We Stand with Turtle Boy Sports ~ VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL, Dec. 2017

VALLEY PATRIOT EDITORIAL
December, 2017

Last month this editorial page highlighted the problem of corporate social media tech-giants (like Facebook and Twitter) censoring political messages their employees don’t agree with.

We were inundated by reader emails telling us that this was a manufactured crisis, claiming that Facebook and Twitter don’t censor messages based on the political or social views of their employees.

They are wrong.

Within a week of our editorial hitting the streets, a legitimate news website called Turtle Boy Sports (turtleboysports.com) had their Facebook page permanently taken down.

Turtle Boy is a news site that exposes government corruption, people abusing the court system, and local con-artists trying to defraud the public.

Because they don’t speak the approved language of political correctness, and target those who are genuinely doing evil, Turtle Boy has a long list of detractors who would like to see them go away.

Facebook is apparently one of them.

As their excuse to censor the site, the employees of the Facebook corporation have accused Turtle Boy of “bullying”.

That’s right, Facebook has now become kindergarten.

This subjective standard of “bullying” on Facebook is troubling. Is CNN going to be censored for “bullying” Donald Trump? Is Fox News going to be censored for “bullying” Hillary Clinton?

For sure, Facebook isn’t wrong about Turtle Boy being a “bully”. But, let’s look at who they are “bullying” and why.

Last month, they published an investigative report on (err.. we mean “bullied”) people like District Attorney Joe Early, who abused his influence to order MA State Troopers to change a police report to cover up the arrest of a judge’s daughter.

The Trooper refused and was severely punished. Turtle Boy exposed that too, and because they did, that trooper has been put back at his original post.
Also, because of Turtle Boy’s story, the head of the Massachusetts State Police had to step down in disgrace. Others were demoted, “retired” or had their “resignations” accepted. There is now a criminal investigation into the corruption of the incident that Turtle Boy exposed.

Turtle Boy has also targeted lowlifes who try to defraud the public with fake GoFund Me pages (a social media fundraising site), deadbeat dads who stalk or harass their ex-wives and girlfriends, and welfare cheats who brag about their crimes on the very Facebook platform that has now censored Turtle Boy.
Turtle Boy names names.

And because they do, they inadvertently highlight the fact that Facebook isn’t censoring the pages of those bragging about their crimes. It’s embarrassing to say the least.

For sure, Turtle Boy’s reporting has also ruffled the feathers of those they cover. We’re sure those stalkers, harassers, deadbeat dads, and corrupt government officials were calling and emailing Facebook the minute their own stories broke, demanding Turtle Boy be taken down.

What is most troubling is that the employees of the Facebook corporation would so willingly capitulate to these criminals. In doing so, they set a horrifying standard for what is acceptable for you to read – with them making the decision.

If the people who run the multi-billion-dollar corporation that is Facebook, can arbitrarily take down news sites based on the subjective political views of the person at Facebook evaluating it – it won’t be long before The Valley Patriot, The Broadside, or the Tribune could qualify for Facebook censorship next.

The subjective term of “decency” is no standard for censoring speech, especially when that speech is true.

Turtle Boy’s investigative reports are true.

In a sea of fake news like CNN and Infowars, we believe there is a desperate need for the public to have access to these real news stories about real people, involved in real scandals, no matter how insensitive the presentation might be.
Facebook doesn’t.

We stand with Turtle Boy!