Facebook or the return of the Inquisition?

Through a massive advertising campaign, Facebook is posing, these days, as the arbiter of « real information ».

Now a devoted « collaborator » and « partner » of states around the world, the private company announces itself as the bodyguard that comes to the rescue of governments to help them get all the « reliable information » about Covid19 into people’s heads via « free advertisements ».⁽¹⁾

Is Facebook, whose vocation is, after all, only to be a giant paper clip, trying to become the new Minister of Truth?

Does Facebook know better than anyone else what is « essential » and what is not, what is « reliable » and what is not? Is Facebook trying to substitute itself for people’s conscience to decide?

Has Facebook completely forgotten what « freedom of expression » means? Has he crossed out « freedom of opinion » and « freedom of conscience » from his inventory?

This public proposal to become, for all the states of the world, a kind of guardian or censor-in-chief, should sound an urgent alarm for all users of this platform. Facebook, a private company, now intends to provide its subscribers with information that it has selected and recognized as « reliable » and « essential ». On what criteria? According to which method? How can we still speak of « information » under these conditions?

If the stated objective is to « work with the governments of the world », it is quite clear that the main criterion is not to offer impartial, objective, weighed, cross-checked and most complete information possible, but rather to serve as an obsequious and servile relay for any propaganda that the governments will seek to deliver. In terms of « information » and « freedom of the press », this choice is, at the very least, extremely worrying.

For all those who doubt, who search with honesty, sincerity and humility, for all those who question, who wonder, who explore other paths than the ministerial mantras, even if their approach is prudent and rigorous, what other way out, then, than to be branded as heresy and censored? Facebook or the return of the Inquisition?

One more step has been taken, towards the single thought, towards the crime of opinion, towards the extinction of any dissident voice, towards the neutralization of counter-powers, towards the stifling of the citizen debate and the denial of democracy.

Will our governments let this happen? Really?