Shaping Reality.

In Blog, Politicsby JamLeave a Comment

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zedAbove: Zed Books Facebook page today.


The walled gardens of social media portals increasingly have the capacity to actively shape and create our reality. But what if the subject matter that we share is not to the taste of our techno-utopian masters?

Zed Books, the well known and respected publishing house, has just had its Facebook page removed.

In a statement released today, they point that this may be in relation to a series of Facebook posts on books by Ece Temelkuran, a Turkish journalist fired from Habertürk newspaper for articles critical of the Turkish government.

From the statement:

“We are concerned this is part of a growing trend of Facebook censoring free speech and restricting academic freedoms in Turkey, alongside growing repression of academics and journalists in the country. Leaked documents from Facebook have shown that the company suppresses content related to the conflict in Kurdistan, including any non-negative references to Abdullah Öcalan and even maps of Kurdistan. The Turkish government have repeatedly both blocked and banned social media in the country, as well as making hundreds of requests for takedowns”.

 

“We have requested further clarification from Facebook as to the reasons for our page’s removal, but have thus far received no response. However, we are worried that the removal of our company’s Facebook page may be part of a pattern of suppression against the distribution and promotion of academic research and books related to the current Turkish administration and their ongoing war with Kurdish separatists”.

 

Is this our new reality? If it hasn’t been shared on Facebook, then did it really happen?

Time to get that dusty old blog cranked up again….

You can check out Zed Books’ full statement here

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