Facebook is under fire again, this time with the public as #deletefacebook trend on Twitter following leaks of details of CEO, Mark Zuckerburg’s secret meetings and dinners with right-wing politicians emerged.

Facebook can be said to now be on its deathbed with the barrage of accusing fingers pointing at the social media giant. Recall last year, Facebook was accused of giving access to users’ data to third-party companies. It was also accused of misleading users and undermined their privacy one of which brought about the Analytica scandal of 2018. Apart from these, there’s been a series of other issues and complaints raised against Facebook on the issue of privacy and transparency with users as has been recorded by Electronic Privacy Information Center (Epic.org)

Having lost its salt, Facebook has become a shadow of itself, a mere propaganda machine, it seems. In the last few months, black folks have been complaining of being silenced and censored whenever they call out racism. In some cases, people are restricted for no reason and no explanation of what rule they broke.  I personally in the last 3 months has been having issues with commenting on both my posts and those of my friends. I can’t even reply to comments made on my own posts. I have tried everything I can to have this rectified to no avail. I have complained to Facebook and they won’t come back to me. Recently, my husband shared a video of Mr Farrakhan, and instantly, Facebook restricted him from uploading videos or photos without any explanations.

You do remember earlier this year, Louis Farrakhan was removed from Facebook together with a host of other strong, wise black voices. Prompting many to accuse Facebook of being racist and discriminatory.  All of these are beginning to make sense today with the leak of Mark’s secret meetings and dinners with far-right politicians by politico. Confirmed long-standing speculations that Facebook is only a far-right propaganda machine. 

According to the US media, politico, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been hosting informal talks and small, off-the-record dinners with conservative journalists, commentators and at least one Republican lawmaker in recent months to talk about issues like free speech and discuss partnerships.
The media reports that “the dinners began in July and are part of Zuckerberg’s broader effort to cultivate friends on the right amid outrage by President Donald Trump and his allies over alleged “bias” against conservatives at Facebook and other major social media companies.”

It’s not any wonder why people are furious and the hashtag has begun to trend again urging people to delete and cancel Facebook.  
“So not only does Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg steal our private information for money, but they also steal our sovereign elections for power. Privacy, like freedom, isn’t free. The cost is our country and our future, which we’re not willing to play anymore. Enough. #DeleteFacebook” Tweeted a user.  

I stopped actively posting on @Facebook in 2016 after it was revealed that it helped elect the orange faecal smear. Now #DeleteFacebook seems like the best course of action. Yes, I’m still on IG but I feel it does less to push the Trump agenda. Less older white supremacists. 👌🏻 https://t.co/D5jOTqjyAQ

Not only is Facebook causing privacy, freedom of speech issues, Facebook also has been accused of undermining small business, sabotaging their advertisements. Facebook and Instagram adverts seem to only circulate around the same cluster of people and not reaching the targetted audience. And rightly so, small business owners are visibly worried. A phenomenon I have experienced myself. As a small business owner, I have relied on Facebook to reach my core audience but have discovered recently that my adverts are no longer being shown to my specified audience. Often times you find that those interacting on your posts have profiles that look like bots and usually out of my post target range. With these developments, I and my team are seriously rethinking and trying out other marketing avenues. And I’m telling folks, If you’ve relied on Facebook or even Instagram with your small business, it’s now time to start thinking up new strategies moving forward as it seems Facebook is about to take a bow.