The British political magazine The Spectator has fallen victim to Facebook censorship. A caricature of US President Joe Biden on the front page of the medium, which has existed since 1828, was rejected by the moderator team. Editor Fraser Nelson can’t quite understand why his latest issue can’t be advertised on the internet platform.
The cartoon accompanying the “Six More Years” cover story, which discusses Biden’s future in the White House, shows a somewhat dopey-looking president who apparently can’t even count properly. Because the 80-year-old only shows five fingers. Deputy editor-in-chief Freddy Gray examines in the report how capable the sitting head of state is and what future scenarios are possible.
Most recently, Biden had made amends after his Democrats performed relatively well in the midterm elections and passed some major anti-inflation packages after his approval ratings plummeted in the previous months. The Republicans have recently been weakened again by the internal party dispute over the position of Speaker of the House of Representatives in Congress. Kevin McCarthy only managed to get the necessary majority after 15 rounds of voting.
Concerned about Biden’s health
But none of these developments can obscure the fact that Biden is the oldest elected president. Recently, the 80-year-old has repeatedly appeared disoriented and forgetful in public appearances. Not only Republican politicians express their concern that the commander-in-chief of the armed forces has not only physical, but also mental weaknesses. In a recent poll, two-thirds of Americans polled also said they were concerned about their president’s health. So it’s a valid topic for the spectator to relate to.
Facebook justifies: ‘Does not comply with our rules’
But publisher Nelson believes an algorithm on Facebook may have been programmed in Biden’s favor. After all, similar satirical caricatures about Donald Trump or Boris Johnson would have been nodded in the past. Trump was portrayed “as an armed psychopath or as a pitchfork-wielding idiot,” the magazine boss recalled in a written statement. Fraser also states that an objection that it was a “political magazine” and that the covers were therefore political was also rejected. The only reason given is “Your ads don’t follow our rules.”
Source: Krone
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