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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Comments
I just changed my middle name to Sidney on Facebook and the change took effect immediately. There goes your big conspiracy theory. Nice work!
I changed my middle name to hussein, then I had to drink some drano and swallow a drain snake.
Of course, I don't know what intensely rigorous methods you used to test your conspiracy theory before you decided you would embarrass yourself online. In any case, if you changed your middle name to Hussein and then decided to change to Fark, perhaps the system flags your request because you just changed your middle name previously. After all, it's common for people to add their middle names but a little suspicious when they change it twice. Also, perhaps Fark is flagged because it is a replacement for a curse word whereas Hussein is a very popular, widely-used Arabic name. In any case, I think you may want to think things out before jumping to silly conclusions.
I ARE TEH COMMENT!
Okay.... Everyone.... Let’s recite the non-conformists oath....
I promise to be different. I promise to be unique......
We believe what they want us to believe.
They make these sites so easy to use that (we) users tend to think it's obvious how it all works. Truth is, these sites are well funded, well planned, and really really complicated -- an achievement in social engineering.
While working on my own "social network" project, I've found these philosophies to be true:
1) Text is cheap. A lot of problems can be averted without any real police work if you just boast your policies and threaten damnation. Failing to enforce some of those policies is PART OF THE PLAN.
2) When a user sees his/her contributions online, he/she will PRESUME that everyone else can too, but it isn't necessarily true. It might only be visible to them or certain other users in their circle. Maintaining this illusion can appease the trouble-makers while simultaneously protecting the innocents and buying time for moderator review.
3) Letting content go through and providing some means of feedback/complaints is much easier than trying to police it all. I'd imagine, NO MATTER WHAT THEY CLAIM, any major public forum will fall back on this practice during peak times.
It's all about money and man-hours.
Hussein is one of the most popular names in the world. So, in order to reduce load on the moderators, I'm sure Facebook has a database of acceptable name changes, including Smith, Williams, and I'm sure any other popular names and surnames.
I'm sure if you didn't have your head steeped in conspiracy theory you would've thought about that, or if you didn't think ethnocentrically.
I don't want to say specifics, because I don't want to get my friends in trouble, but facebook really doesn't crack down on fake names as much as you'd think. My one friend's first name is obviously not real, and a fairly common slang term for an elf. My other friend's middle name has been "fuckin'" for as long as I can remember.
So, sorry. I doubt there's a conspiracy. Like Guy said, Hussein is a fairly popular name, so its probably on their list. And even if that wasn't true, facebook really isn't stopping people from making fake names.
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.
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"
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!
Really? And here I thought they were doing it to pledge solidarity with me.
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.
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.
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.
stupid name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!As Obama it sound pretty much as Osama Bin Laden, yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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.
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!
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?
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!
Eh, Sondra, you like "Sondra Walker Bush" or "Sondra 'Dick' Bruce Cheney" better, eh, sistah? You been smokin' too much pakalolo, again!
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.
.
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.
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