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TeleSUR English wants to share the course of events that happened from when Facebook first took down our page on the social media’s platform, to when it was put back up on Wednesday morning.
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TeleSUR English realized its Facebook page was removed on Monday afternoon on August 13 to find the notice: “This page is not available: The link you followed may be broken, or the page may have been removed.”
Our Social Media Coordinator at TeleSUR immediately wrote to Facebook support asking for an explanation as to why the page was removed, and that it be reinstated.
"From: teleSUR English
Date: Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: A Message from Facebook
To: Facebook
Hi, my name is Michael and I am the Social Media Coordinator of the Facebook Page. Can you please tell us what terms of use we have violated and if there is an appeal process? We have not violated any of the terms of Facebook and request that our page is reinstated. Thanks.
Sincerely,
-Michael-"
Facebook's response was immediate:
"On Mon, Aug 13, 2018 at 4:42 PM, Facebook
Hello,
Your Page "teleSUR English" has been removed for violating our Terms of Use. A Facebook Page is a distinct presence used solely for business or promotional purposes. Among other things, Pages that are hateful, threatening or obscene are not allowed. We also take down Pages that attack an individual or group, or that are set up by an unauthorised individual. If your Page was removed for any of the above reasons, it will not be reinstated. Continued misuse of Facebook's features could result in the permanent loss of your account.
The Facebook Team”
It wasn’t until Tuesday morning that Michael received an email from Facebook’s support team to tell him, ‘we’re working on it.’ The email read, in Spanish:
“Hi Michael, All well?
This email is just to inform you that we’ve received your request for help regarding your page that was eliminated. At the moment our engineering department is analyzing the case. I ask that you save this confirmation and feel free to write me here with any questions or concerns about this.
Have a nice afternoon!
Kevin
Thanks for contacting Facebook”
Michael received another follow up by Facebook’s Kevin later on Tuesday.
“Hi Michael, How are you?
I hope you’ve had a great start to your week.
The corresponding department is still reviewing your case. They have run several tests but they still haven’t given me a definitive response as to the problem.
I’m talking with the technicians and asking them to prioritize this case so that it can be resolved shortly.
Have a nice afternoon!
Kevin
Thanks for contacting Facebook”
Kevin seemed to conclude that the removal of the TeleSUR English page from Facebook was a technical issue, nothing more, and certainly not for a "misuse of Facebook" as was originally claimed.
It was on Wednesday morning that our page was restored as unexpectedly as it had disappeared, for the second time this year.
Hours after the page was restored, teleSUR received vague explanations from the company's employees about the controversial incident.
"The team informs me that there was instability on the platform, which caused this problem, but now everything should be in order," a support technician at Facebook told teleSUR's social media coordinator shortly after the page was restored. "Well, I will proceed to finish your case and in case you have any questions about this matter you can write to this e-mail and I will gladly help you."
Also shortly after the revival of the page, RT journalist Dan Cohen, who had contacted Facebook asking for an explanation about the removal of teleSUR English's page, informed teleSUR that he received an email from a company's spokesperson claiming: "The Page was temporarily unpublished to protect it after we detected suspicious activity. once secured, the page was restored. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."
The statements, however, do not seem coherent as one claims an error had occurred while another claims that the page was taken down in an attempt to "protect it from suspicious activity".
Also, neither of those claims fit with Facebook's original message that was sent to teleSUR English's team shortly after the page was unpublished in which the company suggested that the removal was "for violating our Terms of Use."
As of now, teleSUR English’s original Facebook URL, www.facebook.com/telesurenglish, is not available, but a new Facebook URL, www.facebook.com/teleSUR-English-479681268841947, is live and appears to include all the outlet’s content.
Several news outlets have also reported on the incident such as RT, Democracy Now!, Jacobin and Latino Rebels as well as other progressive media outlets around the world, who also expressed concern over Facebook's possible censorship of content.
The removal of our page coincides with Facebook eliminating Venezuelanalysis.com, which was restored within hours of being removed last week, and Haiti Analysis page, which has yet to be restored. The two provide alternative left-leaning perspective about affairs in those countries.
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