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Recently, one of my Facebook friends mentioned to me that she had been thrown into Facebook jail for a period of three days, due to her having shared something regarding COVID-19 and the vaccines, which Facebook apparently did not like. I can certainly relate to my friend's predicament, as I will be explaining in more detail momentarily. As I informed my friend in my response to her, what happened to her was just a light slap on the wrist, compared to what I have been through with Facebook in more recent years. For the record, and as I explain in some of my older Facebook-related posts on my Bill's Bible Basics Blog, I was once thrown into Facebook jail for a total of thirty-two days. Furthermore, I have been in Facebook jail many other times for shorter periods of time as well.

But that is not all. Oh no, not by any means! I have had literally hundreds of my posts removed by Facebook because they supposedly go against their so-called "Community Standards", which I prefer to refer to as their "Liberal Community Standards". Actually, given everything I have been through, and the ungodly things which I have seen posted on Facebook with impunity, I have to wonder if the Facebook staff has one standard for liberals, and another standard for Christians and Conservatives. It certainly seems that way.

At any rate, please note that the hundreds of posts which have been removed by Facebook are Christian-oriented posts which reflect conservative points of view. They are NOT controversial stuff such as conspiracy theories and the like. In fact, until quite recently -- meaning the past few weeks -- my posts have had absolutely nothing to do with the controversial vaccines.

In addition, I have also been forced logged out, and forced to change my Facebook password literally DOZENS of times, without exaggeration. I know this for a fact because I have kept a careful record of these events on my hard drive, just in case I should ever need it some day.

Finally, I have been forced to upload my government-issued ID card multiple times as well, and I have also been forced to confirm my physical mailing address to Facebook. Please keep in mind that I have been an active member of Facebook for over ten years now. So if all of the above is not intentional harassment by Facebook, then I don't know what is.

All of this is in addition to the fact that since November of 2017, when Facebook began making serious changes to their algorithms, implementing more automation in their network, and creating more draconian policies, my outreach has been restricted more and more; just as is occurring with many of my other Christian friends on Facebook. In fact, if you have made it this far in reading this commentary, I imagine that a lot of you are thinking to yourselves, "Wow! That sounds just like me!"

As a result of these harsh and restrictive measures which have been taken by Facebook in recent years, even though I have just under 5,000 Facebook friends at this current time, apparently, only a few dozen of them are actually able to see and interact with my posts in some way; meaning either through liking them, sharing them or commenting on them. This has become known as "shadow banning". You can learn more about this sneaky, discriminatory practice at the following URL. Perhaps Facebook should really be called "The Shadow Ban Network", because they are notorious for doing it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_banning

As I have said before, when shadow banning happens, it can be very discouraging, because it makes a person feel as if he or she is out alone in the social network desert. Many of us have experienced it time and time again. I know that I have. In fact, it has sometimes made me wonder if Facebook is fighting a subtle war of attrition against Conservatives and Christians. In other words, just wear us down until we decide to leave of our own accord.

I also find it very strange that even though I have just under 5,000 Facebook friends, whenever I add something new to my "Facebook Story", by the time it has run its course, Facebook ALWAYS says that only about four dozen people have actually seen my latest story entry. Why is that? How is it possible that I can have 5,000 friends, and yet only four dozen people actually see my story? In my view, this is a very clear indication that Facebook is purposely, knowingly and intentionally restricting -- or shadow banning -- my Christian content and outreach, apparently because they do not agree with the things that I believe and preach. I see no other way to explain this. Do you?

But when it comes to Facebook harassment, the icing on the cake has to be what has happened to me over the past two days. Let me briefly tell you exactly what has happened. Two days ago, during the morning hours, I started running one of my status updates as a paid sponsored ad. Please note that this is something which I never do for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it is quite expensive to run an ad on Facebook for any appreciable amount of time. The update that I sponsored is called "COVID-19 Vaccines: Your Choice, Not Theirs!". The ad cost me $160.00 -- no, I am not crazy -- and it was supposed to run for a period of seven days.

To continue, my sponsored ad was doing quite well. However, after about five hours time, Facebook stopped the ad from running, and then also demanded that I set up two-factor authentication, that I confirm my physical mailing address to them, and that I upload a new government-issued photo ID as well. I can understand why they required some of these things, but it is actually what happened after this that really irked me.

