“[T]he First Amendment does not permit a public official who utilizes a social media account for all manner of official purposes to exclude persons from an otherwise-open online dialogue because they expressed views with which the official disagrees.” Parker went on to conclude: “[W]e remind the litigants and the public that if the First Amendment means anything, it means that the best response to disfavored speech on matters of public concern is more speech, not less.”
Jonathan Peters, media law professor at the University of Georgia and the press freedom correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review.
Despite numerous rulings to the contrary, Dr. Johnson continues to block users who disagree with her and hide critical comments.
Facebook allows the owner of a page to hide comments and posts, and even to block users. When a comment is hidden, it can only be seen by the person who wrote the comment and his or her friends. They’ll have no idea the post is hidden.
Log onto Facebook as someone who believes that Dr. Johnson is the savior of the Gwinnett County School Board and visit her Gwinnett County Facebook page and you will be presented with this Rose-Colored comment history on one of her posts from January 17, 2021:
But log onto Facebook as someone who is friends with some of the many people who disagree with and this is the version you see – critical comments right from the start:
Negative comments are not shown to her fans, feeding into their belief that Johnson’s actions are applauded by all. This is just one example among many, and the history is apparent to anyone who cares to take a look. If she is your representative and you went to her School Board Facebook page to express your opinion, it may not be seen by anyone but you. And Dr. Johnson as she hides it from the public.
In her defense, this changing of history to fit her desired narrative is a sign of the times. Dr. Johnson, who extols transparency at every opportunity, has put a great deal of effort into covering up the truth whenever it doesn’t suit her needs.