Literary Agent s Firing over Parler, Gab Accounts Stirs Free Speech Debate
On 2/3/21 at 6:00 AM EST
Literary agent Colleen Oefelein said she was never discouraged at work from posting about politics on social media, so it came as a surprise when she was fired on January 25 for using the conservative social media platforms Parler and Gab.
The New York-based literary agency she used to work for has been peppered with criticisms on social media for its decision to fire Oefelein. Some Facebook users referred to the agency s decision as censorship, while others called for an agency-wide ban. I will now be paying attention to the publisher of books and will not be purchasing any by this agency, a Facebook user commented on one of the agency s recent posts. I wouldn t have cared before about your worldly stances, if you hadn t fired someone for having a view different than your own.