Facebook Censors GNU/Linux Advocacy
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LWN ☛ Linux-related discussion as a cybersecurity threat
The DistroWatch January 27 edition includes this interesting tidbit:
Starting on January 19, 2025 Facebook's internal policy makers
decided that GNU/Linux is malware and labeled groups associated with
Linux as being "cybersecurity threats". Any posts mentioning
DistroWatch and multiple groups associated with GNU/Linux and Linux
discussions have either been shut down or had many of their posts
removed.
We've been hearing all week from readers who say they can no longer
post about GNU/Linux on Facebook (Farcebook) or share links to DistroWatch. Some
people have reported their accounts have been locked or limited for
posting about Linux.
One can only hope that this is a mistake that will be resolved soon.
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Tom's Hardware ☛ Facebook flags GNU/Linux topics as 'cybersecurity threats' — posts and users being blocked
Facebook is banning posts which mention various GNU/Linux related topics, sites, or groups.
More Coverage:
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Facebook censors Linux topics
Social notworking site Facebook is censoring posts mentioning Linux-related topics, according to Linux news and discussion site DistroWatch.
A DistroWatch post claims that Facebook's internal policymakers decided that Linux is malware and labelled groups associated with Linux as 'cybersecurity threats.'
“We tried to post some blurb about distrowatch.com on Facebook and can confirm that it was barred with a message citing Community Standards.”
DistroWatch says that the Facebook ban took effect on 19 January. Readers have reported difficulty posting links to the site on this social notworking platform. Some have told DistroWatch that their Facebook accounts have been locked or limited after sharing posts mentioning Linux topics.
Facebook was blocking Distrowatch
Facebook has lifted a temporary ban preventing users from posting links to popular OS comparison site Distrowatch – after going so far as to lock the account of the site's editor.
In the latest installment of its weekly newsletter, the smaller site's editor, Jesse Smith, claimed his efforts to report the issue got him blocked:
In the meantime, regular Distrowatch readers were recommended to follow its RSS feeds. (We note that the Thunderbird email client supports RSS, in addition to Usenet newsgroups and Matrix chat, if you're looking for more open alternatives to the increasingly closed social networks.) Distrowatch also has an active account on Mastodon for denizens of the Fediverse.
Facebook is blocking Linux topics and channels with no apparent reason
Some posts mentioning Linux-related topics, sites, or groups are being blocked on Facebook for unknown reasons, reports have claimed.
The latest DistroWatch weekly news roundup noted, “We've been hearing all week from readers who say they can no longer post about Linux on Facebook or share links to DistroWatch.”
It detailed how posts and pages mentioning DistroWatch or talking about Linux have had their posts removed, or been shut down entirely.
Facebook bans Linux posts, community rebels, saying they've been treated like malware - GIGAZINE
We've seen Facebook ban posts about various Linux-related topics, sites, and groups, and we've seen reports of people getting their accounts locked for posting Linux content.
DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD. https://distrowatch.com/weekly-mobile.php?issue=20250127#sitenews
Facebook flags Linux topics as 'cybersecurity threats' — posts and users being blocked | Tom's Hardware https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/facebook-flags-linux-topics-as-cybersecurity-threats-posts-and-users-being-blocked
According to DistroWatch, a website that covers Linux-related content, many Linux-related posts have been deleted on Facebook since January 19, 2025.
DistroWatch reported that 'Facebook's internal policy writers have labeled Linux as malware and Linux-related groups as 'cybersecurity threats.''
Contrarian:
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No, Facebook (Farcebook) is Not Censoring "Linux", Only "DistroWatch".
Facebook is flagging and censoring links to DistroWatch.com as "malware".
Forums:
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Asinine Facebook=Meta 'BANS' mentions of DistroWatch! (as Cyber threat)
This isn't exactly new. Back in the early days of this century, some official US body published a guide for parents to enable them to find out if their child was being radicalised. A big danger flag was the discovery of something called Linux on the child's computer.
A couple more:
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Facebook removing Linux discussions as security threats
Mark Zuckerberg recently struck a new pose in hopes of pleasing President Trump, saying Meta would no longer check facts or censor free speech, and blaming other executives for previous policies at the company he runs. Since then, however, the company has struggled to explain why it was hiding search results for left-wing political topics—and now users are complaining it categorizes some posts about Linux as malware.
[...]
If there's no obvious bias to these content removals, that things are disappearing from Facebook in odd and changing ways contradicts the rhetoric about less censorship. If anything, it suggests that the platform is experimenting with new controls on what users can discuss and share.
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Facebook calls Linux «a cybersecurity threat» and bans people who mention the OS
It seems that Facebook is now banning some posts or threads that mention the word «Linux».
As reported by Tom’s HardwareSome posts mentioning the Linux family of operating systems or related communities (sites) are immediately deleted, while users or pages that published them are restricted or banned.
Four More:
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Facebook has begun to consider Linux OS as "malware" and limit posts about it | dev.ua
Facebook is banning posts that mention various Linux-related topics, sites, or groups. Users are reporting that their accounts have been blocked or restricted after posting on Linux-related topics.
Facebook Censors Comments On Linux, Cites 'Cybersecurity Threats'
Facebook is being accused of censoring posts about Linux, including banning any that mention DistroWatch.com, citing "cybersecurity threats" of all things....
Facebook bans Linux posts, calls FOSS project "cybersecurity threat" with mysterious inconsistency
Facebook's parent company, Meta, has blocked posts mentioning Linux, citing cybersecurity concerns. Meta confirmed after manual review that Linux is on the list of cybersecurity-related topics, and it will seemingly remain so until further notice.
Facebook Accidentally Blocks Users From Posting About Linux
Does Facebook hate Linux? The social media site has been upsetting Linux fans for mysteriously taking down user posts mentioning the OS.
The problem came to light when DistroWatch, a site that covers the Linux ecosystem, brought up how the mysterious Facebook ban has been stymying discussion about the open-source OS.
“We've been hearing all week from readers who say they can no longer post about Linux on Facebook or share links to DistroWatch. Some people have reported their accounts have been locked or limited for posting about Linux,” the site wrote in Monday's newsletter.
Neowin:
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Facebook apparently banning people from posting Linux related content on its platform - Neowin
In an odd move, Facebook has started banning posts related to Linux. On January 19th, 2025, when users tried to post Linux-related content on Facebook, they weren't able to do so. For some reason, Facebook's internal policy has now started to label Linux-related content as "cybersecurity threats" which massively affected platforms like DistroWatch.
Facebook internally classified Linux as malware and started removing posts that mention Linux. Many people reported that their accounts were getting locked and banned when posting about Linux or sharing links to sites like DistroWatch. DistroWatch also noticed the ban and writer Jesse Smith appealed to Facebook only to find his own account locked.
Users even reported that even older comments that mention DistroWatch are getting removed for being against Facebook's Community Guidelines.