Facebook Poll Asked 'Should Obama Be Killed?'
posted by: Tracy Viselli 65 days ago
Earlier today, I received an email pointing me to a poll on Facebook that asked: "Should Obama Be Killed?" The answer choices were Yes, Maybe, If he cuts my health care, and No.
The poll has since been removed by Facebook but you can see a screenshot of the poll at TPM Live Wire. The poll was part of an application run by an outside party, not Facebook itself. Not only has the poll been removed, but the application used to create had been disabled. However, at this time the Real Polls application appears to be available again.
In a statement to TPM Media, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said: "The application that enabled a user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning and was disabled. We're following up [with] the developer to ensure the offending content has been removed and that they have better procedures in place going forward to monitor their user-generated content."
The Secret Service is investigating the incident according to Greg Sargent who published this statement by Secret Service spokeman Ed Donovan taken by reporter Amanda Erickson: “We are taking the appropriate investigative steps. We are aware of it.”
As Sargent writes, the "viral incitement to violence" seems to permeate the conservative internet since President Obama's election. This Facebook poll is just another example of many others in which it has become perfectly acceptable in some circles to suggest/joke about the assasination of a sitting president in a very public way.
Facebook is the virtual community where millions of Americans keep in touch with the friends and family. Sadly, such extremist behavior on sites like FreeRepublic.com and in those viral emails many of us receive is not so surprising anymore but seeing on it on Facebook, which for many of us is our online neighborhood, is a more shocking example of the kind of animus some Americans feel toward their president. A poll asking whether President Obama should be assasinated seems beyond the pale.
The poll has since been removed by Facebook but you can see a screenshot of the poll at TPM Live Wire. The poll was part of an application run by an outside party, not Facebook itself. Not only has the poll been removed, but the application used to create had been disabled. However, at this time the Real Polls application appears to be available again.
In a statement to TPM Media, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said: "The application that enabled a user to create the offensive poll was brought to our attention this morning and was disabled. We're following up [with] the developer to ensure the offending content has been removed and that they have better procedures in place going forward to monitor their user-generated content."
The Secret Service is investigating the incident according to Greg Sargent who published this statement by Secret Service spokeman Ed Donovan taken by reporter Amanda Erickson: “We are taking the appropriate investigative steps. We are aware of it.”
As Sargent writes, the "viral incitement to violence" seems to permeate the conservative internet since President Obama's election. This Facebook poll is just another example of many others in which it has become perfectly acceptable in some circles to suggest/joke about the assasination of a sitting president in a very public way.
Facebook is the virtual community where millions of Americans keep in touch with the friends and family. Sadly, such extremist behavior on sites like FreeRepublic.com and in those viral emails many of us receive is not so surprising anymore but seeing on it on Facebook, which for many of us is our online neighborhood, is a more shocking example of the kind of animus some Americans feel toward their president. A poll asking whether President Obama should be assasinated seems beyond the pale.
Read more: president, politics, poll, killed, assasination, obama, facebook
comments
FB and Care are About the same thing Same Crap on both sites Afew bad weeds
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"Thou Shalt Not Kill"....-God
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The creator of that poll is goin' *down*. Haha.
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I know what this is about but everyone keeps slandering how wrong it is that Obama is president. This was a poll on Facebook Should Obama be killed. If you wish to vent your frustrations about who is the president of the United States start another discussion I usually ignore those posts but when I read every slandering post that does not have anything to do with this discussion I feel it should be taken somewhere else. So vent all you want but no matter what it is not right to have such poll on any website. That is all I was getting at and I am highly educated so I am not a child. I just want people to stop bickering and get a grip on real facts here. I don't feel that anyone should have a poll on murdering someone but somewhere on here the real reason this was started was to say how wrong it was to have such a poll. But you all sound like bickering children to me. That is all I was saying!!!! And there have been some good comments also I send those people green stars. I do have a grip do you????
