Free Republic

Apparently not everyone on Facebook has an actual face. A new analysis of Facebook user data has found that of the site's much-boasted-about 1 billion users, only 889.3 million of them are actual people, reports Quartz. The other 100 million? Probably brands, pets, parodies and kitchen appliances. Yet Facebook is still including those accounts in its "active monthly user" figures. Facebook claimed recently that its active users had hit 1.1 billion, reports TechCrunch. But the study says that won't actually happen with real, live human beings until 2014.

Who doesnt love bacon?

The two owners of Amy’s Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro took over the restaurant’s Facebook page last night to fight unruly commenters, and man, was it embarrassing. If you recognize the name of the restaurant, it was recently featured on an episode of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares. The owners were dumped by Ramsey after being too difficult to work with.

The Internal Revenue Service asked tea party groups to see donor rolls. It asked for printouts of Facebook posts.

I've noticed that my liberal "friends" are awfully quiet these days on Facebook. No pictures of Obama, no more Sandy Hook gun control links, etc. It was excruciating to look at after the reelection of Obama. Anyone else seeing the same or you seeing any defending of this trainwreck of an administration?

Christian ministers like Joel Osteen, Rick Warren and Jamal Bryant are among a number of high-profile individuals and organizations apparently being used by scammers on Facebook to solicit funds from unsuspecting supporters.Miles McPherson, senior pastor of the Rock Church in San Diego, alerted his Facebook fans Wednesday that someone had set up a fake account on the social network pretending to be him.Joel Osteen Ministries, which has more than 3,630,000 "Likes" on Facebook, received several messages from supporters this week notifying the Lakewood Church ministry of account holders using Joel Osteen's name.The ministry has routinely responded: "Thank you for informing us...

Many people in Seminole County are right now getting jury notices that could lead them to the huge role of deciding George Zimmerman’s fate. But are some people talking about getting a notice too much? And could that affect how fair of a trial Zimmerman could get? “They’re all excited, everybody’s watching the mailbox every day to see if they’re going to get one of those letters that come through the mail,” said Francis Oliver, the Curator of Sanford’s Goldsboro Museum.And when people do get them, some are talking about it a lot -- even on Facebook. There’s a post...

Governor Palin via Facebook: More new taxes?How can we be divided on new taxes? In this horribly weak economy with an over-reaching, over-spending, anti-small-business government continually making the wrong decisions, Republicans can’t even stay committed to “No New Taxes”?Please step away from your Washington, DC bubble and get back in touch with the hard working people who sent you there. Read the planks in our party’s platform and then read our lips. Learn from history or face repeating it: NO NEW TAXES.- Sarah Palin The Governor also took to Twitter and released the following:

Have you ever wondered if the government — or more specifically, the Department of Homeland Security — is monitoring your Twitter or Facebook posts? If the answer's "yes," give yourself a pat on the back because you're right and not simply paranoid. There's even a list of keywords for which subcontractors hired by the DHS check social networks. (Snip) Technically this monitoring is not done by the DHS, but subcontractors who are specifically hired to "monitor social networks–use to generate real-time IOI reports," of course. Internal policies demand that those reports are stripped of most personally identifiable information (PII), though

Facebook is rampant with child sexual abuse content, child exploitation material, online child predators, harassment, stalking and cyber-bullying of minors and various other forms of predatory activities targeting minors. Facebook provides several options for reporting offensive or harassing content, including spam, scams, graphic violence, hate speech, nudity, etc. Yet there is no recourse for someone wanting to report explicit child sexual abuse content or pedophiles and other kinds of sexual predators. During mid March 2013 a video of severe and horrific child sexual abuse of a toddler girl went viral on Facebook, garnering more than 30,000 shares over a period...

