Facebook have placed a ban on some high-profile people, including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, for violating its policies.
Notorious for making inflammatory anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks, the Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, eas ban on Thursday.
Also banned is right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The Infowars founder was suspended from Facebook last year due to bullying and hate speech. About 22 pages associated with him were removed in February by the company.
Other people banned included Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Paul Nehlen , an anti-Semite who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2016 and 2018, and fringe right-wing media personalities Laura Loomer.
Nehlen is a white supremacist politician who had previously been banned from Twitter. Yiannopoulos is a far-right provocateur who was banned from Twitter after inspiring a wave of racist abuse. Loomer is a far-right activist who recently called Islam “a cancer on humanity” on her Instagram story
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement provided to CNN Business.
“The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.”
Facebook did not disclose all of the incidents that led to the accounts’ removal, saying that it had made the decisions following a period of review. The decision took into account the group’s behavior both on and offline, the company said.
Follow us on Facebook – @Lailasnews; Twitter – @LailaIjeoma for updates