"People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them."
Those are the words of Facebook itself. And there's nothing wrong with that.
But, unfortunately, it doesn't tell the whole story.
There are also people who use Facebook to bully others, to spread hate speech, to defraud, spam, and commit online crimes.
In October 2012, when Facebook reached one billion active monthly users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he was "committed to working every day to make Facebook better for you".
If compared to the populations of countries, Facebook's more than a billion users dwarfs the likes of the United States, Indonesia and Brazil and is only outranked by China and India. In short, Facebook is colossal.
But what marks out Facebook for special attention is how it polices those many many millions of people.
A quick search on Facebook, using the most obvious of search terms, finds plenty of ghastly content that many good-minded people would find disturbing.
f you were a Facebook advertiser, how would you feel about your advertisement appearing on Facebook pages containing that kind of content? Is it something your brand would like to be associated with?
If it only took me a few seconds of searching to find content like this on Facebook, why can't Facebook search for similarly offensive phrases and take action against unsavoury content.
It's not as though only the only users of Facebook are broad-minded, unoffendable, adults.
Although young people under the age of 13 years old aren't allowed to log into Facebook, it's estimated that millions of pre-teens do go onto the social network every day. They, like the rest of us, can easily come into contact with this kind of offensive material on Facebook. They may even end up the victims of some of it.
Read full article: http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2013/03/28/rohypnol-rape-facebook/
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Facebook rules out installing 'panic button'
Facebook says it will not install a "panic button" on its main pages for users to report suspected paedophiles, but will develop its existing system.
The company says it will have links to organisations including the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre on its reporting pages.
But the director of Ceop says there should be a button on every page.
The conviction of Peter Chapman for the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall led to renewed calls for a "panic button".
The convicted sex offender lured the teenager to her death using Facebook.
Earlier, the Home Secretary said Facebook executives had told him they had "no objection in principle" to installing the safety button.
Alan Johnson said he and the site's executives had had a "frank exchange of views" during the meeting, following calls for Facebook to link to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre.
Facebook 'deeply saddened'
Defending Facebook's current set-up, a spokesman said they had been pleased to provide Mr Johnson with further details about their "robust reporting system".
"This innovative system has been developed by analysing millions of reports submitted over the years and testing ways to continually improve our system.
"The system effectively handles all manner of potential abuse we see on the site, ranging from the common minor breaking of the rules, such as embarrassing pictures, to the extremely rare serious matters that are quickly escalated to law enforcement."
He said they had gone on to explain that the website was "exploring ways to improve safety", which included adding links to more organisations, including Ceop and Beatbullying, on Facebook's reporting pages.
"We will also explore adding the Ceop button to our safety centre," he added.
Peter Chapman, 33, was jailed for at least 35 years this month for killing Ashleigh Hall last October.
She was raped, suffocated and her body dumped in a field near Sedgefield, County Durham, after agreeing to meet Chapman.
Earlier that month, she had been attracted by a picture of a young, bare-chested man that Chapman - calling himself Peter Cartwright - had posted on Facebook.
Facebook said it was "deeply saddened by the tragic death".
Read full article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8574727.stm
The company says it will have links to organisations including the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre on its reporting pages.
But the director of Ceop says there should be a button on every page.
The conviction of Peter Chapman for the murder of 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall led to renewed calls for a "panic button".
The convicted sex offender lured the teenager to her death using Facebook.
Earlier, the Home Secretary said Facebook executives had told him they had "no objection in principle" to installing the safety button.
Alan Johnson said he and the site's executives had had a "frank exchange of views" during the meeting, following calls for Facebook to link to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (Ceop) centre.
Facebook 'deeply saddened'
Defending Facebook's current set-up, a spokesman said they had been pleased to provide Mr Johnson with further details about their "robust reporting system".
"This innovative system has been developed by analysing millions of reports submitted over the years and testing ways to continually improve our system.
"The system effectively handles all manner of potential abuse we see on the site, ranging from the common minor breaking of the rules, such as embarrassing pictures, to the extremely rare serious matters that are quickly escalated to law enforcement."
