For Immediate Release:
February 10, 2017
Contact:
[email protected]
Amidst Governor Hogan’s “Facebook Ban” Scandal, Reminder that Hogan Presumably Manages His Facebook Page
Several questions remain about Hogan and staff involvement, taxpayer dollars used to censor Marylanders
Annapolis, Md. – Governor Larry Hogan’s “Facebook ban” continues to unfold with new developments. The focus now turns to Hogan and his staff’s involvement, and whether taxpayer dollars were used to censor and ban Marylanders from his official Facebook page.
Reminder: Hogan has bragged about his “addiction” to his own Facebook.
And staff previously confirmed Hogan’s involvement in managing his Facebook, admitting “the governor is the one who usually pens responses to various comments.”
Marylanders deserve answers to important questions that remain unanswered:
-
Did taxpayer dollars go towards censoring and banning people on Hogan’s official Facebook page?
-
Why were anti-Trump posts specifically targeted by Hogan? Does this allude to Hogan’s private support for Trump?
-
Is banning and censoring dissenters what Hogan meant by his campaign slogan, “Change Maryland”?
This week, the Maryland Democratic Party filed an expedited release of Hogan’s records.
Maryland Democratic Party executive director Chuck Conner released the following statement:
“Governor Hogan has previously bragged about personally managing his official Facebook page, so Marylanders deserve to know if he had a hand – and whether or not taxpayer dollars went towards – censoring and banning his own constituents.”
“If Hogan’s Facebook Ban is his idea of changing Maryland, then the Trump agenda is hitting closer to home here in Maryland than we previously thought.”
See below a round-up of coverage of Hogan’s Facebook ban this past week:
Baltimore Sun (editorial): “What Mr. Hogan is doing in terms of deleting comments is clearly not in the public’s interest, and to the extent that it insulates him from understanding issues that animate his constituents so much that they join in a ‘coordinated effort,’ it’s not in his interests either.”
Washington Post: Gov. Hogan’s office has blocked 450 people from his Facebook page in two years
Baltimore Sun: Hogan’s Deletion of Facebook Comments Draws Criticism
Washington Post: Meet some people blocked from Hogan’s Facebook page
WJZ: A Slap in the Face(book): Comments Deleted, Some Banned from Gov. Hogan’s Page
WTOP: Hogan criticized for deleted Facebook comments
WJZ: Report: Comments Deleted, Facebookers Banned From Gov.’s Page For Anti-Trump Posts
WMDT: Maryland’s Democratic Party says Governor Larry Hogan’s administration is deleting Trump comments from his Facebook page, as well as banning social media users.
Daily Kos: MD-Gov: Hogan (R) Blocks People On His Facebook Page For Asking Him To Denounce Trump’s Travel Ban
Diamondback: Governor Hogan’s team deleted Facebook comments urging him to speak out on immigration ban
Diamondback: Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan faces resistance for not taking a stance on Trump’s policies
###