Facebook censors Navy SEALs who said Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi and killed U.S. Ambassador



Message was taken down by Facebook TWICE

SEALS claim it was attempt to 'quietly squelch' opposition to President Obama's alleged failures

A message posted on Facebook by Navy SEALS claiming that President Obama denied them backup as forces overran Benghazi was taken down twice by the social networking site.



The move has stoked accusations that Facebook was censoring the SEALs’ message to ‘quietly squelch opposition’ to President Obama’s alleged failures.



The message contained in a meme suggesting that Obama relied on the SEALS when he wanted to get Osama bin Laden, but then turned round and denied them back up when they called for it in Benghazi.



Censored? The SOS post was taken down by Facebook twice... but not before it had been shared online by thousands

US ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three other American embassy staff were killed in the attack by Islamist militants in Benghazi, Libya on September 11.



The tragedy has become a controversial issue in next month's presidential election due to ongoing confusion over how much the administration knew about the circumstances of the attack.

Sources present during the deadly six-hour assault have said that a desperate last request for military assistance once the CIA themselves came under attack was denied, even though elite counter-terrorism units were only two hours away.



The Facebook message about the attack was posted by Special Operations Speaks PAC (SOS), an organisation founded by Special Operations veterans dedicated to protecting forces at home and abroad.



Attack: The US Consulate in Benghazi is seen in flames during fierce clashes in which US Ambassador Chris Stevens died

The image was shared on Facebook between 30,000 users within 24 hours of it being posted online.



However it was taken down at the weekend for what SOS claims was an ‘unspecified violation of Facebook’s terms of Rights and Responsibilities.’



Retired SEAL Captain Larry Bailey said: ‘It looks like Obama’s liberal followers in Facebook HQ are terrified of how damaging the Benghazi scandal is for the President.



'We understand that Facebook can run their site however they’d like, but when they’re trying to quietly squelch opposition to what is a clear leadership failure that resulted in the tragic deaths of some of our nation’s heroes, they deserve the to be called out on it.’



Tragedy: Walls at the main entrance of the US consulate in Benghazi, apparently stained with blood

Colonel Dick Brauer Jr, retired from the US Air Force, added: ‘Americans across the country deserve the truth about what happened in Libya, and they certainly deserve to know when people who hold the keys to a lot of their online communications are trying to keep that from them.’



After the post was removed twice and SOS’s Facebook account suspended for 24 hours, the post was reinstated and SOS received an email from Facebook apologising.



It said: ‘A member of our team accidentally removed something you posted on Facebook. This was mistake, and we sincerely apologize for this error. We've since restored the content, and you should now be able to see it.’



SOS responded to the apology: ‘We accept their apology but do not accept that it was an innocent mistake. It was clearly a means to protect Obama on Libya.’

A spokesperson from Facebook said: 'This was an error and we apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused. They can feel free to repost the image.'

