Facebook bans Britain First for inciting hatred against Muslims
Facebook bans Britain First for inciting hatred against Muslims
Facebook removed the pages of Britain First and its two leaders for its anti-Muslim posts.
2 min read
Britain First deputy leader Jayda Fransen addresses media before a court hearing [Getty]
The far-right and anti-Muslim Britain First group had its Facebook pages removed after repeatedly violating community standards, the BBC reported.
Facebook also removed the pages of its two leaders, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen. Both were jailed earlier this month after being charged with religiously aggravated harrassment.
More than two million people followed Britain First, making it one of the largest political groups on the social platform.
The decision to remove the Facebook pages came after Britain First ignored another warning about material that contravened the social media site's community standards.
The material in question included a post of the group's leaders with a caption that read "Islamophobic and Proud" and a photo caption comparing Muslims with animals.
Facebook said a replacement page will not be allowed.
"People can express robust and controversial opinions without needing to denigrate others on the basis of who they are," the company wrote in a blog post.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim to hold the post, praised Facebook's decision.
"Britain First is a vile and hate-fuelled group whose sole purpose is to sow division," Khan said.
Hate speech based on race, religion, gender and other personal characterists is routinely removed from the platform, which has over 2.2 billion monthly active users
US President Donald Trump has in the past retweeted videos posted by Britain First.
Agencies contributed to this report.
Facebook also removed the pages of its two leaders, Paul Golding and Jayda Fransen. Both were jailed earlier this month after being charged with religiously aggravated harrassment.
More than two million people followed Britain First, making it one of the largest political groups on the social platform.
The decision to remove the Facebook pages came after Britain First ignored another warning about material that contravened the social media site's community standards.
The material in question included a post of the group's leaders with a caption that read "Islamophobic and Proud" and a photo caption comparing Muslims with animals.
Facebook said a replacement page will not be allowed.
"People can express robust and controversial opinions without needing to denigrate others on the basis of who they are," the company wrote in a blog post.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, the first Muslim to hold the post, praised Facebook's decision.
"Britain First is a vile and hate-fuelled group whose sole purpose is to sow division," Khan said.
Hate speech based on race, religion, gender and other personal characterists is routinely removed from the platform, which has over 2.2 billion monthly active users
US President Donald Trump has in the past retweeted videos posted by Britain First.
Agencies contributed to this report.
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