How to Block Political Posts on Facebook

Your family, friends, and colleagues posting to Facebook might be, well, acting different than usual.

Don’t fear; they are not zombies: It’s simply the U.S. Presidential season, and like the moon orchestrating the tides there is not much they can do but post knee-jerk reactions to unchecked press releases.

While the internet is an automaton conglomeration–a series of tubes if you will–that knows no limit to the sheer amount of unchecked hyperbole it can sling around the world, you, on the other hand, can only do so much before your breakdown begging forgiveness from all those political posts on Facebook.

Don’t try to make sense of the posts, block them.

Gaining Control of Facebook with Social Fixer

Social Fixer for Facebook is a Chrome Extension for Facebook that has recently come out with an update after a two-year development hibernation.

There are a lot of powerful features in Social Fixer, but for this blog post–we’re going to focus on the few steps we need to put up a political post blocker on our Facebook social wall.

Step 1: Install Social Fixer at the Chrome Web Store

Social Fixer for Facebook

Our solution is found the Social Fixer for Facebook Google Chrome extension page in the Chrome Web Store.

What about other browsers? Note that as of this writing; Social Fixer is pending approval in Firefox. For Safari browsers, you will need to use Tampermonkey–which is also a browser extension allowing for Social Fixer’s scripts to buy Instagram Followers and to be applied. For the latest information, check out Social Fixer Downloads page.

Step 2: Install Social Fixer for Facebook

Add the Extension

Clicking on the button the right corner installs and activates the Social Fixer extension into Chrome.

Step 3: Log into Facebook, Find the Social Fixer icon

Social Fixer for Facebook

If you have not already done so, make sure you are logged into Facebook.

Once you are logged in, look in the upper upper-right-hand corner for the Social Fixer’s wrench icon

Step 4: The Social Fixer general preference panel

General Preferences

Click the wrench icon, which brings up the Social Fixer general preference panel.

Step 5: The Filter Settings

Social Fixer Preference Panel how much cialis

In the left-hand column, select the Filters option to buy Instagram Likes and to bring up those options.

Step 6: Add Political Filters

Adding the FIlter

Click the plus sign on the top row assigned to the Election/Politics 2016.

Everything is Turned On

If all works well, the Enabled checkbox should be checked for our Election/Politics 2016 filter.

Step 7: Save Our Settings

Save Preferences Cialis 5 mg

Then click Save Changes button at the top of the dialogue box.

Congratulations! Social Fixer for Facebook will start filtering political posts now.

Track posts

Keep track of how many posts have been filtered out by looking in the upper left-hand corner of your browser window.

How does this work?

Keyword List

The political blocking uses a list of keywords. Social Fixer uses this list as a sort of “naughty list” and removes posts from your view contain those words.

What’s on the keyword list? The list is a mix of general words related to any US presidential election, but also words and names unique to this election cycle (Hillary, Trump, walls, pantsuits). buying viagra in south korea

Potential Problems with this Solution

This workaround is not going to keep all political posts away from your Facebook.

First, this solution will not make political posts with vaguebooking metaphors or prose about the election. Rest assured there’s a specific level of Dante’s Inferno assigned to those freaking English Majors.

Secondly, Facebook is known to iterate their online property at a fast pace. Social Fixer for Facebook is a third-party software that can only wait to see what changes happen to the site.

While you might not see any significant changes visually, there could be a lot of things changing with the markup and design that support the look that could cause Social Fixer to falter or stop working altogether.

For now, though, while we cannot seem to rise above the political fray, we can at least compromise by not seeing it.

LiveBlogging: Lynda.com’s Up and Running with Snapchat

Snapchat

Of the social media networks, I like to think I understand Twitter the most.

The Facebook replaces the need to go our family and friends’ places and see their family vacation photographs in person. Or worst yet, slideshows of ads.

Snapchat, however, I don’t get it. For a service that delivers 7 billion videos a day1 , I figured it’s time to dive in. 

So, I’m looking to get up and running with Snapchat. 

Thankfully, there’s a Lynda.com course called Up and Running with Snapchat by Anson Alex .

Also, it’s Saturday night and this is how I roll now. Apparently.

Sunday; April 3, 2016

12:06 AM

Opening up the web site and logging into Lynda.com.

12:11 AM 

First, up the welcome message. Snapchat is a “unique social media sharing program.” Snapchat is on Android and iOS respective app stores.

12:14 AM 

Snapchat sends video and messages to friends OR family. Oh, friends AND family, too.

