• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, April 16, 2018

Facebook has been limiting some words and content that could be related to terrorism, and now has more than 200 employees working to combat the promotion of extremist content, or what seems like extremist content.

Facebook users have already begun to see the results of these efforts. Jonathan Hirshon, principal of Horizon Communications and professional chef, says in a post that he has tried for the past two weeks to promote a recipe on his blog, as he always does -- but Facebook no longer allows him to do so.

It's difficult to say whether or not changes to Facebook's platform caused this disruption for Hirshon, but based on his blog's name -- The Food Dictator --  that could very well be the case.

On Hirshon’s website and Facebook page, the food artist creates and shares recipes ranging from brisket to salsa verde for lamb. He even provides tips on how to put together a proper British afternoon tea.  

There is no mention or suggestion of any terrorist activity.

The idea of changing the site’s name did not sit well with the chef. “I refuse to change my name,” he wrote in Messenger when asked. It likely would not sit well with the 18,000 people who have “liked” his Facebook page.

Unless you went through the transcript of Mark Zuckerberg's testimony as Capitol Hill grilled him about the Cambridge Analytica leak, there’s no telling how many times the Facebook CEO said, “Senator, we do not sell user data.”

Indeed, Facebook doesn’t sell user data, but it did allow third-party companies to collect and sell the data.

Meanwhile, the questioning made it clear that those with power in the U.S. government don't  understand the nuances of online advertising, including social media.

Zuckerberg admitted on Wednesday during the second day of testimony that his profile data was among those exposed in the leak, but rejected suggestions from Congress that Facebook users have no control over protecting their data.

The 30-something billionaire apologized many times during the two days and promised to make meaningful reforms to protect the data of those who use Facebook’s platforms. Zuckerberg also promised to restrict anything that could possibly, in any way, be related to extremest content -- even if it's only a word.