Rabat - Facebook blocked Moroccan French news website fan page following a complaint from a plagiarist.
Rabat – Facebook blocked Moroccan French news website fan page following a complaint from a plagiarist.
Achraf Baznani, a Moroccan autodidact artist whose works in photography curved his way into international fame has been awarded a number of national and international prizes. His awards include best in show at Park Art Fair International, first prize in B2zone art contest in Switzerland, an honorable mention at Park Art Fair International and International Prize Colosseo, in Roma, Italy.
The Moroccan-French news website, Le Desk, got its hands on a dark side of Baznani and revealed in an article titled, “Achraf Baznani: Le Mauvais génie plagiaire de la photographie” (Achraf Baznani: The Evil Genius Plagiarist of Photography), that the ‘artist’ merely copied the work of an England-based Canadian artist.
Using an article shared by the Canadian Artist, Joel Robison, Le Desk dived into Baznani’s only resource to his success, reproducing surrealist photographs of less famous artists. The report also shed light on the Moroccan photographer’s attempts to dodge the accusations through fake articles and tweets.
The fake artist reacted to the article by signaling the news website’s fan page on Facebook. Facebook responded by blocking Le Desk’s fan page for 18 hours, stirring controversy. The CEO and Co-Founder of Le Desk, Fatima Zahra Lqadiri, resorted to Twitter to denounce Facebook’s “dictatorial” censorship.
According to CNN Arabic, the website’s CEO stated that she contacted the administration of Facebook. She expressed her surprise at Facebook’s decision to respond to the signals of the photographer by taking off her page.
“We have not published materials inciting violence or hatred or even pornographic publication to be harmed this way from the procedure. Unfortunately, Facebook that boasts its efforts to protect freedom of expression has began to impose a dictatorship on news sources, and interfere in their content, even if it contradicts with its own terms and conditions,” Lqadiri told CNN Arabic.
