Eric’s Blog

***WARNING*** Explicit language ahead.

It’s time to go on a social media hiatus. I posted a meme on my Facebook account today about the movie I Am Legend, starring Wil Smith, and I got fact-checked. Let me rephrase that for you. I posted a joke about a fictitious movie from 2007, and the arbiters of truth at Facebook HQ flagged my post and slapped a bumper sticker on it saying that my post was false.

I wish I was making this up, but I’m not. Here’s the proof:

I like that the fact-checkers are under the science feedback category. Maybe they should be under the IMDB or movie nerds feedback category. This is essentially a nerd having nerd-rage about someone getting a quote wrong in a movie. For example, most people remember Darth Vader saying, “Luke, I am your father.” In reality, he says, “No. I am your father.” Imagine talking to an extreme fan of Star Wars and getting this wrong, then being berated ad nauseum for getting it wrong.

I’ve played the game Superfight, so here we go…

Oh yeah? Well, if it was a cure for cancer, then why did everyone get infected with it? Why was the only guy left alive on Manhattan island if only cancer patients got the cure? Hmm? Yeah? Why is that? It must have been a vaccine because everyone got it to prevent them from getting cancer, but instead, they all got turned into vampires instead. Yeah! They’re not zombies! I’ve read the book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, they actually turn into Vampires, why did you check that fact nerd!?

I went ahead and removed the Facebook app from my phone.

I didn’t delete my account; I’ve done that once before and it’s more trouble than it’s worth. It’s easier to delete the app and not look at it anymore.

This isn’t the first time Facebook has taken something I posted and fact-checked it either.

Earlier this week, I’d posted a meme about Grandpa Joe Biden getting into an argument with a factory worker and telling the worker, “I don’t work for you!” That got slapped with a fact-check bumper sticker also, but I let that one go, because, “meh”, there are only so many things you can give fucks to, and I decided that one wasn’t worth it.

I watched this happen. Why is this flagged as missing context? What’s the context that we’re missing? The company that Grandpa Joe was in when this happened? This did happen, there’s nothing to dispute, there’s no context to understand, and there’s no reason this needed to be fact-checked. Grandpa Joe said, “I don’t work for you.” when he was questioned by a factory worker about gun laws and gun control. It got heated, and before Grandpa Joe’s handlers could stop him, he said what he said.

I also got slapped by Big Brother when I tried to post a meme about “Elf on the Shelf 2020 version” depicting a Gremlin in a Santa suit.

Facebook told me the picture did not meet their community standards. Whatever dude, I think this was just the kick in the ass I needed to curb my social media addiction. When jokes, memes, goofing-off with co-workers and friends, and other random silliness can’t go online, then it’s time to find something else to pass the time.

The third time is the charm.

Time to walk away from the dumpster fire that is social media. I only use it to stay in touch with friends and families, to distribute my blog and reach a larger audience, but I think the people who actually read what what I write and like it will get to it even if the social medial oligarchy takes down the Facebook end of my blog.

The thing that really upsets me about this whole thing is, this is a violation of my first amendment rights.

I’m allowed to post my opinion of things on the internet and I should feel free to do so without fear of reprisal by the-powers-that-be. That’s why I deleted the app from my phone and decided to take a more vested interest in my blog. I can write about what I like without worrying about being censored.

I’ve been joking for years that the book, 1984 by George Orwell was a cautionary tale, not a framework for how things should be.

This type of censorship makes me think my joke may not have been as far from the bullseye as I thought. That thought makes me anxious. Speaking one’s mind, and having the ability to reach a larger audience with the written word such as books, articles, essays, and other publications is a right in this country. If the social media oligarchy that has been trying to run this country thinks they can muzzle me, they’ve got another think coming.

In the meantime…

If you need to get in touch with me, you can still message me through Facebook messenger, you can call, or text my cell phone, you can call the house because we still have a landline, you can even send me a letter through the US Post Office. Finally, you can email me or fill in the contact form on my blog. One note, if you call and don’t leave a message, I won’t call you back. I get far too many telemarketer calls to return all the missed calls on my phone log.