Facebook has managed to "lose" a “Boycott BP” Facebook fan page, which reportedly disappeared from the site.
According to reports on TheNextWeb, posting on CNN’s iReport, a section of the news site dedicated to letting “real people” report the news, a member known as yadayadatwin suggests that Facebook has removed the page, severing connections with almost 800,000 of the groups members.
This wouldn't be the first time the social networking site has appeared to have blocked potentially controversial pages. In the run up to the election debates featuring the big 3 of British politics on telly, Facebook appeared to censor a number of pro Labour and LibDem groups and pages.
And it seems it's doing the same again. According to the report, people from all over the world shared video clips, pictures, and frustration over what has been an incredibly slow process by BP to one of the worst economic and environmental disasters the USA has ever seen.
The creator of the group, Lee Perkins, has had some media interest with outlets focusing on the Boycott BP movement. This in turn has helped to bump up the number of members on the Facebook page.
However, it looks like Facebook doesn't like this for whatever reason. The report claims that people visiting the Boycott BP fan page today will be redirected to the Facebook home page.
It doesn't seem as though the social networking site's draconian measures are enough to stop the BP boycotters with Lee Perkins creating a new Facebook group that has already managed to gain 6500 new members.
Update: The page is now mysteriously back online and you can have a look at it here. It seems some fans may have taken an enforced hike as well. People are wondering what the heck happened, and we'd like to know too.
Someone reported me for whatever reason (I assume since it wasn't the owner Lee) but now the reporting feature has changed and you cant just randomly go through and click report and the person is banished.
Still wondering what happened to the group-it was gone for almost 12 hours. Other members accounts were suspended as well.
Theres rumors of some sort of virus. I doubt that theory, but who knows at this point. FB isn't the best at giving explanations and good luck trying to get a hold of them to find one.
Please could you send me an email, in complete confidence, as I'd like to follow something up.
My email is available on the "About Us" page here:
http://www.techeye.net/about-us
Thanks,
Tamlin
I'm currently writing my blog post about this because I am so amazed at the response the "faux pas" Facebook managed last night.
We still are unsure as to why this happened. Some say it was an issue over using the BP logo on the page, some say it's a media black contrived by BP themselves.
Whatever the reason, I am just so thankful that my article hit so many so fast and so far, the response has been in our favor.
But most of all, this all about the voices in the Gulf Coast region being heard, and heardly LOUDLY. We are a mess down here and feel like the public-at-large is beginning to suffer from "oil spill fatigue" from all the reporting.
Our page is designed to inform, help, and vent frustrations. Hopefully we will get all those back that Facebook lost to the cyberworld.
Our economic and environmental lives depend on it down here.
Thank you!
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/06/29/facebook.bp.controversy/?fbid=3IwmqrQqGwE
He has taken the step of starting a new page:
"Bayou Lee's Boycott bp page"
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bayou-Lees-Boycott-bp-page/