Facebook has banned accounts for Infowars' Alex Jones, Milo Yiannopoulos, Laura Loomer, Louis Farrakhan, and others from both Facebook and Instagram, citing its “dangerous individuals and organizations” policy.
Facebook could sure use some good PR, and this smells like a very thirsty attempt to be seen Doing Something Right For A Change.
From Casey Newton at The Verge:
Facebook today removed Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer, and Infowars from Facebook and Instagram, saying their accounts violated its policies against dangerous individuals and organizations. They will be prohibited from creating new accounts, although Facebook and Instagram users will continue to be able to create posts praising them and their viewpoints, the company said.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” the company said in a statement. “The process for evaluating potential violators is extensive and it is what led us to our decision to remove these accounts today.”
Infowars founder Jones was suspended from Facebook last year under rules against bullying and hate speech. In February, the company removed another 22 pages associated with him and his businesses. Jones has continuously promoted fringe conspiracy theories, including baseless arguments that the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre never happened. His followers have stalked and harassed families of the victims, requiring them to move frequently and live in hiding.
Watson is an editor at Infowars and associate of Jones. Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation of Islam and is known for making inflammatory anti-Semitic and homophobic remarks. 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. (Instagram removed the post.)
Facebook bans Alex Jones and Laura Loomer for violating its policies against dangerous individuals
Atlantic, the Verge, CNN, and Washington Post posted this story within a minute of each other and the Atlantic has a complicated photoshop of the people banned—this is weird news for FB to release under embargo! https://t.co/sXA3x0kyc5
— Jason Koebler (@jason_koebler) May 2, 2019
We Banned The Bad Man is the new product launch https://t.co/74IXf0yz4f
— Tom Gara (@tomgara) May 2, 2019
Since when is Louis Farrakhan “far-right”?
— Blake News (@blakehounshell) May 2, 2019
FB said Jones and the rest violated its policy under "Dangerous Individuals and Organizations." It covers Terrorist activity, Organized hate, Mass or serial murder, Human trafficking, and Organized violence or criminal activity. "Organized hate" seems like the relevant section. pic.twitter.com/JllelEsajs
— Brandy Zadrozny (@BrandyZadrozny) May 2, 2019
