Kadhafi and the USA use Facebook to spread propaganda

Currently, Facebook is used especially in the Middle East by youth to call for protests. However, also governments of several countries seem to see Facebook as a useful tool. For example, in Libya young people are trained to disseminate information on the network in favour of Kadhafi and the American military also makes good use of Facebook.

A Serbian Facebook page in support of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has gathered many page views. More than 46.000 people have so far liked the group “Support for Muammar al Gaddafi from the people of Serbia” at the Facebook social network, posting messages in favour of Kadhafi and against Western powers and coalition strikes.

There are ways for soldiers from the USA to maintain many different identities online. The Facebook profiles are created under false names in order to influence online discussions and to spread propaganda in especially the Middle East. According to David Petraeus, an American general, these online operations are focused on countering extremism and hostile propaganda outside the USA.

Arnold Lubrun, manager of Facebook Benelux, said that Facebook is available for everyone but if something does not comply with the laws, action will certainly be undertaken. The vice-president of Facebook International says that there are active teams who constantly check Facebook for disorders. If they find out that a certain profile is fake, it will be removed immediately. 

Below you can watch a short video (mostly spoken in Dutch) about the opinion of Facebook itself regarding this issue: 

What do you think? Should anyone be able to say anything they want on the Internet or should freedom of expression be limited online?