back to article Facebook kills 'Kill Obama' poll

Facebook has removed a user poll set up to ask "Should Obama be killed?" and the Secret Service is now looking into it. Some 750 Facebook users had voted in the poll - they could choose between "yes", "no" and "If he cuts my healthcare". Some of those people should expect a visit from the Men in Black - the Secret Service …

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  1. Richard 81

    Idiots

    Idiots for their right wing phobia of anything vaguely socialist, but mostly idiots for openly stating that they'd like to see their president* killed on t'internet.

    *If you're not actually an American, I'd imagine you can say this sort of thing all you like. Just don't plan on taking any trips there.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    What excatly is wrong...

    with the poll? It only asks a question. If you take it far enough how about this mind string: In the US (at least some states) it is ok for the state (the people) to kill its citizens if the people so decide (trough the courts). That being the case should it not be allowed to vote on whom to kill?

    These are just questions. I am not threatening to kill every American or otherwise that live in areas with death penalty. I´m against death penalty myself but surly people that live under the risk of it arte allowed to discuss who deserve it.

  3. Steve 26
    Big Brother

    Brown

    Is there a poll for 'Is Gordon Brown a one-eyed Scottish Idiot'?

    Answer:

    A. Yes

    or

    B. Yes

  4. mmiied
    Thumb Up

    the USA

    the only country where you find pepol who are FOR unversal access to guns and AGAINST uinveral access to doctors you got to love the logic

  5. JetSetJim
    FAIL

    I wonder...

    ..if the SS would investigate if the poll read "kissed" rather than "killed"? Just as vacuous, as is the rest of MyFace

  6. eJ2095

    God some people

    Am amazed that have even managed to get on facebook over the last few weeks.

    The site is deing a painfull death!

  7. AC 4
    Black Helicopters

    heh

    but clearly it's fun to kill Obama randomly put bombs in the whitehouse words into sentences.

    How is this poll a threat? The SS are dumbasses. This polls is what's called F-U-N. Or do you not have fun on that side of the pond?

    Hang on, there's a knock on the doo...

    Hello world, I Love Obama. End communication.

  8. dunncha
    Black Helicopters

    Anonymous coward

    I bet all the people that voted for him to be killed are $hiting themselves now.

    I of course I didn't vote so have nothing to fear........

    is that Secret Service helicopters I hear in the distance?

    A knock at the door. <gulp>

  9. Martin 19
    Black Helicopters

    You have been poked by the NSA

    or the CIA, or whoever...

  10. lukewarmdog

    poll

    Quick start a poll to see if polls should be allowed.

    Isn't this a direct interference in the democratic process?

    Besides.. does anyone *really* care what happens on faceoffbook?

    Chances are most of those people didn't have high level access to el presidente.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Republican Paramilitary Wing

    Sounds like more from the Republican paramilitary wing. Why is it, whenever someone wants a Republican viewpoint, they call on the extremist wing of the Republicans, people like Rush Limburg?

    Why is the Republican voice hijacked by the extremists and Fox?

  12. Paul 4

    It is not...

    Free speech, or democratic process. It is some ideot that didn't think a poll is a death threat. I doubt the secret service will do much, but they have to check if it is some ideot having fun, or some loon who might just act on it claiming "its what the people want".

    Oh, and Steve 26, c) All of the above?

  13. Alastair McFarlane
    FAIL

    @Steve 26

    Surely that's a bit like asking "Is The Register a website?"

    I mean, asking if he's an idiot is fair enough, would get a good split in results I think (unless you offered "yes" and "yes" as answers, obviously), but asking if he's one-eyed and Scottish just seems a little unnecessary...

  14. Grant 5
    Unhappy

    @ AC 4 10:14

    "How is this poll a threat? The SS are dumbasses. This polls is what's called F-U-N. Or do you not have fun on that side of the pond?"

    No there's no fun involved some of those people are deadly serious and that's the problem. As stated by mmiied

    "the only country where you find pepol who are FOR unversal access to guns and AGAINST uinveral access to doctors you got to love the logic"

    you can see the kind of people and level of stupidity that you're dealing with.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    RE:Republican Paramilitary Wing

    Moderate and sensible republicans are as common as the green legged Canadian zebra. Or peaceful extremist left wingers.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Grenade

    extremists and Fox?