He said they had gone on to explain that the website was "exploring ways to improve safety", which included adding links to more organisations, including Ceop and Beatbullying, on Facebook's reporting pages.
"We will also explore adding the Ceop button to our safety centre," he added.
Peter Chapman, 33, was jailed for at least 35 years this month for killing Ashleigh Hall last October.
She was raped, suffocated and her body dumped in a field near Sedgefield, County Durham, after agreeing to meet Chapman.
Earlier that month, she had been attracted by a picture of a young, bare-chested man that Chapman - calling himself Peter Cartwright - had posted on Facebook.
Facebook said it was "deeply saddened by the tragic death".
Read full article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8574727.stm
Friday, March 22, 2013
The Day Child Porn Went Viral on Facebook
A video of unknown origin appearing to show a grown man sexually abusing an infant girl went viral overnight on Facebook, garnering as many as 32,000 shares and over 5,000 likes before finally being removed by the website.
According to users who came into contact with the video — whether through their newsfeed or on various Facebook forums — it took over eight hours for Facebook's clean-up crew to eliminate the disturbing footage from its servers.
Read article.
According to users who came into contact with the video — whether through their newsfeed or on various Facebook forums — it took over eight hours for Facebook's clean-up crew to eliminate the disturbing footage from its servers.
Read article.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Sheryl Sandberg "LEAN IN" and Remove Misogyny from FB
I am off Facebook but if you are still on, please support this new page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sheryl-Sandberg-LEAN-IN-and-Remove-Misogyny-from-FB/469683616434059
Monday, March 18, 2013
More Threats
The same threats were made to all admins of the page, none of whom were public. I have screen shots of all threats. Both pages have been (temporarily?) removed by me. I won't have trolls attacking girls and women as they have been on the Rapebook page.
Facebook finally admits to tracking non-users
This latest confession from Facebook does beg the question: What kind of unethical behaviour will it take for Facebook users to rebel? Facebook is operating on the basis that it can pretty much get away with anything and, unfortunately, this seems to be mostly true. Its users don’t seem to care, leaving it up to regulators and politicians to hold the company to account. What could possibly go wrong with that?
http://www.firstpost.com/tech/facebook-finally-admits-to-tracking-non-users-133684.html
http://www.firstpost.com/tech/facebook-finally-admits-to-tracking-non-users-133684.html
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Threat to my Personal Email
Apparently they have published my personal details somewhere online for all to see. Just received my first threat to my personal email account.
"Hello Trista
I see you've banned me...
You know, that's a *very* nice page you've got there...
Yeah, a decent amount of *1,263* likes...
It would be a shame if someone...
Oh, I don't know...
*DDoSed it...*" sent from britishprisoner627@gmail.com
Another one from: nataleanthony42@gmail.com
"Hello Trista
I see you've banned me...
You know, that's a *very* nice page you've got there...
Yeah, a decent amount of *1,263* likes...
It would be a shame if someone...
Oh, I don't know...
*DDoSed it...*" sent from britishprisoner627@gmail.com
Another one from: nataleanthony42@gmail.com
High Court orders Facebook to reveal trolls
''Victory over cyber bullies: Legal first as High Court orders Facebook to reveal trolls'
The single mother is the first person ever to bring a court case privately to track down those who abused her
She was forced to take action after police refused to intervene
Now she has won a legal order forcing Facebook to disclose the identities of the trolls. It is the first time an individual has won such an order and Miss Brookes, 45, hopes to pursue private prosecutions against those responsible for her months of ‘vicious and depraved’ abuse.
Charities said the High Court ruling sent a message to the cyber bullies that their anonymity can be stripped away, leaving them open to prosecution.
Campaigners warned that online bullying has become the ‘weapon of choice’ among children and teenagers, with police and prosecutors failing to keep pace with the changes in technology.
''Miss Brookes said: ‘These abusers are not just random people who have nothing better to do with their time. ‘These are organised people who have been operating on Facebook for years.''