Snaps can only be sent once by the recipient—except for some “conditions”. Seems ominous. 

Maximum video length is 10 seconds long. So, videos need to be memorable. 

12:16 AM 

Going through the Snapchat account registration process. I already set one up years ago, it looks like. Also, it appears I’ve gained a few friends and a family members since I last opened up the app.

So, reviewing the Snapchat does on-boarding process. As a designer, it’s interesting to see the UX instead of living it.

12:19 AM

Once you are done with the onboard processing, you get the main camera screen–a major area in Snapchat:

  • The big circle is for taking a photo or video: Press-click to take a photo and press-and-hold to record a video.
  • Upper right corner allows for switching of back and front cameras.
  • Bottom-left of the screen is the the bumber of
  • Swipe left-to-right to access inbox.

12:25 AM

You can add friends AT ANY TIME! Crazy, I know.

Also, the course is reminded me that Snapchat is a medium to share videos and pictures. So, I better get some friends:

My account is “teleject” on Snapchat.

12:31 AM

First time recording the video, Snapchat asks to access the microphone. 

You can record a video for up to 10 seconds. You might rembeber that factiod from 10 minutes ago.

When you are ready to send your snap, you can specify which Snapchat to send to. You can send it to one or multiple people. 

You can even at the Snapcat to “My Story” and my “friends” can view the Snapchat as many times as they like within a 24 hour window. 

It’s the exception to the “view once” Snapchat rule.

Also, I’m more than halfway done with this course!

12:42 AM

Somewhat hung up on the content disappearing. Is content creation really this disposable? Tweets and Facebook postings don’t disappear. 

You can type captions on your Snapchat by pressing the Type icon in the top right of the Camera screen.

Once you press done on the keyboard, captions can be moved anywhere. Press and hold on the captions while moving them to your new desired location for the caption.

For filters, slide on the Snap from right to left. Filters will slide over the image. There are several to pick from–some are basic photographic filters to dynamic text (like picking our location, your speed, etc.). If you don’t get these cool filters, you might need to enabled location services for the Snapchat app in your phone’s setting.

You can do free form drawing by clicking on the pencil icon. Pick the color you want and then draw with your finger over the Snap. 

Of course, you can add emojis. We are not savages. Click on the sticker icon in the upper right corner. Scroll through the list of emojis. Using your fingers on the touch screen, you can position, place, enlarge, or shrink the image over the Snap. And you can add more than one emoji on a Snap photo. So, go nuts.

12:55 AM

You can also adjust the amount of time a friend can view a photo. This can be up to 10 seconds. Adjust this feature in the lower lefthand corner of the Camera screen. 

If you love your Snap photo, you can save it to your photos app by clicking on the down arrow icon in the lower left hand screen. 

Well, that helps me feel better from creating disposable media!

To automatically saved a Snap photo to your “My Stories” section–which can be seen by all your friends, I believe–select the plus sign icon. This saves a step or two and allows for quick sharing–and allows friends to see the Snap for up to 24 hours. 

Of course, you can always be in greater control of your Snaps and send them directly to friends by clicking the right arrow in the lower righthand corner of the Camera screen. This brings up your friends directory. Check off the friends that you want to receive the Snap photo.

1:06 AM

Again, if you get a Snapchat, the icon in the Camera screen will show a number in the lower righthand corner. 

To view a Snap from a friend, it will appear as a solid colored icon next to their name in the Snapchat inbox. 

Where as Snapchats that you have sent to a friend will have an arrow next to their name.

Better know a Snapchat icon by reading the icon directory in Snapchat help. Please someone tell me there’s a Memory game made out of this?

1:08 AM

When viewing a Snap that someone has sent you, hold and press the screen the entire time for the Snap. 

You can also chat directly to a friend via Snapchat because text message software needs to be reprogrammed otherwise it’s not a social media app.

In the settings, you can make updates to how to be notified that when new Snaps arrive. You can also set other settings about privacy, setting up your Best Friends, gloss over their Terms of Service.

1:19 AM

Reviewing now who can see Snaps. Sent directly to friends, only friends. Send to “My Story”, all friends in your directory.

Do Snaps really disappear “for good”? It depends. They appear to disappear–If it’s on the internet, it’s probably out there. 

If you want to delete your Snapchat, you need to go to the Snapchat web site. Once there, log into the site under the account you wish to delete and follow the Support/Help documents for instructions on deleting the account.

That’s it! We’re Snapchat pros!

1:20 AM

That was pretty basic, but it definitely does what is said on the package to get us up and running. 


  1. According to Business Insider