    Aren't they one and the same???

    I wonder how long a similar poll about El Gordo would last (though in all fairness, it'd probably be started by Darth Mandelson anyway!)

    Perhaps "Should the Labour Party give Gordon Brown a bottle of scotch and a revolver?" would be more appropriate? Not a direct threat, but an encouragement to regain some honour in the final days of Labour.

    AC in case the SSS (Scottish Secret Stasi) come for me...

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    (untitled)

    I guess that's one of the problems when your society condones folk arming themselevs with firearms. The most ridiculous of things end up being taken seriously.

    I hope this side of The Pond hasn't yet reached the stage where a poll on killing any named politician was deemed a big enough threat to involve official investigation.

    Makes one wonder what they intend to do when they find the schoolkid responsible. Make an example of them ?

  18. Andy Miller
    Headmaster

    @Anonymous Coward

    Q: "Why is it, whenever someone wants a Republican viewpoint, they call on the extremist wing of the Republicans, people like Rush Limburg?"

    A: I believe by "someone" you mean the Broadcast Media. Their interest is getting larger audiences, usually to sell more advertising (in the case to the BBC to justify its licence fee). Extremists (of any political hue) make better telly then reasonable human beings. This attracts more viewers, particularly of the gullible variety the advertises really want.

    The public gets what the public wants.

    Next time you see an objectionable jerk on telly, make a note of the channel and time. Write to all the advertisers in the following spot and tell them that you had been considering buying their product, but the interview on Channel X at time Y has made you associate it with Arse-hole Z and therefore you are going to buy from their mortal enemy.

    Worth a try.

    Sorry, I seemed to strayed from the point. It's YouTwitFace. It's for jerks to mouth off on (that's what I use it for). Still, can't hurt if the feds make it plain to these jerks that anything with your name, your picture and a list of your friends isn't exactly anonymous.

    It is the people who voted "yes" that they are going after I assume?

  19. HFoster
    Paris Hilton

    Where were these polls over the last 8 years?

    'Nuff said.

    Paris, because she loves a good poll ...

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    RE:(untitled)

    They will get a free trip to the CIA torture camp near Komitan, Uzbekistan where they will get first class re-educational introduction.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Good job there wasn't a facebook worm at the time

    Half the world dragged up before the beak after a worm spreads round and clicks the 'yes' button for them.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    @AC 11:11

    Surely you mean the dreaded McStasi?

  23. Cameron Colley

    I don't understand the problem?

    I thought the US had free speech? I also thought that the people had the power to take up arms against the government (I know I phrased that wrong, I'm sure someone could clarify)?

    If the above are true surely the poll was perfectly legal?

    @mmiied and other anti-American comments: Different countries have different laws due to their size, geography, economy, cultural backgrounds and many other factors -- there are sensible arguments for both gun ownership (Switzerland doesn't have any problems) and healthcare systems, but there are equally valid arguments against both.

    Also, we may not have the level of gun ownership in this country but I bet if you were to start a similar poll over here you could expect to be arrested under Anti-Terrorism laws all the same.

  24. Crazy Goat Man Al

    Re Steve 26

    You forgot

    C: All of the above

    and

    D: Hes my son and a love him very much, but YES

  25. Winkypop Silver badge
    WTF?

    Wot, W@ankers on FarceBook?

    Surely there's some mistake?

  26. Gulfie
    Stop

    @Richard 81

    No, no, no, remember you can be extradited to the US for even just thinking about them in a slightly negative way... voting in a poll like this will get you ten years in chokey!

  27. Reallydo Wannaknow

    free speech yes, but ...

    Yes, America's constitution defends the rights of free speech. However, please refer to this law:

    U.S. Code, Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 41, Section 871: Threats against President and successors to the Presidency

    (a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

    So I guess it's a question of whether or not it's considered to be a threat. Or whether SpaceFace communications are covered under the law, since it's in teh Interwebs.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    US Law

    It is a felony in the United States to threaten the President. The Secret Service is paid not to have a sense of humor. WIth these two facts, anyone with half a brain would have realized that setting up such a poll was just asking, nay, begging for trouble. If they were hoping to make some sort of stupid free speech claim they will find that federal judges rarely have a sense of humor as well.

    I don't know what the laws are on threatening other federal and/or state officials.

