Bob the Wonder Poodle no can haz Facebook?
Bob the Wonder Poodle, the fluffy canine who dared challenge FOX mega-lebrity Glenn Beck on Facebook, appears to have been muzzled. Bob the Wonder Poodle made a run at Becks' 700,000 (and growing) crowd on his fan page. Bob got to 260,000 fans (and growing: fair and balanced) on his own page, Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck?
Then came the note from Facebook:
The page Can this poodle wearing a tinfoil hat get more fans than Glenn Beck? has had its publishing rights blocked because it violates our Pages Terms of Use. Amongst other things, Facebook restricts the publishing rights of Pages that impersonate other entities, represent generic concepts, spam users, or otherwise violate our Terms of Use.
The page's owner writes:
I've been "publish blocked" by FB, and they've not been forthcoming as to the reason why.
I need your help in this endeavor; if we are to achieve our goal, please contact the media so we may have the block lifted.
While Facebook's hardworking admins were at it, they seem to have "publish blocked" the Can this Dung Beetle get more fans that Glenn Beck page, too.
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Thanks Rachel...More Noise...More Poodles! and Freedom for poor lil Bob.
Thanks Rachel!
We need some " FREE THE POODLE" T-Shirts... Can you and Keith get some and sell them with proceeds to go to Bob's legal fund?
As the creator/admin of the "Bob The Wonder Poodle" page, I'm grateful for the coverage. I've actually been "publish blocked" since the afternoon of 2/18; I spent the following weekend scouring Facebook's online Help Center to determine an appeals process (via email) and authorization/verification process (via online form). To my knowledge, I've complied with all the appeal and authorization processes. As of this writing, I've yet to receive any acknowledgment from Facebook.
I can still comment on posts and perform "administrative" tasks to the pages, e.g., delete abusive/spam posts. However, I haven't been able add new content or create a "status update" since the block.
Prior to the block, page growth was exponential - over a quarter million fans in just over two weeks. Since the block, growth has become linear. While the primary purpose is to promote our lovable iconic pup, it's also a political commentary/parody page. In that realm, growth is only sustainable with new content.
I refuse to assign blame to any person or group until I hear from Facebook regarding the specific reason why I have the block. Any uncorroborated evidence falls into the realm of an unsupported conspiracy theory, and that's sinking to the level of Mr. Beck.
We're striving to be better than that. We're on a mission from Dog. :-)
Regards,
Dale
What's more, they haven't blocked the "Can this Squirrel get more fans that Barack Obama?" page.
There are about 9,000 "Can this <x> get more fans than <y>?" pages, it's hard to know how many are blocked, but of the ones I've looked at it seems that very few of them are.
There are pages for pickles and poop that are apparently OK, but not a dog that has a quarter of a milion followers. Terms of Use? Yeah, sure.
Thanks Rachel. We can always count on you to cover the underdog. Love that!
I should make a "Can this re-run of Pokemon get more ratings than Rachel Maddow the Mad Cow?"
Why does Glenn Beck get to have three facebook pages, one of which peddles his defamatory merchandise, while the poor little poodle, who has uttered nary an unkind bark, (though some of his fans may have) is muzzled?
Rachel, please join my Facebook group, "CAN THIS USED SYRINGE GET MORE FANS THAN MSNBC"?
If I were to guess (and I am guessing) I'd say that Facebook has received complaints from Glenn Beck about devaluing his brand. This is similar to a defamation lawsuit. Facebook along with other social networking sites (Google, Apple,YouTube) have shown a willingness to cave to complaints without bothering to defend itself whenever it sniffs a lawsuit. My advice to Facebook: get a lawyer. Since the "dog page" is clearly parody, Beck has no case for defamation. He is a public figure. He can be parodied.