Well, despite the fact that I have been a member of Facebook for over ten years now, and have previously confirmed my identity to them by uploading my government-issued ID card in the past, and have jumped through their security hoops many dozens of times before, I did what I could to meet their new demands. As a result, after a few hours, the ad started running again where it had left off. So I thought to myself, "Well, okay, everything is fine again. I am over this bump in the road."

Boy was I mistaken! Not so! When I last checked, my paid, sponsored post had already reached around 2,500 people. It likewise had garnered over 300 reactions -- meaning thumbs up, hearts, sad faces, angry faces, etc. -- as well as about 200 comments in the comment thread. To my delight, it had also been shared by other Facebook members around 75 times as well. All of this occurred in less than a day, using only about 12% of my 7-day allotted budget.

Obviously, I was quite happy regarding this development. But then, BAM! Based on the false pretext that my post contained false information, endangered people's health, and according to them, "could cause physical harm", Facebook stopped my ad from running, and then completely deleted the post from my page! Just like that!

Actually, as I later told some of my Facebook friends, I was a bit surprised that Facebook allowed me to run the ad in the first place, because clearly, my position regarding the vaccines is totally contrary to Facebook's current agenda. Exactly what is their agenda? It is to promote the vaccines, and to silence any voices which say anything negative about them, as many of you who are reading this article have already found out for yourselves. Right?

The thing is, my post did NOT contain any misinformation, or even any wild conspiracy theories, such as you may find on other Facebook pages and timelines. It was very factual in nature, and even included some links to U.S. government-run websites, as well as a few other news media links. It also explained in no uncertain terms why I personally refuse to be vaccinated. The overall aim of the piece was to say that the choice to be, or not to be, vaccinated, should be ours alone, and not the government's, or anyone else's. As they say, "My body, my choice!"

Well, apparently, Facebook does not believe that we should have the right to choose for ourselves whether or not to get the vaccine. Apparently they believe that we should all just be blind, obedient, little sheep who fall into line and be vaccinated, despite the well-known risks and negative side effects which have now been clearly associated with the vaccines, and which are now affecting a growing percentage of people, not just in the USA, but around the world as well. If you want the specifics regarding what I am talking about, please visit this U.S. government-run website:

https://vaers.hhs.gov/index.html

However, in order to remove my "dangerous" post, Facebook had to find a way to make it appear as if their decision to stop running the ad, and to delete the post was justifiable, legitimate and necessary. So what did they do? As I already said, they decided to pull out their "could cause physical harm" card. Seriously? In other words, in Facebook's view, respecting people's God-given right to choose for themselves in regard to getting the vaccine "could cause physical harm".

My gosh! Now is that a ridiculous cop-out or what? Does anyone reading this really believe that Facebook actually cares about the welfare of their users? Really? Let's be really honest here, shall we? The only thing that Facebook is really interested in is mining our personal data, and convincing us to purchase their expensive ads. That's it! If you believe otherwise, then in my view, you are just fooling yourself!

While I am at it, let me mention something else that just popped into my head. Abortion also "could cause physical harm" to a woman, and it DEFINITELY causes physical harm to that unborn child! It murders them in cold blood! Yet do we see Facebook taking down posts that are about abortion? Not that I am aware of.

So this simple argument clearly exposes Facebook's hypocrisy in taking down my post regarding COVID-19 vaccines, and our right to choose for ourselves. Women can choose whether or not to get an abortion, yet we are not allowed to choose whether or not to get the vaccine. So says Facebook through their actions in stopping my sponsored ad, and then deleting my post entirely from my page.

For those of you who may want to read my taken-down, "controversial" post for yourselves, you can still find it on the Bill's Bible Basics Blog, as well as on my Facebook timeline, and in the Facebook Bill's Bible Basics group. Well, at least for the time being, until Facebook decides to delete it from those two places as well. If you are a member of my social network called the Christian Social Network, you will find the same post there as well. Following is the URL for the aforementioned post on the Bill's Bible Basics Blog:

https://www.billkochman.com/Blog/index.php/covid-19-vaccines-your-choice-not-theirs/

Please note that unlike Facebook where we are all at their mercy, I have complete control over my Bill's Bible Basics Blog, and over the Christian Social Network, because I run them myself on my own web server at home. As a result, the post in question -- "COVID-19 Vaccines: Your Choice, Not Theirs!" -- will never disappear from either place, unless I personally choose to take it down for some reason, which I don't anticipate happening.

