Facebook decided today that it became necessary to destroy the town to save it.
Australians woke to news – but not on Facebook – that the trillion-dollar social media giant had banned the posting and sharing of news stories in their country.
And it was worse than that when the algorithm the company deployed to pull media sites, including satire such as The Chaser, The Betoota Advocate and The Onion, couldn’t really identify the enemy properly.
It also scrubbed out posts by numerous government departments, hospitals, arts organisations, ASX-listed companies, and essential services, including Fire and Rescue NSW, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Dept of Fire and Emergency Services WA, South Australia Health, and Queensland Health.
The Children’s Cancer Institute, Victorian Aboriginal Legal Aid and ACT Council on Social Services were also delisted.