  29. TeeCee Gold badge
    Pint

    Re: RE:Republican Paramilitary Wing

    Hey! Shome of my besshht friendsh are green-legged Cananadian woshathingies.....you know.....shtripesh......

  30. Matt 32

    Well...

    >the only country where you find pepol who are FOR unversal access to guns and AGAINST

    >uinveral access to doctors you got to love the logic

    We have universal access to healthcare. Go to the Docs, pay for the healthcare. Have an emergency, go to the ER and you'll be treated irregardless of ability to pay.

    We don't have universal access to guns -- while there is a fundamental right to bear arms, there is a variety of government imposed rules regulating that right. Most are quite reasonable, some are feel good political nonsense. Far more restrictions are placed on the ownership of guns then on where one may seek healthcare; there is no taxpayer supported programs to buy guns for the poor or elderly; there are no places to simply show up and say you have an emergency and ask for bullets for free.

  31. Dave Mundt
    Alert

    So what WERE the Poll results?

    While it is a pretty tacky poll, I would be more interested in finding out what the results of those 760 or so votes were. Perhaps it created such a furor because the results were so highly biased towards "yes". Also, frankly, 760 or so persons are a pretty small sampling of the millions of Americans on line...so perhaps if the poll had been left up a bit longer, it would have gotten a bit more representative view of the American public on the question.

    Sadly enough, though, while the White House denies it, I fear that too much of the opposition to Pres. Obama's administration is racially motivated, and, that is the sort of motivation that creates polls like this.

    Regards

    Dave Mundt

  32. J 3
    Paris Hilton

    @Anonymous Coward 29th September 2009 09:49

    You don't see anything wrong with those questions and then post as Anonymous Coward, eh? Priceless irony. And no, that's nothing to do with a deficiency in important metals.

    Although it might have been because you are ashamed of your appallingly bad spelling and grammar skills...

  33. kain preacher

    Atleast

    Americans can take pics of cops with out fears of going to jail. We can take pics of land marks with cops taking our cameras . I don't know why some folks across the pond thinks every America is a gun toting freak. Never been here but abel to judge every American.

  34. Tom Maddox Silver badge
    Grenade

    FFS

    Nothing like a political article to bring down the level of intelligence, coherence, spelling, and grammar in the comments. From what benighted hole did you guys crawl?

  35. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    How can this be?

    The U.S. media has claimed for months that Bama has eliminated all devisiveness in America so how could anyone be unhappy with the leadership of The Messiah?

  36. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    Free Speech? F*ck Off

    The right to free speech does not include the right to make death threats, threats of violence, the right to cause panic that could result in injury or death or the right to threaten any President, even as a joke.

    Due to the racist beliefs still held in many southern States, the current President receives more threats in a week than any previous President did during their entire time in office. This furor over health care is just so much bullshit used by a few right wing hacks on Fox News and public radio Nazis who object to the fact someone they don't like overwhelmingly destroyed their preferred Presidential candidate.

    Guess what, the other party has a political view that is different to yours and while you do have the right to object to it, you can't do so in a threatening or violent manner.

    If you don't like the idea of healthcare being affordable, or a 7% increase in taxes for the rich, greedy fucks that stole our pensions, sent our jobs overseas, put our homes into foreclosure and grabbed billions of tax dollars while doing it, you can try to get your guy in next time.

    If you want to make up lies about grandmothers being killed, guns being taken away or normal people's taxes being increased, then don't expect the non-retarded population of the US to believe them any more than we believe religion should be taught as a viable alternative to science.

    You guys had your President, who handed billion dollar contracts to his Vice President's ex-business partners in Halliburton, allowed Enron to bankrupt California and its CEOs to steal the pensions of all their employees, used the NSA to spy on Americans and tap our phone calls by the million - and even tried to tap the phone calls of Congressmen. If you think we'll ever vote in another coward that authorises the torture of innocents and rips up the Constitution because the Right was so fearful of a few terrorists, you can go fuck yourselves.

  37. Jeffrey Nonken
    Stop

    Over-reaction? No. Not really.

    The Secret Service are required to treat ANY death threats to the President as potentially serious.

  38. JP-2.0
    WTF?

    People are actually surprised?

