The Facebook 'fact-check' scam

 John Stossel:

Facebook is a private company, so it can censor whomever it wants. But what Facebook is doing lately is just sleazy.

Recently, I sued them because they defamed me. They, along with one of their “fact-checkers,” a group called Science Feedback, lied about me and continue to lie about me.

Now Facebook has responded to my lawsuit in court.

Amazingly, their lawyers now claim that Facebook’s “fact-checks” are merely “opinion” and therefore immune from defamation.

Wait — Facebook’s fact-checks are just “opinion”?! I thought fact-checks are statements of fact.

That’s how Facebook portrays them on its website: “Each time a fact-checker rates a piece of content as false, Facebook significantly reduces the content’s distribution … We … apply a warning label that links to the fact-checker’s article, disproving the claim.”

“Disproving.” Sure sounds like Facebook claims its labels are statements of fact.

Facebook’s “opinion” defense is similar to what Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow argued when they were sued. They said we just give opinions; our viewers knew we aren’t sources for objective facts.

But Carlson and Maddow have a better argument. They’re known for giving opinions. Facebook posts “fact-checks.”
...

Facebook's "fact-checks" are one of its most annoying features.  Rather than just saying there is a dispute over the alleged "facts" they impose a "voice of God" format which they now claim is an opinion  but they do not allow users the same ability to express a different opinion. 

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