Over the weekend and into this week, the University of Wyoming has been mired in controversy over an alleged Facebook post that threatened sexual violence against an outspoken liberal student by someone who the post made out to be a conservative male. According to Wyoming’s Star-Tribune, on the non-university affiliated Facebook page UW Crushes, which has since been shut down, a post appeared last week that read: “I want to hatef— Meg Lanker- so hard,” the Facebook post said. “That chick that runs her liberal mouth all the time and doesn’t care who knows it. I think its hot and...

I just want to be clear about about the new front group for the Gang of Eight’s immigration proposal on the right, Americans for a Conservative Direction. The group, funded by Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, is perfectly entitled to set up this group. A good bit of the center-right coalition supports the issue. That’s not my problem My problem is that this is just another example of Republican consultants seemingly bleeding people dry for crappy work product. They call themselves Americans for a Conservative Direction, but one of their first ads is a poorly produced ad supporting Lindsey Graham, who...

It’s a good thing Jan Brewer is a politician and not a journalist. The Associated Press recently struck the term “illegal immigrant” from its lexicon. Not so Arizona’s feisty governor — and she’s not backing down on this one. Brewer defended her use of the word during an interview with a clearly irritated ABC News Senior National Correspondant Jim Avila, who repeatedly pestered Brewer to change her language, to no avail: “I’ve heard you use the phrase over and over and over again. They’re insulted by the term, ‘illegal immigrant.’ That that brands a person. What they do is illegal...

An arbitrator on Wednesday ruled in favor of a former Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue captain who was demoted after he posted comments to Facebook about Trayvon Martin following the teenager's shooting death. Brian Beckmann was demoted in May 2012 after posting: "I and my co-workers could rewrite the book on whether our urban youths are victims of racist profiling or products of their failed, (expletive), ignorant, pathetic, welfare dependent excuses for parents." A blogger published the post, which sparked protest in Miami's African-American community.

A McKeesport gun shop’s giveaway contest had to be postponed because Facebook shut down the Pittsburgh Tactical Firearm’s page. The contest was to give away an AR-15, ammunition, and other gear, valued at some $10,000 dollars. The company has done many of the giveaways, their most recent was back in February. KDKA-AM’s Robert Mangino spoke with Pittsburgh Tactical Firearm’s Owner Eric Lowry about his gun shop’s giveaway who says they’ve never had any problems up until now. Lowry believes that it’s your Second Amendment right to own a gun and that the American people have the right to protect themselves...

I haven't seen many people mention this guy's facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/abdulrahman.a.alsulaimi There are posts on it about how he was injured in the attack. Also one of his professors tagged him in a long note about the attack. She believes he's being unjustly targeted. Teachers Blog about Ali Alharbi Among the nuggets of info are: Dude is interested in men and women. Looks like he was at Disney World in January. More posts..... what's this about???? He posted some pretty weird looking stuff. Any translators out there?

I found two good posters on Facebook today:

The Mark Zuckerberg-backed organization pressing for immigration reform will launch its first wave of television ads Tuesday, in a move aimed at shoring up support for a large-scale immigration deal on the right, strategists for the group told POLITICO. FWD.us, the organization formed to push Silicon Valley’s priorities in Washington, will advocate for a new immigration law through a subsidiary group created specifically to court conservatives. Americans for a Conservative Direction will spend seven figures to run ads in more than half a dozen states, according to strategists who sketched out the organization’s plans. Continue Reading Text Size - +...

An attempt to ban US bosses from asking employees to hand over their Facebook login details has been blocked by Congress. A last minute alteration to the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) that would have prevented employers demanding that prospective employees disclose social media passwords as a condition of employment was voted down in the house of representatives. The proposal, put forward by Democrat Ed Perlmutter was defeated by a 224-189 majority.... Perlmutter said of his amendment before it was defeated: 'It helps the individual protect his right to privacy and it doesn't allow the employer to...

