The Washington Post reports:
Facebook said on Thursday it has permanently banned several far-right figures and organizations including Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, Infowars host Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, and Laura Loomer, for being “dangerous,” a sign that the social network is more aggressively enforcing its hate speech policies under pressure from civil rights groups.
Facebook had removed the accounts, fan pages, and groups affiliated with these individuals after it reevaluated the content that they had posted previously, or had reexamined their activities outside of Facebook, the company said. The removal also pertains to at least one of the organizations run by these people, Jones’ Infowars.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology. The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today,” Facebook said in a statement.
Jones had previously been personally banned from Facebook but now his multiple affiliated pages are banned and he’s been banned from Facebook-owned Instagram as well. Whee!
BREAKING: Facebook bans Paul Joseph Watson, Milo, Laura Loomer, Louis Farrakhan https://t.co/vfDPmXDZ4x
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 2, 2019
Facebook has removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, and Infowars from Facebook and Instagram, after designating their accounts as “dangerous,” The Verge reports. https://t.co/DDMN8aHkYm
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 2, 2019
JUST IN: Facebook says it’s banning a number of controversial figures for violating the company’s policies on hate speech and promoting violence. They include:
-Alex Jones
-Milo Yiannopoulos
-Laura Loomer
-Louis Farrakhan
-Paul Nehlen
-Paul Joseph Watson pic.twitter.com/jYGaVt4GEI— TicToc by Bloomberg (@tictoc) May 2, 2019