Altered Nancy Pelosi video appears to have actually vanished from Facebook. No one understands why

A Facebook video that was become make House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appear intoxicated appears to have actually been gotten rid of from the social media. Who removed the video, which amassed countless views and created storms of debate, is uncertain. 

On Monday, Politics WatchCanine, the group that published the video to its Facebook Page, stated the social media had actually gotten rid of the video. A Facebook spokesperson rebutted the accusation, stating, “We did not remove the video.”

Politics WatchCanine didn’t state how it understood Facebook was accountable for the video’s elimination or if it had actually been notified of the action. The group, which states it authorities both Republicans and Democrats, didn’t right away react to an ask for extra remark. 

CNET could not discover the video, which was adapted to make Pelosi seem slurring her words, on Politics WatchCanine’s Facebook Page. A link to the video in a previous CNET report rerouted to the homepage for Facebook Watch, the social media’s video streaming center, recommending the initial post was no longer active. Another link to the video states the material isn’t offered: “The link you followed may have expired, or the page may only be visible to an audience you’re not in.”

Facebook didn’t respond to concerns about whether the video was still in its system or if Politics WatchCanine’s administrators might have changed personal privacy settings to avoid it from being shown openly.

The social media has actually weathered installing criticism for keeping the video up. The video wasn’t gotten rid of, Facebook stated, due to the fact that it does not have a policy needing material published on the website to be real.

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The video highlights the growing problem of fake news on social media. Facebook in particular has come under fire from lawmakers, including conservatives who say the social network is censoring far right voices. The company says it’s trying to combat misinformation while balancing safety and free expression.

Facebook’s community standards state the company doesn’t remove fake news but will show it lower in its News Feed. However, the company has taken down fake accounts for “inauthentic behavior,” which means the people behind the accounts tried to mislead users about who they were and what they were doing. 

The doctored Pelosi video showed the California Democrat speaking at a Center for American Progress event in May. The speed of the video was slowed down and the pitch of the politician’s voice was altered. During the speech, Pelosi accused President Donald Trump of being part of a “cover-up.”

The video was originally posted on May 22 at 10:29 a.m. As of May 31, it had garnered 2.9 million views and more than 48,700 people shared it. Fact-checker Lead Stories said in an analysis last week that after the video was rated as false, the average amount of shares, likes and views to the video decreased. 

Critics have called out Facebook for not explicitly identifying the video as having been manipulated. Instead, Facebook directed users to fact-checkers that published articles about how the video footage was distorted. Lawmakers, including Pelosi, blasted the social network for leaving the video up.

Pelosi’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday night. 

Twitter also left the videos up but declined to comment. YouTube pulled the videos down, stating that it violated its policies against deceptive practices.