(CNSNews.com) – Although no group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, a leading al-Qaeda ideologue last year recommended that jihadists in America include sporting events in their list of prospective terror targets.

by John HillStand With ArizonaWebsite | Facebook | Twitter The failure of this Administration to protect our homeland from jihadist threats - despite clear warnings before the Boston attacks - continues to be exposed. And it also calls into serious question how the FBI and DHS can be trusted to handle the increased numbers of asylum visas called for under the 'Gang of 8' immigration bill. As we reported on April 19, the FBI was warned by a "foreign government" - reportedly Russia - that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was a "follower of radical Islam" with a potential for "terrorist activities". The...

Gun Store Running AR-15 Giveaways on Facebook Sees Page Shut Down —And Facebook Hasn’t Contacted Him to Say Why When TheBlaze first spoke with Erik Lowry, he was running a contest on Facebook to give away an AR-15. Now, a couple months later, the fan page for Pittsburgh Tactical Firearm, Lowry’s store, has been shut down, along with a secondary page he established to replace it a couple days ago. “I still don’t know what’s going on,” Lowry told TheBlaze in a phone interview Sunday afternoon. Lowry said three days ago he awoke to calls and emails from fans...

A fun conversation I had with some Facebook liberals (and one conservative, I guess). Enjoy! The names have been abbreviated to protect the guilty, and I'll use "FSE" for me: ORIGINAL POST: "The actions of a few individuals are not a valid justification for hatred and prejudice against an entire race."--CM FSE (me): lol...when I see people say that about gun owners, maybe I'll give it a second's thought. JR: I didn't know gun owners are a race. FSE (me): I didn't know Muslims were either. VL: I hope you were joking, [FSE]. That isn't even close to a valid...

Boston was a war zone last night, under siege all week. Boston jihad bomber Tsarnaev's social media page shows his interest in Islam and bombs Jihadwatch, April 19, 2013

GRAND PRAIRIE -- Karon Wright, a middle school counselor in Grand Prairie ISD, has been "immediately relieved of all duties," the district said, after an offensive remark written from her Facebook account on WFAA-TV's Facebook page in regards to the explosion in West, Texas. "It's amazing how the 'whites' get angry when Obama speaks," the comment read. "Oh well....its most of the whites who is getting blown away. So they will soon be wiped from the earth. Lol" Wright denies she wrote the comment, and said her account was hacked. The district said in a statement they found the statement...

n a bizarre story involving Facebook “friends,” a Washington man has been charged with bigamy after the social media site revealed he had married two woman. CBS News reported April 16 that 41-year-old Alan L. O'Neill, a Washington state corrections officer, married a woman in 2001, separated from her eight years later, then changed his name and remarried another woman. The two wives revealed O’Neill’s deception when they looked into the fact they had both shown up as “friends” of their husband’s Facebook profile. "Wife No. 1 went to wife No. 2's page and saw a picture of her and...

Facebook page of alleged Saudi "person of interest" who's in custody in Boston.

Given that this horrific tragedy happened in Boston, MA, if the bombings turn out to be Islamic terrorism, which of the following do you expect to result: â—˜ A call for more gun control and a national gun registry â—˜ Boston area schools will begin to celebrate Muslim holidays â—˜ The Boston City Council will condemn American aggression â—˜ MA will allow Shariah law for Islamic people â—˜ All of the above

If I could figure out how to post screenshots from my phone I would. However, shortly after today's Boston Marathon bombing a friend posted an interesting page he found on Facebook titled: To All Those Injured In The Boston Marathon Explosions. The Join Facebook date for that page was April 13, 2013. I took two screen shots from my phone just in case the page got scrubbed. It did. I'm told the average Joe user cannot manipulate dates like that.

A facebook photo of a man sitting at a dinner, with a holstered pistol that appears to be a Glock in a Serpa holster, is getting quite a bit of attention. The question is asked "If you were in a public place, would you feel comfortable with this sitting 10 feet away from your children?" The comments are overwhelmingly positive, ranging from "My children and grandchildren are very knowledgeable about weapons. They would be discussing velocity, and range with the man." to "I bet that place won't get rob while he's there. Yea I would feel safe." There are a...

