On Monday, the same day Hillsdale College launched a new course critiquing Communism and Marxism, their Facebook page dedicated to online courses was unexpectedly shut down. The page, boasting over 300,000 followers, was later restored, with Meta, Facebook’s parent company, stating the action was a mistake.
“The @hillsdaleonline Facebook page has been down since Monday night, just as we launched a new course on Marxism, socialism, and communism,” Hillsdale announced on X. “Facebook is denying people access to our course on repressive ideologies. Such issues are usually resolved within 24 hours, @Meta told us.”
Meta responded to inquiries by Fox News Digital, clarifying, “This page was taken down in error and was restored before we received this inquiry.”
The controversy arises as the course itself tackles topics such as cultural Marxism and its alleged influence on various societal issues including “racial tensions, radical feminism, transgender ideology, open borders, fiscal irresponsibility, the unequal protection of the laws, and the loss of our basic rights.” The course description emphasizes the historical impact of Marx’s ideas, particularly in the Soviet Union and China, yet points out its continued popularity in shaping modern cultural, academic, and political spheres.
Emily Stack Davis, Hillsdale College’s executive director of media relations and communications, expressed frustration over the timing and handling of the page’s takedown. “Meta claims that Hillsdale’s entire online course page was taken down for almost 100 hours because of ads they mistakenly flagged on Facebook. But those same ads had been running unchanged for over a year. And we don’t even run them on the page they took down! They are on our main Hillsdale College page. The timing of this censorship — right as we launched our new course on Marxism, socialism, and communism — was particularly inopportune.”
She highlighted the significant impact of this incident on course enrollment, which is critical for the institution’s outreach, especially given that a third of their online enrollments typically come through Facebook shortly after courses go live. “We have potentially lost thousands of enrollees. More importantly, Meta has denied people access to a serious academic course on repressive ideologies.”
The event coincides with increased attention on Hillsdale College, which recorded a 53% rise in applications as of April 2022. The college is known for its classical education approach and has been a favored alternative among those critical of more mainstream higher education institutions that are perceived as embracing ‘woke’ ideologies.
This incident may resonate particularly with small business owners and solopreneurs, who often rely on social media platforms like Facebook for marketing and educational outreach, underscoring the potential vulnerabilities associated with platform dependencies. The recent actions by Meta raise important questions about the balance of power between social media giants and the users who depend on these platforms for reaching audiences and conducting business.
