Chinese state media hits out at Facebook for ‘suppressing voices of justice’ in Hong Kong
- People’s Daily says Facebook gave ‘rioters special privileges to disseminate fake news’, while Global Times calls for it to be put on unreliable entity list
- It comes after social media giant suspended one outlet’s page and the city’s police reporting hotlines on messaging service WhatsApp
Chinese state media has lashed out at Facebook, calling for the company to be put on the unreliable entity list for “suppressing voices of justice” in Hong Kong and supporting protesters in the city.
The overseas edition of Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily ran a commentary on Monday, accusing Facebook of “jumping to the front of the stage” in mobilising violence in the Hong Kong protests, which have escalated over the past three months.
“Facebook has not hesitated to tear off its fake mask of ‘fairness and balance’, allowing rioters in Hong Kong special privileges to disseminate fake news,” the piece said, citing information from pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po. “In the name of combating fake news, it has openly discriminated against speech that does not fulfil the Western anti-China ideology until their voices are silenced.”
Facebook last week suspended the page for Dot Dot News, an account affiliated with Wen Wei Po. The page owner described the move as “political oppression” and suggested Facebook was working with the protesters in Hong Kong.
