Meta’s social networks are scrubbing dissent regarding a controversial megaproject in central Việt Nam.
The Latest: Since mid-July, numerous Threads and Facebook users have reported that the social media platforms removed their posts criticizing the Vingroup-developed Làng Vân project.
The Details: On Aug. 3, Threads user hpsweettt stated that the platform had removed a poem about Làng Vân posted July 23. The poem read:
Reaching Hải Vân, I stopped in dismay
Concrete among rocks, sand strewn every way
Excavators crouching, cranes here and there
The green forest shattered, laid nearly bare
The post announcing the poem’s removal has received more than 60,000 interactions.
It was not the first post about the project to be removed.
- Numerous Threads users noted that the platform has taken down a large number of Làng Vân posts since late July without providing a clear explanation.
- While the term “Đèo Hải Vân” still returns a significant number of posts on Threads, it is no longer listed as trending on the platform.
The removals have not been limited to Threads.
- On Aug. 3, Facebook user Ha Kin said that Facebook removed a post containing only “a single exclamation about the appalling ugliness and environmental destruction at ‘Hải Vin Pass’”—a play on words combining Hải Vân and Vingroup.
- Facebook stated that the post had violated intellectual property rights.
The Background: Since early July, the Vingroup-developed Làng Vân megaproject located at the foot of Hải Vân Pass in Đà Nẵng has faced a wave of opposition on social media.
- The public backlash primarily stems from concerns regarding the effects of the development on the local landscape, ecology, and environment.
Why It Matters: What remains unclear is the mechanism behind the removals. Social media platforms generally remove content after their automated systems detect a possible violation, another user files a report, or a government or company submits a formal removal request.
For several posts, Threads said the content was removed because it “infringed someone else’s copyright.” However, the platform did not identify the copyright holder.
Hoàng Nam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 4, 2026.