‘I’m going for the strongest possible prosecution against these people. I want them exposed.’ Last month, a survey found that just over half of all internet users have received abuse online or by text message. Only a minority report the abuse to police as many believe it will not be taken seriously.
Read Full Article.
The single mother is the first person ever to bring a court case privately to track down those who abused her
She was forced to take action after police refused to intervene
Now she has won a legal order forcing Facebook to disclose the identities of the trolls. It is the first time an individual has won such an order and Miss Brookes, 45, hopes to pursue private prosecutions against those responsible for her months of ‘vicious and depraved’ abuse.
Charities said the High Court ruling sent a message to the cyber bullies that their anonymity can be stripped away, leaving them open to prosecution.
Campaigners warned that online bullying has become the ‘weapon of choice’ among children and teenagers, with police and prosecutors failing to keep pace with the changes in technology.
''Miss Brookes said: ‘These abusers are not just random people who have nothing better to do with their time. ‘These are organised people who have been operating on Facebook for years.''
‘I’m going for the strongest possible prosecution against these people. I want them exposed.’ Last month, a survey found that just over half of all internet users have received abuse online or by text message. Only a minority report the abuse to police as many believe it will not be taken seriously.
Read Full Article.
Reporting Pictures Leads to Harassment
"I have noticed when I report a picture/page Facebook identifies me to the individual/group I reported. This seems as a built in technique to discourage people to report. I have been harassed afterwards and while I can block individuals I cannot block pages. Maybe this is something we can take up with FB (perhaps you already are)." - comment from woman on stoprapebook
Update: Just got another message about this:
"Hi! I just started following your page and have this far reported several extraordinarily offensive images. I was shocked this morning to find a very hurtful and offensive response from one of the pages in my inbox (I sent generic 'there's something about this that offends me, please take it down. And got back 'there's something about my penis. Please put it in your mouth.' Until now I really don't think I fully comprehended how horrible the world has gotten. I considered responding to the poster, but decided to transform into something positive: Thank you for being courageous in taking on this very important work. I bet you will encounter hatred and resistance, but stay strong and know your work is so very needed."
Update: Just got another message about this:
"Hi! I just started following your page and have this far reported several extraordinarily offensive images. I was shocked this morning to find a very hurtful and offensive response from one of the pages in my inbox (I sent generic 'there's something about this that offends me, please take it down. And got back 'there's something about my penis. Please put it in your mouth.' Until now I really don't think I fully comprehended how horrible the world has gotten. I considered responding to the poster, but decided to transform into something positive: Thank you for being courageous in taking on this very important work. I bet you will encounter hatred and resistance, but stay strong and know your work is so very needed."
Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Knowing how many of us women - even statistically - have been raped and abused, it is cruel and unusual punishment for Facebook to allow these images to remain on their page. In fact, they never should appear in the first place.
Raping our Wall
The Stop Rapebook wall has now been hit with a barrage of hard core rape images - some that are clearly of young girls - more than I can count or document. I can't keep up documenting all of them. Have contacted and reported to Facebook many times.
WHEN WILL FACEBOOK DO SOMETHING?
https://www.facebook.com/StopRapebook?ref=hl
Update: Pictures are down for now. I have screenshots to document everything.
WHEN WILL FACEBOOK DO SOMETHING?
https://www.facebook.com/StopRapebook?ref=hl
Update: Pictures are down for now. I have screenshots to document everything.
Is raping a dead baby funny Facebook?
"Fagget, you know what's funnier than raping a dead baby?
Raping his mother who's got out of the kitchen."
Brandon André (https://www.facebook.com/Retian.Maleoria)
More Direct Threats on Facebook
This is from a woman who has been working her tail off to make Facebook a safe place for all women and children. Now they are threatening her and her young daughter directly.
"Threats to me which we are receiving by message. This is me, that is referred to in this message, and the names and address given is correct.
These people also managed to get another admins email address a few days ago, and posted it on the public forum on facebook.
