Is Facebook censoring journalism?
LIMA, PERU— Facebook is at the centre of a “censorship” firestorm in Peru after it suspended the account of one of the country’s most important newspapers.
The temporary suspension came in response to online complaints that La Republica’s investigation into the alleged criminal past of relatives of the country’s leading presidential candidate had violated Facebook’s user guidelines.
In that report, La Republica alleged that two uncles and an aunt of Keiko Fujimori — who has a consistent lead of around 20 points in the polls ahead of April presidential elections — remain wanted on charges of “illicit enrichment” and “conspiracy to commit crime.”
The three have been on the run since 2000 when their brother, hard-right President Alberto Fujimori, was forced to resign in ignominy. He is now serving a 25-year jail term for embezzlement and directing death squads.
La Republica’s Facebook account was down for16 hours the day after the report was published before being reinstated. That brought withering criticism of both Facebook and “Fujimorista” political followers for silencing legitimate journalism.
“I believe Facebook, knowing that this was a media outlet, has made a mistake,” said Jose Ugaz, the Peruvian lawyer who heads the anti-corruption group Trans- parency International. “It is striking that (Facebook) has acted so casually.”
According to La Republica, Facebook later apologized “for the inconvenience” in a statement to the newspaper, saying it had shut the page down “by mistake.”
According to the Lima-based Press and Society Institute, or IPYS, La Republica had explained to Facebook that its investigation was serious journalism before the network suspended its account.
The controversy comes as Keiko Fujimori has been attempting to distance herself from the excesses of her father’s 1990s authoritarian government, which oversaw the disappearance of $6 billion from public coffers and the harassment of critical journalists.
Keiko Fujimori is trying to distance herself from her father’s authoritarian government.