Darlene Harris’ Facebook page sparks firestorm

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A local flare-up over free speech escalated this week, with the American Civil Liberties Union and a Pittsburgh councilwoman trading fresh barbs over hernew Facebook page.

Councilwoman Darlene Harris said last week that she had created an official Facebook account where she welcomes everyone. The move followed pressure from the ACLU, which argued Mrs. Harris violated the First Amendment by blocking people who posted critical comments on her other Facebook presence. She has said that page is her personal account.

By Tuesday, Witold “Vic” Walczak, legal director at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, alleged a free-speech violation on Mrs. Harris’ new page. A comment posted by a critic there had vanished,Mr. Walczak wrote in a letter to city solicitor Lourdes Sanchez-Ridge. He said the ACLU could not imagine an “explanation to justify the censorship.”

At least three Pittsburgh news outlets ran with the story. Just one problem, Mrs. Harris said Wednesday: The supposed deletion never happened.

Although critics on Facebook vow the comment did disappear, at least for a period, Mrs. Harris and her staff maintain otherwise. They said in a press release that they haven’t hidden or deleted any comments from her official page. They shared a log of Facebook activity that showed no evidence of hidden or deleted comments.

The comment in question was visible Wednesday and Thursday, when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette checked.

“If you would have simply called me or my office you would have been advised that