The official White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) now has a pop-up ad for gun control blocking visitors from getting to its homepage. The pop-up ad declares, "Now Is The Time To Do Something About Gun Violence" and "Our voices are louder when we speak together." It also calls readers to "Learn More" by clicking on a link to an advocacy page where supporters can "Use the simple tool to pre-set a post to Twitter and/or Facebook that will publish simultaneously with thousands of others."(continued)

Washington’s bipartisan Gang of Eight senators are in what many hope is the endgame in the debate over immigration reform. But just in case, on Wednesday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg brought in a slew of major players to bring it all home. He and an impressive roster of Silicon Valley luminaries have teamed up with political strategists from across the spectrum to launch a political action group on the issue. Since by most accounts some kind of reform package is likely, the move has some asking, why now? It’s all about the game, says David Mark, editor-in-chief of the online...

NEW YORK (AP) — Teaming up with other Silicon Valley leaders, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has formally launched a political group aimed at revamping immigration policy, boosting education and encouraging investment in scientific research.

NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) - An argument on social media led to a fight in New Haven and two people being arrested Sunday afternoon. According to police, an unidentified 14-year-old girl got into a argument on Facebook with another woman and "slanderous talk" was used during the conversation, police said. Three women including an unidentified 17-year-old, Quanisha Cole, 18 and Tiffany Guardino, 25, came to the girl's home on Ferry Street just before 1 p.m. Police were called by the 14-year-old girl's mother and when officers arrived they took a baseball bat from one of the females. No one was...

Above: Georgia's House passes the SB 160 crackdown on illegal aliens in the furious last half-hour of the 2013 session. - by John HillStand With ArizonaWebsite | Facebook | Twitter Way to go, Peach State! Georgia’s Legislature has approved a tough expansion of the state’s 2011 Arizona-style crackdown on illegal aliens, and it now awaits the Governor's signature (please contact him to do so - contact info below after the article). Passed in the final hours of the General Assembly’s 40-day session - and despite fierce lobbying against it by La Raza groups, the Chamber of Commerce, ACLU and...

The Internal Revenue Service is collecting a lot more than taxes this year--it's also acquiring a huge volume of personal information on taxpayers' digital activities, from eBay auctions to Facebook posts and, for the first time ever, credit card and e-payment transaction records, as it expands its search for tax cheats to places it's never gone before.

IRS checking out your Facebook and Twitter to help keep you honest You have less than two weeks to file your taxes and your Facebook or Twitter accounts could end up getting you in big trouble with the IRS. They're looking for tax cheaters. The IRS has been known to check car records, employment documents and other public records. Now, your social media page is on that list too. “I think that’s a little bit ridiculous,” replied one person we talked to. Some of the people we talked to were surprised. “I think it’s still an invasion of privacy,” commented...

MENLO PARK (MarketWatch) — Facebook Inc. unveiled a new user interface for mobile phones on Thursday, along with a new smartphone from HTC designed to showcase the software. >The new software, called Home, is designed to make the social network a more central part of the mobile phone experience. Facebook FB +0.14% has seen a significant number of its users shift to mobile devices from desktop PCs over the last two years, but ads over mobile platforms don’t yet bring in the same level of revenues as more traditional Web advertising.

Sex offences linked to Facebook or Twitter users have rocketed in the last four years, a Mirror investigation reveals. And in an another alarming trend, paedophiles are increasingly logging on to the social networking sites to target children. A total of 1,642 cases since 2009 have been reported to police where the sites played a part in the commission or aftermath of a crime. Statistics obtained under freedom of information laws show the number has more than quadrupled from 139 four years ago to 614 last year. Worryingly, more than half the 1,395 victims of all offences – apart from...

A Palestinian man has been sentenced to six months in prison for 'liking' a Facebook status criticising a Palestinian leader The Jerusalem Post reports that a Palestinian man who clicked "Like" on a Facebook status criticising a Palestinian Authority (PA) official has been sentenced to six months in prison. Anas Ismail, 29, of Salfit, near Nablus, was found guilty of "libel and slander."

