Richard Dawkins banned on Facebook for a sex entry in the spot

In fresh days, the net has been informed that a well-known British biologist, prof. Richard Dawkins, has lost his Facebook account. Dawkins, author of the popular book “God the Imagination”, which is valued among atheists and spiritual critics, reported this event on platform X (formerly Twitter).

Delete Facebook account

On Saturday, Dawkins posted an entry in which he wrote: “All mye Facebook account has been deleted, seemingly (no reason given) due to the fact that I wrote that genetically male boxers specified as Imane Khelif (XY undisputedly) should not fight Women in the Olympics. Of course, my opinion is open to civilised discussion. But public censorship?”

This entry sparked a broad discussion on freedom of speech and censorship on social media. Dawkins, known for his critical approach to religion and his commitment to discipline promotion, met with various reactions from both supporters and critics.

Account deletion reactions

One of the first to address the case was Łukasz Sakowski, a discipline popularizer known as “It's just a theory” and erstwhile transsexualist. On platform X, he wrote: “Facebook removed prof. Richard Dawkins’ account for stating that men should not compete with women in sports. Not specified censorship Facebook has already seen, but he is 1 of the most recognizable biologists in the world."

Sakowski stressed that the removal of an account as well-known as Dawkins could be considered a disturbing signal regarding the limits of freedom of expression on social media.

Casper Kita on censorship

The case was besides referred to by Casper Kita, the writer of the fresh Deal portal. In his commentary, he wrote: “Strong. Dawkins is 1 of the most celebrated scientists in the world, for decades the leading enemy of religion and the active atheist, the large authority of the establishment. But the revolution besides eats specified a kid due to the fact that Dawkins defends simple biological truths.”

Kita pointed out the paradoxical situation in which Dawkins, an icon of discipline and rationality, becomes a victim of censorship at the minute erstwhile he expresses his opinion on biology and sport.

Discussion on freedom of speech

The removal of Dawkins' Facebook account sparked a broad debate on the boundaries of freedom of speech and the function of social media in shaping the public debate. Many commentators point to the request to strike a balance between combating hatred speech and protecting the right to express its opinions.

In Dawkins' case, his entry afraid the participation of transgender athletes in the competition, which is simply a controversial and breathtaking topic. Nevertheless, the removal of an account as well-known as Richard Dawkins, without a clear explanation of the reasons, puts the rule of social platform operation and their approach to content moderation at question.

Daniel Głogowski

Expert in his field – Publicist, author and social activist. The first articles were published in 1999 for global publishers. For more than 30 years, he has gained his experience through cooperation with the largest editorial offices. In his articles, he seeks to address controversial topics and present first viewpoints that allowed for a deeper knowing of the issues discussed.