The Industry Standard - Facebook users change middle names to Hussein in Obama solidarity protest - Comments

Facebook is usually ok with

Bellangelique — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:56:43 -0800

Facebook is usually ok with the changing of middle names, but it must be attached to your real name. so as long as your first and last name is yours, the middle name is okay to change. quit hating on facebook and Obama you fools. So much hate.

HUSSEIN - The 44th President

Jeremy Hussein Conrad — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 04:53:47 -0800

HUSSEIN - The 44th President of the United States of America !!

GOD has degraded "W" and his War Criminal Crusader Army.

"W" stands for WAR CRIMINAL.

Eh, Sondra, you like "Sondra

Kimo Huessein Pono — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:53:04 -0700

Eh, Sondra, you like "Sondra Walker Bush" or "Sondra 'Dick' Bruce Cheney" better, eh, sistah? You been smokin' too much pakalolo, again!

My name is Kimo Huessein

Kimo Huessein Pono — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 17:47:21 -0700

My name is Kimo Huessein Pono - sounds pretty cool, eh, better than "Sondra Walker Bush" any day of the week. What a joke Bush is/was as President!

I actually had my Facebook

Joseph Husein Six-Pack Stillwell — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 10:45:05 -0700

I actually had my Facebook account disabled yesterday thanks to my name change. I emailed them about it, but they have yet to reactivate my account. I only changed my middle name field, and I'm not sure what sparked the deactivation.

Obviously my temporarily adopted middle names are political in nature and a bit satirical (I mean, with a first name like Joe???). I have yet to think of a reasonable explanation for getting kicked off, though it is a good reminder that free speech on Facebook is always subject to "terms and conditions." On the bright side, I have had a much more productive morning than usual!

Has anyone else had this happen to them?

Hi, all Here's the link to

Mark Hussein gordon — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 18:59:13 -0700

Hi, all

Here's the link to our facebook group.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=40761076037

Join up and invite friends.

Cheers!

Wow Sondra, you really are

Cheryl checkoutmyawesomelycoolconspiracycomment Jones — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:28:32 -0700

Wow Sondra, you really are an idiot aren't you? (Rhetorical Sondra, the answer is yes)

You don't even have proper command of the english language, however, you feel intelligent enough to "speak" in a public forum. Stupid people entertain me to no end.

Anyhow, this article is an extreme waste of time. I hope the author isn't getting paid for this nonsense.
I wonder why he didn't do a facebook investigation to see how many John McCain's are users of the site. I wonder if this is a bias attack on Barack and his supporters??? Now THAT'S a conspiracy, LOL.

stupid

sondra — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:19:18 -0700

stupid name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!As Obama it sound pretty much as Osama Bin Laden, yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How does Facebook determine

Mulder — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:55:41 -0700

How does Facebook determine your "real" name if you use a fake name in the first place and then try to enter your "real" name later? Maybe they have a secret alien server that scans everybodies brain? Now that would be a conspiracy theory, he, he.

I don't particularly agree

Alf — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:52:42 -0700

I don't particularly agree with the article even though I have heard that some people do encounter problems at times, shit happens! As far as conspiracy theories go, these deal with governments and secret agencies keeping secrets from the populace at large. We're dealing with a website here. I think a more correct term would be "policy" instead of "conspiracy theory". I believe the author of this article does not have a complete awareness of website "policy" or how it actually works. I think the way the name change thing works is a bit inconsistant though, perhaps glitches in their database or human error if a human actually does check these things which I would doubt due to the volume.

Why do you care? This must

GiveMeABreak — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 08:39:06 -0700

Why do you care? This must be a slow news day. After all, since book sellers allow books with out and out lies about Obama to be printer (Obama Nation), I think something like this is good.

Really? And here I thought

Saddam Hussein — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:37:04 -0700

Really? And here I thought they were doing it to pledge solidarity with me.

Yes because being Muslim is

Sid — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 03:31:46 -0700

Yes because being Muslim is now the new Communist, Surely we CAN'T HAVE A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WITH Muslim HERITAGE THAT WOULD BE UN-AMERICAN

NOTE TO AMERICAN : YOU ARE DUMB!

I changed my name to "Jordan

What a doosh — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:01:42 -0700

I changed my name to "Jordan isA Dooshbag" and it took it no problem.
I think Facebook has your number, Jordan.

Next time I will try "Jordan is a Naive WIngnut"

Just checked my friend's

KT — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:23:56 -0700

Just checked my friend's page, I've also got someone whose first name is "slash", someone whose middle name is "d-money", a "gebby", and a couple others that are obvious fake names.

Also on my friend's page is a fake profile for a dead guy who founded the theater program at my school, and his profile talks about how he died in the 1960s, and how awesome being a ghost is.

So, sorry again. But I really doubt the conspiracy. If anything, there's a conspiracy about 1980s metal hair band guitarists on facebook.

Facebook users change middle names to Hussein in Obama solidarity protest

Jordan Golson — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:14:07 -0700

Facebook claims it cracks down on fraudulent profiles and approves every name change that users make -- so why are they letting Barack Obama supporters to change their middle name to "Hussein"?

Barack Hussein Obama's middle name is constant fodder for Obama opponents who wish to draw attention to the Muslim portions of his background. The Facebook name change is an attempt by Obama supporters to show solidarity with their candidate.

Facebook claims it confirms all name changes before they are live and even pops up a list of requirements before name changes can be processed. This is what I saw when I tried to change my Facebook name:

A name change supposedly takes 24 hours and requires approval but when I clicked "confirm request" and reloaded my page, the name change was immediately active. The New York Times wrote up the story at the end of June taking note of the trend, but didn't have any comment from Facebook about the name change requirements, particularly the one which requires a Facebook profile "be attached to your real name."

I thought perhaps changing a middle name at all was exempt from this policy, but when I tried to change my name to Jordan Fark Golson, after Drew Curtis' headline aggregator, the name change did not go through instantly like "Hussein" did. It seems that name changes to Hussein are exempt from the policy, but other new middle 'names' are not.

The use of "Hussein" in a user's Facebook name is clearly a political message and I wonder if other middle names are acceptable like "McCain" or "Legalize", which also have an obvious political message.

I've put in a request for clarification and comment to Facebook about the name change policy and the renaming trend and hope to hear from them soon.

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