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Sharon Hyman was surprised to see herself called out by name by the mayor of Hampstead in a letter to a local newspaper. William Steinberg was disputing the content of letters she had written, in which she criticized his support for a new apartment complex that would force the destruction of lower-rent apartment blocks in which she and several other tenants live.

She was even more surprised to see the same article published on his Facebook page, which is titled “Mayor Bill Steinberg.”

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“Nice to disparage a private citizen who’s advocating on behalf of those less fortunate than herself,” she wrote in response on the site.

Her note was followed up by comments of several others supporting her.

Within days, she found herself blocked from the Facebook page and from commenting on the site. Her comments were deleted, as were the comments of those who supported her. Some of them were also blocked from posting.