In an exclusive interview with Examiner.com, Cameron King, a resident of Spokane, Wash., said Friday that he received two back-to-back bans from Facebook over the same 9/11 photo that was shared from a friend's photo album.
The picture showed the World Trade Center shortly after the twin towers had been struck by two aircraft and read: "Dear American Muslims, Cancel your 9.11.13 March to DC! It is inappropriate and inconsiderate! And if you don't... It looks like we'll be camping together. Sincerely, A bunch of REAL MAD American Patriots!"
King posted "just saying..." on the picture, but Facebook said it violated their community standards and removed the photo.
At the same time, the social media site banned King from posting for 12 hours.
King appealed the decision, but as usual, Facebook never responded.
At the end of the ban, however, King found himself banned a second time over the photo, even though it had already been removed and was not reposted.
That time, King said, Facebook claimed the post was "abusive," but did not explain why.
Again, Facebook refused to respond to King's appeal.
King told Examiner he felt confusion, anger, and disbelief at what he called "the brazenly false accusation of being 'abusive.'"
Recently, Facebook has doubled down on the use of its enforcement "hammer," punishing people for innocuous posts that clearly do not violate their rules, while ignoring real incidents that not only violate their rules, but violate the law.
Recently, conservative blogger Julia Sieben told Examiner she received a two-day ban from Facebook for simply thanking people who wished her a happy birthday .
Joseph L. Parker, a Christian writer for Examiner.com, said he was slapped by Facebook twice for thanking people who liked his posts.
Another conservative female said Facebook ignored death threats made against her, claiming in a private email they could not confirm the incident violated their community standards .
Facebook, however, maintains that it "has always been about helping people make connections," and recently told The Blaze it not only supports freedom of speech but enforces its standards uniformly across the board.
But a growing number of people simply do not believe that claim.
Last month, over 31,000 Facebook users, fed up with what they see as the site's arbitrary and capricious enforcement of its rules, participated in a " Facebook Blackout ," temporarily suspending their accounts for 24 hours.
King expressed concerns the site will become even more heavy-handed against its users.
"Unless we, the users, speak up in a unified voice against this kind of abuse, Facebook will only grow more aggressive and brazen in their abuse of their customers," he said.
As of this writing, Facebook has not responded to our request for comments.
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