''Hello i am the Magikarp, and we know who you are now. You are Mxxa Fxxy, you have a young daughter named lxxxx. You live in Oxxxm, Am Stutenanger, xx with Dxxk xxx and you have a travel blog (very useful for us). We know everything about you, and we can easily let other people know too. We have but one request: Stop targeting Jessica Dahmer. A simple, easy to do request. We want you to publicly renounce the attacks on Jessica Dahmer and promise you will leave her and her friends alone. Otherwise we will release your information EVERYWHERE. And who knows, that could easily be seen by someone who wants to do something not very nice to you or your family. We dont want that to happen, and im sure you dont either. Concede defeat, or face the consequences, your choice.''
This was sent by the following profile
http://www.facebook.com/magikarp.senior"
"Threats to me which we are receiving by message. This is me, that is referred to in this message, and the names and address given is correct.
These people also managed to get another admins email address a few days ago, and posted it on the public forum on facebook.
''Hello i am the Magikarp, and we know who you are now. You are Mxxa Fxxy, you have a young daughter named lxxxx. You live in Oxxxm, Am Stutenanger, xx with Dxxk xxx and you have a travel blog (very useful for us). We know everything about you, and we can easily let other people know too. We have but one request: Stop targeting Jessica Dahmer. A simple, easy to do request. We want you to publicly renounce the attacks on Jessica Dahmer and promise you will leave her and her friends alone. Otherwise we will release your information EVERYWHERE. And who knows, that could easily be seen by someone who wants to do something not very nice to you or your family. We dont want that to happen, and im sure you dont either. Concede defeat, or face the consequences, your choice.''
This was sent by the following profile
http://www.facebook.com/magikarp.senior"
Saturday, March 16, 2013
"I want little girls Nude"
Just hit a new low, at least in terms of what I have seen personally. I will not post the pictures but I did take screen shots of everything.
I was just sent a new link with nearly 500 followers that is dedicated to "Lesbian girls aged 11-18". Some of the girls are clearly around 5 years old.
Some girls are bare breasted with pre-pubescent breasts, others are posing in lingerie, still others are just innocent little girls posing in their underwear. Another popular pose is girls in uniform reclining with their skirts lifted up all the way up so you can see their panties.
One has a comment that says "I want little girls Nude". (This guy has also been reported.)
Reported to Facebook and the authorities but why is this even on Facebook in the first place?
DO NOT OPEN THIS LINK UNLESS YOU HAVE A STRONG STOMACH.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niñas-lesbianas-de-11-a-18/552455124775121
Update: More pages are popping up: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colegialas-Sexys/215061571973077
Keep up to date on www.facebook.com/stoprapebook
I was just sent a new link with nearly 500 followers that is dedicated to "Lesbian girls aged 11-18". Some of the girls are clearly around 5 years old.
Some girls are bare breasted with pre-pubescent breasts, others are posing in lingerie, still others are just innocent little girls posing in their underwear. Another popular pose is girls in uniform reclining with their skirts lifted up all the way up so you can see their panties.
One has a comment that says "I want little girls Nude". (This guy has also been reported.)
Reported to Facebook and the authorities but why is this even on Facebook in the first place?
DO NOT OPEN THIS LINK UNLESS YOU HAVE A STRONG STOMACH.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Niñas-lesbianas-de-11-a-18/552455124775121
Update: More pages are popping up: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Colegialas-Sexys/215061571973077
Keep up to date on www.facebook.com/stoprapebook
Why I am Boycotting Facebook
This is an actual picture that was posted 9 hours ago as of my posting at by Nathanael Crucifer on a new page for Jessica Dahmer. (Update: as of 17:17PST page is down)
I am not returning to Facebook until it is a SAFE SPACE for all women and children.
Many people have asked me about why I have left and questioned my decision to remain "silent".
I am not silent. I will never be silent. However, I will not spin my wheels on a site that does not provide basic safety for women and children.
Would you stay in a relationship where a man was beating you every day?
If not, then why would you devote your time and energy to a site that gives men a PLATFORM who rape, mutilate, beat and kill women - or even men who think any of those things are funny? Shouldn't we be starving this beast instead of feeding him?
