RT banned from posting media on Facebook

[Santander]

https://sputniknews.com/society/201701191049753723-facebook-blocks-rt-media-posts/

Quit worrying about the NSA. The real censorship today comes from Silicon Valley.

[Beet]

Great news! We know our government won't stand up to Russia for the next four years, so we'll have to rely on private organizations to do what they can.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Excellent! Open up a bottle of champagne!

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Does this mean Zuckerberg is running?

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

Just like it should be.

[136or142]

https://sputniknews.com/society/201701191049753723-facebook-blocks-rt-media-posts/

Quit worrying about the NSA. The real censorship today comes from Silicon Valley.

Facebook is a private company.  It has no obligation to abide by the First Amendment.  (Unless, I guess, it is declared a monopoly and regulated as a public utility.)

[Comrade Funk]

Lame trolling. You started as a "muh angry white Democrat" to now a Putin bot.

Generic

[Crumpets]

Oh noes! Where will I get my propaganda telling me such subversive information as:

"Harambe’s grandmother dies
It seems 2017 is off to a bad start for Harambe's fans after it emerged his grandmother, Josephine, had to be euthanized by zoo staff in Miami. Read the full story on RT.com"

I mean, what good does it do to only block posting media? People just read the headlines anyway.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

Just like it should be.

Whatever you think about RT, Al-Jezeera is worse.

[Crumpets]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

Just like it should be.

Whatever you think about RT, Al-Jezeera is worse.

In both cases it depends on the story that's being reported. Al-Jazeera probably had the best coverage of the Egyptian Revolution of any news organization in the world. And yet their coverage of basically anything going on in the Arabian Peninsula or Israel/Palestine is straight from the mouth of the Qatari government. At the same time, RT does a pretty good job of covering random violations of justice in Europe and North America, do pretty good interviews with interesting people, and can generally find a lot of stories that other agencies ignored. At the same time, they clearly have an agenda, especially on all stories on Russia or any election/vote, which is at times so obvious, it's not even a problem.

[America Needs R'hllor]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

Just like it should be.

Whatever you think about RT, Al-Jezeera is worse.

They seem pretty equal in their extreme bias. Both disgusting.

[ag]

Let me guess, Al-Jezeera isn't banned.

Just like it should be.

Whatever you think about RT, Al-Jezeera is worse.

There is that minor difference that Al-Jazeera reports about things that actually happen. But, of course, you do not care whether the news is real or not.

[Intell]

This is stupid..

[Green Line]

Good.  Fake news needs to be destroyed.

[MaxQue]

Ah, the Pravda.

[Chunk Yogurt for President!]

Well, I consider the Qatari government to be worse than the Russian government.  I know some would disagree.

[ag]

Well, I consider the Qatari government to be worse than the Russian government.  I know some would disagree.

Qatari government is more benign for the vast majority of the world´s population. Qatar, while striking far above its weight, has no illusions of world domination or empire-building.  I doubt its rulers seriously think of invading even Bahrain

Hence, the Qatari interests are relatively limited. True, I would, of course, not expect Al-Jazeera to do quality reporting on the lives of foreign workers in Doha, or on the succession rumors in the royal family, or whatever. But in most of the world they have no real vested interest. In fact, their impact elsewhere from financing an important and credible news source far exceeds anything they could have obtained by interfereing in local politics: they, really, do not have much of an agenda in Uzbekistan or Tunisia. Hence, they have been willing to hire good journalists (mostly, if I am not mistaken, ex-BBC folks), and letting them be journalists.

[ag]

Well, I consider the Qatari government to be worse than the Russian government.  I know some would disagree.

It is very different as far as  Russia is concerned. You simply do not understand how much Russian rulers (and many Russians outside the ruling group) care about being a superpower. They do care not only about, say, what happens in Venezuela - but even about Paraguay and Vanuatu. They think in "geopolitical" terms (which in Russia has really developed into some sort of bullshoot cult). And, of course, they think about the US - daily and incessantly. They have an agenda everywhere. While few Qataris would think about a Spanish or a Burmese politician in terms of him being "anti-" or "pro-Qatari", Putin and his people really think of it that way: everyone for them is either "pro-" or "anti-Russian".  They generally cannot fathom that some people might not think of Russia all the time - and, in any case, if they realize that is the case, they get offended.

Hence, while an Al-Jazeera report about goings on in Belgium is just a report about Belgium, an RT piece on the same topic is, really, about how this can fit into Russia´s agenda in Belgium. That is a crucial difference, which you can only forget at your own peril.

[ag]

Well, I consider the Qatari government to be worse than the Russian government.  I know some would disagree.

Now, about the nature of the two governments, as far as those they governed are concerned. Actually, the two are very similar. Both are autoritarian, undemocratic, illiberal, oil-based and corrupt (though, I am pretty sure the Qataris are much less so in the latter case - oh the benefits of aristocracy).  Both have used an oil windfall to, among other things, improve the standards of living of their natives (though both have reserved the bulk of the benefits for a small elite). Both heavily rely on exploitation of foreign workers, who have little recourse to general social protections (somewhat less so in the more populous Russia - but, still, you'd be surprized how few ethnic Russians or even native minorities take service/construction/etc. jobs in Moscow these days: foreigners heavily dominate, and they are mercilessly exploited). Both are intollerant of dissent.

In fact, it is remarkable to which extent Russia is just a gigantic Qatar: but with nukes. I doubt you really like their nukes, though.