the wrong question and got reported. This resulted in a three day ban. At this point, I got a bit annoyed and started doing a bit of retaliation. Over those three days I reported every fake name and mildly inappropriate post I saw from regular users (not my meme lords of course). I got a lot of posts removed and a good amount of names changed, or profiles Zucced if they refused. Didn’t feel great but whatever. After my three days were up, the aforementioned meme group came under new management, who were more strict against people that were too offended by the group, and banned over 2000 members. I, not being one of those banned, posted a return post and praised the new management. Less than a day later my post was reported and I was Zucced for a week.
The Zuccening Has Commenced
So at this point, I’m livid. I leave that troublesome group and begin my crusade to snitch out other “offensive” posts. I was able to get a few more names changed but then something odd happened. When I reported black people for using the word “nigga’ (the same word that got me a one week ban), the posts were never taken down. At first I thought it may be a race thing, but when I reported names such as “Trump Soda” or “Juggaloz Clown”, they were not changed. I began to realize that Facebook stopped taking my genuine reports seriously. I contacted the support staff and have yet to get a response.
All in all I feel that Facebook picks and chooses what is considered offensive and can no longer be a platform for entirely free speech. This is saddening due to how predominant of a communications platform it has become in the last decade. For now we still have our ways of personal communication, but with the Orwellian tactics being implemented world wide, I fear that those days are numbered.
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