So I’ll let you into a first world problem of a no-marks political singer songwriter at this point in the 21st century.
I’ve been promoting some of my videos on Facebook. This involves me “boosting” them quite cheaply on my music page so that everyone who is subscribed to it can see them. Makes sense, right?
However, Facebook has taken issue with all the political misinformation going on. To make political ads, you have to register using your passport or driving licence etc, to make sure you are who you say you are. Makes sense too, right?
However, that means that any vaguely “political” content can fall foul of their algorithms. This is what has been happening to some of my music videos. “Cop This!”, I was told, was OK. I could boost that no problem, and my subscribers could watch it.
“No Welcome in Dover” was a no-no, however. Because it was a fundraiser and had the word “refugee” in the post I put out with it, the video was rejected. I was told I’d need to register myself.
Give my passport details to Zuck? Just to boost a few videos to my mates?! Nah.
So I’m playing a game with the algorithm at the moment. I’m trying to see if I can get my tunes under the radar of the censors. I’m reminded of stories I heard about Brazil during the dictatorship in the 1960s and ‘70s. Songwriters used to do the same with the military who didn’t want political messages in songs either. But the songwriters satirised their rulers in ways they were too stupid to notice.
My favourite example was Os Saltiblancos by Chico Buarque. Ostensibly a kids show like Sesame Street, it actually contained veiled metaphors about the dictatorship. The general public were in on the game, and bought the album in droves, but the military censors didn’t have a clue.
I love that story.
So while I wouldn’t want to put myself up there with the greats of Brazilian popular music lol, I’m having my own version of this here on Facebook. If you see my videos come up in your stream, maybe you can see if it’s working! I’d also be interested to hear if anyone else is having a similar problem. Cx
#censorship #algorithm #facebook #ossaltimbancos #chicobuarque #Brazil #dictatorship
Leave a Reply