    Some schmuck makes a "joke" about killing the Pres and the SS is investigating? Of course they are, that's their job. The investigation will probably reveal that the comedians behind this thing are too fat to fit through their front door, and aren't actually a threat to anybody.

  39. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    Obama's shine is wearing thin...

    The simple fact is that Obama (along with his actions and his administration) is losing credibility, and support, unbelievably fast. And, NO... not just from his political, ideological, opponents. Many, many, of those who actually helped put him in the "Whitehouse", in the first place, have begun to wake-up (...in alarm, and HORROR). Hell... I caucused for the man... but, that was before he decided to, not only renew but also to, expand the completely-un-Constitutional "Patriot Act" powers. And, that was before he, personally, voted to prevent any investigation, or prosecution of those involved in the Government's illegal wire-tapping program. And, that "support" was before Obama supported a "financial bailout"... which also contained the largest, "peacetime" expansion of "Executive power" since the "Civil War". My support (and the "support" of many others) also occurred before Obama's true position, and intentions, against the 2nd-Amendment, as well as the complete SHAM of "healthcare reform" ...which is, in reality, nothing more than a "legally-mandated insurance/revenue-extraction" scheme for the, utter disaster of, American (corporate-profits driven) "Healthcare" industry. And then, there is the latest "Net Neutrality" charade... which, upon closer examination, seems will actually, primarily, dramatically expand the Federal-Government's direct-control of the Internet (through the "FCC").

    All, in all... THOSE are the reasons that so many now oppose Obama. And, THAT is why he is becoming so "hated" (...even more so than that traitorous, totalitarian, imbecile... George Bush. At least George Bush didn't say one thing, and then do the exact opposite. More, and more people have begun to realize that he [George Bush] wasn't nearly as -slimy- as Obama is proving himself to be).

    I think I now know how the Russian people felt, at the turn of the last century. When, after overthrowing the Russian-aristocracy... they got the full-brunt of extremist "Socialism" shoved down their collective-throats... under the barrel of a gun.

    And, now... the favored propaganda-technique that is getting the most mileage... here in the United States (and elsewhere) are the intentionally-ignorant claims that virtually all those that oppose Obama's, traitorous, actions... are "deluded", "fringe", "...RACISTS", etc. (actually, that little SHAM was, clearly, very-carefully, being set-up months ago... if you were watching, and had any knowledge of common political-manipulation techniques).

    The saddest-part is that the fewer, and fewer, that blindly support Obama (or, who just can't be troubled to actually investigate beyond his propaganda-machine) ...are so vocally, and vehemently, repeating this drivel.

    In fact, Obama, and his supporters, HAVE, actually, already begun describing anyone that opposes his plans, as... "un-American", and a "...danger ...to our society". In truth, it is becoming painfully-clear that Obama (and his ever-shrinking, but ever more determined, support-base) actually seems to consider the American-People, themselves, to be THE "threat"... to achieving their extremist-agenda.

    I hope for the best... BUT, I truly feel the worst coming.

  40. Degenerate Scumbag
    FAIL

    Morons

    Asking if the president should be killed is not a threat.

    Even stating that you think he should be killed would not be a threat.

    Stating your intention to carry out said act is what would constitute a threat.

  41. mmiied
    Joke

    @matt 32

    "there are no places to simply show up and say you have an emergency and ask for bullets for free."

    witch is a pitty as it would make the zombi apoclips a lot easer

    "hello there is a zombi on my lawn and I need some ammo"

    "ok sir what caliber do you need"

    in fact my comments where not actuley a critisum of the USA just a thought reguarding the major diffrences in culture that can be preesent between 2 countryes even ones as simular on the surface as the UK and the USA

  42. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    It doesn't matter, does it?

    It doesn't matter if the president is white or black as long as they are a criminal, scumbag, lying, stealing, POS, now does it? Color or race doesn't make you a dirtbag, your choices do.

  43. lukewarmdog
    Badgers

    @kain preacher

    Visiting somewhere doesn't make you qualified to comment on it except on holiday websites. I've never been to Narnia but I can confidently state it is being ruled very well by a large lion and four human children. Hogwarts, despite recent attempts to reform it by Mandelson, is once again being run democratically and fairly, so much so that people like Harry Potter have voted with their loins and sent their own children there.

    I'm all for people control as apparently guns don't kill people. Cheney does.

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