Facebook has an encrypted blacklist of names that should not be mentioned on the service.
Facebook keeps strict rules on what can be written on the service. PDO
Black metal, a music style known as satanic, seems to have fallen into the teeth of social media censorship, or at least one of the most well-known factors of that music style.
Black metal artist Burzum has apparently been defined as an extremist phenomenon to be censored on Facebook, the social media service owned by Meta. Users of the service have reported that simply mentioning the artist’s name or sharing an album image results in Facebook freezing the user account for 30 days. The issue is being discussed on numerous Internet discussion forums, for example On reddit. A music website wrote about it Death metal.
In addition to writing the Burzum name, Facebook has reportedly also intervened in the sharing of Burzum’s album covers. In the picture, the Burzumin album. Gibson Green / Alamy
Black metal is known as a subgenre of heavy metal music, which is usually associated with Satanism or Satan worship. Extreme phenomena associated with music style today are not as powerful like, for example, in the 90s.
The Forbidden fruit
A ban like this raises the question of the limits of freedom of speech and culture. Facebook’s ban may be seen as an interference with freedom of speech. If Facebook’s goal with the restrictions is to make it difficult for Burzum to become known, this kind of action might shoot itself in the foot.
Considering the dominant of the genre society the nature of criticizing norms one could assume that the ban will only increase Burzum’s cult fame and interest even more. In other words, Facebook’s ban makes Burzum a kind of forbidden fruit of the “tree of knowledge of good and evil”, which is of even greater interest to music enthusiasts.
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is known from the Bible’s creation story. Illustration picture. Andrea Danti / Alamy Stock Photo
The ban is called into question by the way different things are also spreading on Facebook conspiracy theories and misinformation. Of course, the platform has tried to improve their operations to eradicate conspiracy theories and false information.
The limits of freedom of speech and permitted culture
The ban imposed by Facebook must be understood, taking into account the artist’s backgrounds and incite racial hatred opinions. Founder of Burzum Varg Vikernes is often associated with National Socialism, also known as Nazism, which is probably the main reason for Facebook’s ban in the end.
In the band Mayhem, Vikernes used the stage name “The Count”. MOEN/J RN H.
Deathmetal release though tells, that Burzum has never been a mouthpiece for Vikernes’s opinions. The artist himself has also said that his music has nothing to do with politics.
Facebook has 4,000 names at its disposal encrypted list, whose mention is limited. Burzum is one of the forbidden words on the list, but writing Vikernes name instead is allowed.
Other factors that may affect the ban are Vikernes’ background as the bassist of the Norwegian band Mayhem. Mayhem is known as one of the pioneers of its music genre. The group is still active.
In 1994, Vikernes was sentenced to the harshest sentence in Norway after burning down three churches, for attempting to burn down a fourth, for causing death in connection with arson, and for his bandmate Øystein Aarseth, under the stage name Euronymous, for murder. The sentence was 21 years in prison. He got to freedom After 16 years.