Would you attend parties where men thought rape was funny? Would you hang out with lunch mates who showed off pictures of women tied up and gagged? Would you let your children be around known child pedophiles or pornographers?
Why do we look the other way when it comes to Facebook? Are we really that addicted to the rush of it all?
Until Facebook changes it's policies, many (thousands, millions??) of women will continued to be harassed, traumatized and abused online every day. I do not think it is difficult to make a connection between the threat of abuse and actual abuse. Abuse almost always begins verbally and escalates.
I have known for nearly 6 months that women are being harassed and traumatized on Facebook. I have written articles about it and spoken up about it in every way I can. But nothing has changed. I began to feel complicit. As I stated on my Facebook page, I don't believe anything will change until people refuse to participate and make their voices heard so that advertisers leave too.
I have felt an urge to leave for a long time. In my gut, I have felt that was the right and the only thing to do. But then there were the other voices that usually boiled down to one of three things.
#1 "You owe us somehow to stay."
#2 "It's 'only' threats"
#3 "You're letting them win."
#4 The worst woman-hating one: "Law of Attraction"
#1 I don't owe anyone anything. The only people I owe my life to are my-self and my children. Even my beloved husband would never ask me to give up my life for him.
#2 Even if these are "just" threats - to trace my "IP house then come to my house in the night..knock you out take you back to my cellar where you'll wake up hung from the ceiling by meat hooks..cut of your feet and watch you try to run away on bloody stubs...follow the blood and crawl up on your face and watch my digestive juices eat away and your tender, tender flesh...slash you open and lick your pancreas and slobber all over you delicious internal organs...roll around in your blood and make love to a dead goat in the pit of necrofeciality....
or "meet with an unfortunate accident"... it is not worth it to me to become less of a person as a result. I will not give up my ability to be fully present to both of my children or in my own life. Not for an online account. No thank you.
#3 I will not win by being killed.
There is nothing brave or heroic in my mind about putting my children at risk so that I can maintain an online presence on Facebook. None of my Facebook friends or the people who "like" my pages will ever replace either of my children.
#4 If you really think this, please just don't have anything to do with me ever again. This is such an American ethno-centric way to think. Do you really think the women being raped now in Syria brought this upon themselves? If you would rather spend your life under a blanket feeling warm and fuzzy while pretending the rest of the women in the world does not exist - that is not something I can relate to. Whether you want to believe it or not, the things on Facebook will come back to haunt you sooner or later. If you have teenage daughters, they may already have. And if you are living with your head under the sand, you probably don't even know it.
Several years ago, I was a housewife living in the suburbs. When I set up my facebook account with hundreds of proud photos of my children, I never in a million years ever thought I would one day receive death threats on that very site threatening to find me by my IP address - where my same children - 6 and 9 years old - also live.
There are many feminists who do not maintain personal or even professional pages on Facebook. Having a Facebook page does not make you a better person or a better feminist. I would also add that I find it to be extremely time-consuming. What would happen if we all put our energies elsewhere?
As recent articles have shown, it's not just men on the fringe participating in this harassment. I am sure we all have friends or family who are harassing women online, as difficult as it is to think that. I have to wonder how many people are hesitant to report "friends" or family.
More and more, staying on Facebook feels like looking the other way. The image that keeps coming to mind is trying to seem like I am enjoying a dinner party while I know someone is in the other room raping my sister. How can I keep pretending everything is OK, when in fact, someone is just a few clicks away, electronically raping my sister - threatening to do it in person?
I realize most people have a personal or business stake in Facebook so they are unlikely to deactivate their accounts. That said, for me, staying on Facebook felt like I was perpetuating a system that glorifies rape/violence/mutilation of women. My conscience would not allow me to do that.
Wherever your conscience leaves you, I hope you speak up and force radical change at Facebook.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Just one of Many Pages that threaten Women on Facebook
"I like what he's doing and all, but I'd ease up on the threats...I don't want this guy put in jail for standing up for guys everywhere"
David Mueller It's really amusing, because according to Facebook, she is probably less than half an hour on the tube from me.