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Gosh FS, Blogs are basically not meant to change minds, to me, it's just an avenue for folks to express personal opinions, share thoughts and get things off their chest. The good Lord knows we all need to "get it out on the blackboard" sometimes. Unfortunately, I think we ALL take things too far sometimes because of the anonymity a blog or website comments gives us. I know that while I try to reread my posts a couple of times before I hit the send button, I've fired off some things that could have been said better and with more intelligence if I would have taken longer to write it or had to revel my whole name. Give us a break and you might want to take your own advice and Get a Grip. To get back to what this post is about, even if this was a kid, it's very unnerving that especially a kid would have this kind of thinking pattern. Calling out for this kind of question on ANYONE is sick and disturbing imo, and I'd put this kid AND his folks in counseling. How in the world would any of us feel if it were done against anyone of us. We do need to get on with being constructive and using freedom of speech as it was meant. Not to attack each other or call for anyone to be harmed but to offer varied opinions, solutions and engage in civil discourse of opposing opinions to find solutions that our Country is dealing with at large. JMO Have a good one ALL.
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I thought this was about a Facebook page that said Should Obama Be Killed I saw no racial issue in this only an issue of murder and no matter who our President is we should respect that and all this bickering over it is just stupid if you ask me. Get a grip people or get a life. I see no colors in people I only see what is in there hearts. Maybe some of you should do the same you may find peace there. Frankly I am tired of it, freaking grow up. Life is to short and we still have someone in there way better than what we had.
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Steve, the 2004 election was rigged as well. A man was hired to hack into the electronic voting machines, did so, and was then killed by order or Karl Rove to prevent him from testifying about the whole shenanigan. Certain voting districts in Ohio recorded more votes than there were registered voters.
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ACORN was in the national news Rosanne because THEY THEMSELVES reported that someone had tried to use them to register a false name, Micky Mouse or something like that. As was legally required of them, ACORN reported these attempts (no doubt all perpetrated by Republican operatives in an attempt to discredit ACORN), and this landed them in the news, there was absolutely NO wrongdoing on their part.
Just saying something was "in the national news" is not proving anything. Try again, this time cite a specific story by a specific journalist, and as Fox news doesn't practice journalism per se, Fox news stories don't count. We're all eagerly awaiting your attempt to prove you're anything other than a ditto head.
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Thomas: I’m glad you have such a high opinion of yourself & your opinion. ACORN was on the national news for voter fraud. You think a “bleeding heart liberal” is “someone who is of progressive intent who cares about the less fortunate & who improves the quality of life of someone they do not know? That is not what a bleeding heart liberal is & it doesn’t make everyone else “HEARTLESS” or “A TYPICAL, FAT, SELFISH, GREEDY REPUBLICAN”. WOW! Your way or the HIGHWAY! Watch it Thomas, you’re stuck in the “tunnel”. You exited the Highway a long time ago. Why don’t you go through ALL THE POSTS & correct the spacing & spelling; even the ones from your cult. You decided to impart your superior wisdom upon my post for the lack of one space. You are rude, ARROGANT & have a superiority complex. In the grand scheme of things, your opinion & your attempt to ENLIGHTEN others & control these polls is so desperate & pathetic that I won’t be checking back to see what other names you have conjured up for citizens like Me. I’ve got better things to do than to read your hateful comments. Why don’t you call all the major NEWS channels & tell them what a good organization ACORN is? I bet they are all sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for Thomas, the WISE ONE to give them the glorious facts. GOODBYE to you.
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Judith: To quote you: “You do spout a lot of right-wing nonsense so it is only natural to ASSume that you are repeating what you are told” “I don’t find much humor in IGNORANCE.” If you don’t want someone to make ASSumptions based on your actions. “DO NOT REACT….in a way to MAKE someone DRAW THAT CONCLUSION. If someone ASSumes you are a Republican… you are exhibiting the behavior…many people now ASSociated with Republicans…the way they have been very publicly behaving. I make my ASSessments based on the FOOLISHNESS of the comments made by a person. I JUST STATED MY OBSERVATION.”
You might want to count the ASSes you & the others used. You sound like some men in the world who think they offer good advice while the woman is “bitching”. Do you think your words were kind & fair? Try to state an opinion & lose the slaps in the faces of those who don’t agree with your version of the truth. You think I rant, but your comments are equally RANTING, ELITIST, & CONDESCENDING. That’s why I’m angry. Obama’s agenda is anything but restorative. He is supposed to be the party of all people, not just Democrats. Gotta go, it’s time to turn on FOX-(HA HA) & tune you out. Enjoy your little left wing extremist opinion party & I’ll enjoy the peace & quiet that I will get from never checking on this cut throat “poll”. By the way, no one can MAKE someone draw co
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