Facebook bars artist over anti-Zuckerberg posters

Facebook on Sunday closed the account of an artist for “hate speech” after he put up posters blasting CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s rumored presidential ambitions.

The posters, which were put up in a number of California cities last week by an artist known as Sabo, said “Fuck Zuck 2020,” with the first “u” being replaced by a middle finger.

On his Twitter account, Sabo posted an image of the notice he received Sunday from Facebook, which said his page was shut down for “hate speech” and that the company does not tolerate “verbal abuse directed at individuals.”

Following the closure of his account, Sabo accused Facebook of targeting him for his political views.

“IMAGINE IF YOUR PHONE COMPANY SHUT OFF YOUR PHONE BECAUSE THEY DISAGREED WITH YOUR POLITICAL OPINION,” he tweeted in all caps, while adding that “MARK ZUCKERBERG ISN’T ONLY A THIEF HE’S THIN SKINNED.”

https://twitter.com/unsavoryagents/status/896788624250880001

Sabo’s website and Twitter account feature a number of messages associated with the far-right and his work primarily targets Democratic figures and the tech industry for its alleged intolerance of non-progressive political views.

The artist’s posters appeared after Zuckerberg hired a former pollster for 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, further fueling speculation since his graduation speech at Harvard in May that the founder of the social media giant was seeking to mount a presidential bid.

Zuckerberg has also been touring states across the US, most notably Iowa, which plays an outsized role in US presidential elections as the first state to hold primaries.