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan member of the Republican National Committee said Thursday he will not resign after posting an article critical of gay people on his Facebook page, despite calls from members of his own party that he step down. Dave Agema, who served as a state representative from 2007 until December posted an excerpt from an article titled "Everyone Should Know These Statistics On Homosexuals" on his Facebook page Wednesday. A group of 21 Michigan Republicans has called it "deplorable."

This undated photo provided by Shawn Moore shows his son Josh, 10, holding a rifle his father gave him for his 11th birthday, at their home in Carneys Point, N.J. (Shawn Moore) TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is asking the attorney general to probe the state's visit to the home of a man who uploaded a photo on Facebook of his 10-year-old son holding a military-style rifle.

Police and FBI agents across the country are receiving reports of a disturbing video depicting child pornography on Facebook that has spread on the social network like a poisonous weed. Reports began last week of a video showing a white male with brown hair and a dark circular mark on his right forearm sexually abusing a young girl -- a video that was reportedly shared tens of thousands of times and received 4,000 “likes” on Facebook. The pornographic video itself is old and was first spotted online in May 2005, an FBI spokeswoman confirmed to FoxNews.com. Authorities are still searching...

So I just noticed today that a few of my "Facebook friends" more like 2 people I haven't spoken to in twenty years, had those stupid gay marriage red equality signs up. I defriended them all, anyone else have the same thing happen?

I just want you to know that if this is your sign then you are actively supporting my persecution, torture, imprisonment, etc.  Perhaps you know that already, and perhaps that warms your heart, but I wanted to make sure we're all on the same page here.   The French didn't wake up one morning and say "Hey, let's kill tens of thousands of Catholics"...it happened over time.  It was a process. And HERE...WE...GO.  The volcano, simmering under the surface for so long, showing little eruptions here and there, being forcasted for decades by people with "eyes to see and...

Hello All, Throughout the day I've been running into more and more significant articles and media happenings that I tend to share out on my Facebook page. I see that FR also has a facebook page. I get about 20 of these significant articles and pieces of state legislation (I track about 6 state's legislatures). Instead of creating a post to detail each one, I usually pick out of the significant ones and post maybe one or two on FR itself. Would it be in the spirit of FR to continually deluge the FB page with my findings ? What...

by John HillStand With ArizonaWebsite | Facebook | Twitter Releasing illegal alien criminals - it's not just for Arizona anymore... In a political hissy fit, the Obama administration canceled White House tours and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released thousands of detainees ahead of the implementation of sequestration, all in attempt to make the public “feel” the effects of the forced spending cuts. But effort has largely backfired on Obama from a public relations standpoint, with children being denied access to “the people’s house” and the American public outraged at the potential harm from the release of illegal immigrant...

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is forming a new issues advocacy group to promote immigration reform, education and other policies aimed at growing the economy. … High-tech companies have stepped-up their lobbying on immigration to get more visas for high-tech workers, but the people involved say Zuckerberg’s interest is broader and includes citizenship for those here illegally. …

Admittedly, digital media amplifies some of their mistakes and pours salt into wounds, but the behavior and reactions aren't new. What's new is our reaction to childhood aggression -- and our increasing impatience with children and readiness to label them when they make certain mistakes or experience pain. What caused this shift? In a word, Columbine, but not for the reasons many believe. Dave Cullen, in his book "Columbine," wrote that after the 1999 Colorado school massacre, the media crafted the explanation that shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had been bullied. They apparently hadn't been, but the nation --...

I have not posted on FR in a few years, but am hoping to rally some of the troops. Someone "liked" a page on Facebook, which is entitled "The Adventures of Mrs. Jesus," so it showed up on my newsfeed. The author of this page is the producer/writer of the top television show, "Modern Family," and has written for several very popular shows (e.g., Frasier). Apparently, that is not satisfying enough to this person. The content speaks for itself. It is utterly degrading and hateful to anyone who professes Christ regardless of your denomination. I complained to Facebook and cited...