GOP Congressman Ken Buck Points Out Assad Facebook Fan Page Allowed to Stay Up After Trump Ruling

GOP Congressman Ken Buck expressed his displeasure with the Facebook's Oversight Board decision Wednesday to uphold the social media platform's ban on former President Donald Trump.

In a statement released shortly after the board's announcement, Buck criticized Facebook while also pointing out what he calls its hypocrisy in allowing a fan page for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. He maintained that the Assad page "repeatedly promoted falsehoods about the pro-democracy movement in Syria and downplays the human rights abuses committed against the Syrian people during the Civil War."

The Oversight Board allowed the ban on Trump's account to remain in place, which the social company implemented following the deadly January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. However, the panel told Facebook to establish how long the suspension would last and called an indefinite ban "vague and uncertain." The ruling also gave Facebook six months to comply and thus delayed Trump's reinstatement during that time.

Buck and other Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee previously sent a letter to the Facebook Oversight Board in February. In that letter, which included signatures from Congressmen Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz, the committee members contended: "Instances where conservatives viewpoints have been censored, blocked, diminished harm the free exchange of ideas and irreparably damage conservative Americans' faith in the fairness of purportedly neutral actors like Facebook."

Following the announcement of the Oversight Board's decision on Wednesday morning, Buck shared a statement on Twitter and on his official page from the U.S. House of Representatives. It read:

I am disappointed, but not surprised, by the Facebook Oversight Board ruling on President Donald Trump's indefinite suspension. Facebook made an arbitrary decision based on its political preferences and the Oversight Board, organized and funded by Facebook, re-affirmed its decision. The American people should fear any company that sees itself as so powerful it establishes a biased, quasi-judicial entity to adjudicate our First Amendment rights.

The Oversight Board determined that President Trump's speech constituted an ongoing risk of violence, highlighting that "heads of state and other high officials of government can have a greater power to cause harm than other people." It should be noted that Facebook permits a Bashar al-Assad fan page with over 250k likes to continue posting. The page's administrator is located in Syria, has been active since 2011, and has repeatedly promoted falsehoods about the pro-democracy movement in Syria and downplays the human rights abuses committed against the Syrian people during the Civil War.

Facebook's status as a monopoly has led its leaders to believe it can silence and censor Americans' speech with no repercussions. Now more than ever we need aggressive antitrust reform to break up Facebook's monopoly.

Newsweek contacted Buck for further comment, but has not heard back as of press time.