To continue, as a result of everything which I have now described for you in this current article, my disappointment and discontentment with Facebook had been growing not just for a few weeks or months, but for years. In fact, ever since they began changing their algorithms and policies, -- thus resulting in heavily restricting our outreach -- around November of 2017. From reading their posts and comments, I knew without a doubt that quite a few of my fellow Facebook friends were feeling the very same way. It is for that reason that I finally decided to do something about it.

What I actually decided to do was to provide everyone with an alternative social network, and an escape from Facebook's oppression, discrimination and tyranny. Thus, I and a few of my longtime, close friends decided to take a big financial gamble; and in October-November of 2020, I set up my own social network -- that is, the Christian Social Network -- which you can find at the following URL:

https://www.csnet.live

Please note that you can access CSNet either by using a web browser on a desktop or a laptop computer, or else you can download our "CSNet App" using Apple's "App Store" app on your iPhone. Likewise, you can download our "CSNet" app by using Google's "Play Store" app on your Android phone. By the way, please notice the slight name difference between the two apps. You will easily recognize the app in both stores, because the app logo contains a Bible overlaid with a cross and the letters CSN against a dark blue background. Currently, neither app works on iPads or on Android tablets. Sorry.

The Christian Social Network offers a similar feature set to that of Facebook, as you can see by the graphic below. However, one big difference is that we are Bible-based and Christian-oriented. As such, you will NOT find all of the ungodly, offensive, liberal crap that you find on Facebook.



The Christian Social Network welcomes all Christians, as well as anyone else who has a SINCERE desire to learn about the Christian faith. Sign-up to CSNet is relatively simple. Assuming that you are interested in becoming a member of our social network, before doing so, it would be very helpful -- and would likewise save you some time -- if you prepare the following info ahead of time:

1. A full name: To avoid confusion with other users, you MUST use both a first name and a last name. This name will be seen by other CSNet members. If you are a current member of Facebook, it would be helpful if you used the same name, so that other Facebook friends who have joined the Christian Social Network will recognize you.

2. A user name: This name will be used in your personal URL.

3. An email address: Preferably, this should be a Gmail address in order to avoid any problems. Believe it or not, but certain mail servers have already begun restricting outgoing email messages from the CSNet web server. This will directly affect your ability to receive notifications from the Christian Social Network, such as friend requests, new likes and comments, etc. That is why you should strive to use a Gmail address when signing up with CSNet.

4. A profile pic: It does not need to be large, but it should be SQUARE. A size of 480 x 480 pixels will serve just fine.

5. A cover image: This does not need to be added during the sign-up process. It can be added after you have become a CSNet member. If you have the skill, you can create your own cover image in a graphics program such as Adobe Photoshop. Or you can use a royalty-free image that you find somewhere on the Internet. Or you can use one of the 100+ free cover images which are available on the Christian Social Network. Whichever you decide to use, for best results, it should measure exactly 1200 x 675 pixels. That is, 1200 pixels from left to right, and 675 pixels in height.

While signing up, one thing that is very important is that you carefully read and follow all on-screen instructions. While the sign-up process is easy, and works perfectly well, it has come to my attention that occasionally, some of our elderly members, as well as people who do not have a lot of computer experience, do encounter problems. If this should happen to you, please feel free to write to me at the following email address:

wordweaver777@gmail.com

I will do my best to help you to get signed up. In fact, you will find the very same email address on the CSNet sign-up page.

Before concluding this short article, I wanted to share with you the various screens which Facebook showed me when they stopped running my sponsored ad, and then completely deleted my post from my Facebook page. Again, my jaw drops when I consider that they removed my post because, according to their weird way of thinking, it "could cause physical harm":


With that, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it to be both informative and enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you would take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

Facebook and the Battle for Our Youth
Civil Disobedience and Christian Persecution
He Who Fights and Runs Away: Choose Your Battles Wisely
Free Will and Personal Choice
Gaslighting: We Are Being Manipulated and Surveilled

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Please avail yourself of other areas of the Bill's Bible Basics website. There are many treasures for you to discover.