On Wednesday, November 6, Facebook announced the suspension of the “World Socialist Web Site in Portuguese” page based upon the concocted accusation of “falsification of identity,” which it specified as: “Creating a Page or profile that appears to belong to a brand or company” or “Pretending that a Page or profile has commercial relationship to a company, celebrity or public figure.”
Clearly, none of these claims apply to the “WSWS in Portuguese” page. The page was created in 2019 by supporters and readers of the WSWS in Brazil and had close to 900 followers. Its activity was dedicated to sharing Portuguese-language articles posted on the World Socialist Web Site, and it accordingly presented itself under the “news and media website” category with a link directing its readers to the WSWS Portuguese site.
Facebook did not bother to indicate any specific activity that supposedly violated its policies. Despite claiming that its decision to “suspend” the page was open to challenge, our pleas have resulted only in the indefinite “removal” of the page without further explanation.
In an appeal by email to Facebook’s administration sent on November 12, WSWS writer and the page’s administrator Guilherme Ferreira wrote:
Since the creation of the page [in 2019], our activity has maintained the same pattern, with publications from the World Socialist Web Site and others related to the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which is responsible for the WSWS.
The relationship between the WSWS and the ICFI, in turn, can be seen in the page’s presentation—“The WSWS, published by the ICFI, is the political voice of international socialism”—and has been since its creation in the description of the page’s profile photo.…For all these reasons, we would once again like to appeal Facebook’s decision to remove the “World Socialist Web Site em Português” page and have it reinstated.
We would also like further clarification on the suspension and removal of the page that took place last Wednesday, November 6, because, as we said, they happened without any basis.
Ferreira’s appeal remains unanswered.
This act of brazen censorship was taken at a point of extreme escalation of the global political crisis in which the WSWS represents a unique source of political insight and perspective.
As the imperialist governments are taking ruthless decisions that escalate the risk of global nuclear war, as the world’s bourgeoisie resort to fascism and dictatorial forms of rule, and as brutal economic shocks face the working class in every country, the suppression of sources of critical information and socialist ideas becomes a life-and-death issue for the capitalist oligarchy that controls Facebook and other mass social media.
Specifically concerning Brazil, the shutdown of the WSWS Portuguese Facebook page coincided with the aftermath of municipal elections that revealed a massive rejection of a political establishment that is evolving sharply to the right. It directly preceded the revelation of explosive information about the fascist dictatorial conspiracy involving former President Jair Bolsonaro and a network deeply ingrained in Brazil’s military, a threat about which the WSWS and the Socialist Equality Group (GSI) has systematically warned the working class as it was downplayed and stifled by the official media and political parties.
Facebook’s censorship of the “WSWS in Portuguese” page is an anti-democratic attack that represents a dangerous precedent against socialist and independent political thinking throughout the world. We urge workers and youth and all left-wing and democratic organizations to publicly denounce this arbitrary act and demand that Facebook reverse it.