Facebook on Thursday banned prominent conspiracy theorists
including Infowars founder Alex Jones and the controversial black
activist Louis Farrakhan in its latest push to crack down on hate
content at the leading social network.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote
or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook,
which has been under intensifying pressure to curtail extremist
content, said in a statement.
Among the most prominent figures banned, Farrakhan, the head of
the Nation of Islam, is notorious for spreading anti-Semitic and
black supremacist views.
Far-right conspiracy theorist Jones is best known for calling
the 9/11 attacks an inside job and for describing the Sandy Hook
school massacre as a hoax. Jones’s organization Infowars was also
banned by Facebook.
Others blocked Thursday from Facebook and Instagram were Milo
Yiannopoulos, a high-profile right-wing provocateur; Paul Nehlen, a
political candidate espousing white supremacist views; and
conspiracy theorists Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer.
Facebook said those being banned had violated policies against
dangerous individuals and organizations.
“Individuals and organizations who spread hate, or attack or
call for the exclusion of others on the basis of who they are, have
no place on Facebook,” a spokeswoman for Facebook said.
Such bans typically include prohibiting others at the social
network from using the platform to post praise or support from
those no longer welcomed.
“Today’s announcement from Facebook is a step in the right
direction,” said Cristina Lopez G., deputy director for extremism
at nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters for America.
“The majority of the newly banned figures — Yiannopoulos,
Loomer, Watson, Jones, and Nehlen — owed their influence to the
massive reach they were allowed to cultivate through Facebook and
Instagram.”
Lopez welcomed the latest account bans, saying they promised to
help limit the spread of radical and often violent far-right
ideology.
Facebook last month banned various far-right British groups
including the English Defense League from its network for promoting
hate and violence.
Other groups kicked off both Facebook or Instagram included
Knights Templar International, Britain First, the British National
Party (BNP) and the National Front.
The tech titan banned the groups for contravening its policy
forbidding “terrorist activity, organized hate, mass or serial
murder, human trafficking or organized violence or criminal
activity.”
Former BNP leader Nick Griffin and Britain First leaders Paul
Golding and Jayda Fransen were also been banned in the
crackdown.
Voicing hate
Facebook and other social media platforms have been under fire
for not doing enough to curb messages of hate and violence, while
at the same time criticized for failing to offer equal time for all
viewpoints no matter how unpleasant.
US President Donald Trump has accused social media platforms of
discriminating against users with right-wing views.
“Social Media is totally discriminating against
Republican/Conservative voices,” Trump said in a tweet after Jones
was curbed at Facebook and Spotify last year.
Facebook in March announced bans at the social network and
Instagram on praise or support for white nationalism and white
separatism.
Facebook policies already banned posts endorsing white supremacy
as part of its prohibition on hate speech based on characteristics
such as race, ethnicity or religion.
The ban had not applied to some postings because it was reasoned
they were expressions of broader concepts of nationalism or
political independence, according to the social network.
Amid pressure from governments around the world, Facebook has
ramped up machine learning and artificial intelligence tools in an
effort to find and remove hateful content while remaining open to
free expression.
(AFP)
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