Facebook ban on discussing Linux?

Claims vs. Evidence

• The original DistroWatch piece claims “Facebook’s internal policy makers decided that Linux is malware” and are treating Linux groups as “cybersecurity threats.”
• Many commenters say this overstates what’s actually shown: the evidence clearly supports “some Linux‑related links are blocked,” but not that Facebook made an explicit, platform‑wide policy against Linux.
• Several people stress that the strong claim (“policy makers decided Linux is malware”) requires stronger, more specific evidence than has been presented.

Scope of Facebook Blocking

• Multiple users report concrete tests: posts containing links to DistroWatch, Debian, Qubes OS, and some other Linux‑related URLs are removed as “spam” or “misleading links,” often within seconds.
• Others can still post about Linux generally, and some can link other Linux content (e.g., Linux Foundation posts), suggesting this is not a blanket ban on “discussing Linux” but a narrower set of URL blocks and classifications.
• Some Wikimedia subdomains (notably Wikispecies, but not all Wikimedia sites) appear to be blocked as well.

Cause: Buggy Automation vs. Deliberate Policy

• A dominant view is that this is a false positive from automated moderation: ML classifiers and “security filters” mislabeling certain domains or files as malware/spam, then being enforced at scale.
• One detailed thread ties the timing to DistroWatch linking a new Privoxy tarball that several antivirus engines flagged, speculating that this caused domain‑level blocking.
• Others argue that even if it’s “just” buggy automation, the choice to delegate and not promptly fix it is itself a policy decision, so the effect is indistinguishable from intentional censorship to users.

Censorship, Accountability, and Terminology

• There is an extended side‑debate over what qualifies as “censorship” (private vs. state actors) and whether an algorithm can meaningfully be called a “policy maker.”
• Some insist on distinguishing between blocking one site and banning an entire topic; others say the distinction matters greatly for how serious the issue is.

Broader Views on Facebook & Moderation

• Commenters highlight Facebook’s long‑standing moderation problems: inconsistent enforcement, over‑blocking benign content, under‑blocking scams and gore, and lack of effective appeals.
• Several note the irony that Facebook itself relies heavily on Linux while some Linux‑related links are being blocked, and use this as another reason to avoid Facebook altogether.