See the full conversation at:
https://www.facebook.com/jessdahmer11
And yes, I took screenshots of everything I could.
David Mueller It's really amusing, because according to Facebook, she is probably less than half an hour on the tube from me.
See the full conversation at:
https://www.facebook.com/jessdahmer11
And yes, I took screenshots of everything I could.
Still on Facebook? This is what you are supporting.
Pictures shared on www.facebook.com/StopRapebook by Kyle Gill https://www.facebook.com/kyle.gill.7509
All of these pictures were reported to Facebook, after reviewing them, their response was:
"Thank you for your report. We carefully reviewed the photo you reported, but found it doesn't violate our community standard on hate speech so we didn't remove it."
All of these pictures were reported to Facebook, after reviewing them, their response was:
"Thank you for your report. We carefully reviewed the photo you reported, but found it doesn't violate our community standard on hate speech so we didn't remove it."
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Cancelling Facebook Until it is a Safe Space for Women
In a few hours I am shutting down my Facebook account in protest. For the last 6 months I have tried to work with Facebook to make it a safe place for women and children.
It still is NOT a safe place for women and children, as the threats against me and another woman yesterday prove. If you have kids on Facebook, they need to be either supervised 100% the time, or their accounts need to be shut down.
I have thought about this for a long time, and the only thing my conscience can settle on is that by staying on Facebook, I am contributing to a culture that promotes the rape, abuse, torture and murder of women.
Facebook gives these men a platform under the guise of "free speech." There is an obvious connection in my mind between men who threaten to rape and abuse women, and those who do so.
Until people refuse to participate and make their voices heard so that advertisers leave too, I don't think anything will ever truly change at Facebook.
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/11/does-facebook-hate-all-women-or-just-feminists/
It still is NOT a safe place for women and children, as the threats against me and another woman yesterday prove. If you have kids on Facebook, they need to be either supervised 100% the time, or their accounts need to be shut down.
I have thought about this for a long time, and the only thing my conscience can settle on is that by staying on Facebook, I am contributing to a culture that promotes the rape, abuse, torture and murder of women.
Facebook gives these men a platform under the guise of "free speech." There is an obvious connection in my mind between men who threaten to rape and abuse women, and those who do so.
Until people refuse to participate and make their voices heard so that advertisers leave too, I don't think anything will ever truly change at Facebook.
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/11/does-facebook-hate-all-women-or-just-feminists/
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Threats to "get IP address, track you down, kidnap, rape, torture, and mutilate you."
I woke up to some very disturbing messages this morning. Our Stoprapebook
page has been filled with trolls these last weeks.
We have been blocking them, but apparently their messages still show up for other people to see. This message came in today:
"Your last post has comments mostly filled with swear words and personal attacks. It's from Max Rxxxs sent from Williamson, WV (West Virginia). He's threatening to get your IP address, track you down, kidnap, rape, torture, and mutilate you."
And another message: Trista, on of those nut cases on the rapebook page has got hold of your email address.
This is what (s)he posted.
''Found the admin. Left their email address in a post.
txxn@gmail.com
Bitch has made a lot of attention-whoring pages in the name of feminism. Yeah... different bitch, same story. /shrug''
The post was made by http://www.facebook.com/cscird
I have emailed Facebook and the FBI, but the threats against women online seem to only get worse. After years of fighting this, what else should we be doing?
We have been blocking them, but apparently their messages still show up for other people to see. This message came in today:
"Your last post has comments mostly filled with swear words and personal attacks. It's from Max Rxxxs sent from Williamson, WV (West Virginia). He's threatening to get your IP address, track you down, kidnap, rape, torture, and mutilate you."
And another message: Trista, on of those nut cases on the rapebook page has got hold of your email address.
This is what (s)he posted.
''Found the admin. Left their email address in a post.
txxn@gmail.com
Bitch has made a lot of attention-whoring pages in the name of feminism. Yeah... different bitch, same story. /shrug''
The post was made by http://www.facebook.com/cscird
I have emailed Facebook and the FBI, but the threats against women online seem to only get worse. After years of fighting this, what else should we be doing?
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