TOPLINE
As Facebook faces increasing backlash from major advertisers for not doing enough to combat hate speech and misinformation, the company on Tuesday said it officially categorized a network of accounts linked to far-right Boogaloo movement as a “Dangerous Organization Or Individual” under its policies, and will ban content associated with it moving forward.
In this May 2, 2020, file photo, people, including those with the boogaloo movement, demonstrate ... [+]
KEY FACTS
Facebook removed 220 Facebook accounts, 95 Instagram accounts, 28 Pages and 106 groups that comprise a subset of the broader Boogaloo movement because it actively seeks to commit violence.
The company also took down an additional 400 groups and more than 100 other Pages because they hosted similar content as the violent network, but were run by accounts outside of it.
Facebook also designated the network a “Dangerous Organization Or Individual,” meaning it is banned from having a presence on the platform and that content praising, supporting or representing it will be removed.
A Facebook spokesperson told Forbes the designation doesn’t mean all Boogaloo content will be banned, only posts, groups and accounts that spread similar content to the violent network.
The Boogaloo movement is a group of loosely-affiliated adherents that call for violent uprisings against the government and aims to start a second American Civil War.
The movement has been implicated in violence during the unrest following the death of George Floyd: Steven Carrillo, a U.S. Air Force sergeant who allegedly murdered law enforcement officers in California during protests earlier this month, was associated with the movement.
Crucial quote
“This network appears to be based across various locations in the US, and the people within it engage with one another on our platform. It is actively promoting violence against civilians, law enforcement and government officials and institutions,” the company said in a blog post.
News peg
A growing number of major companies, such as Target, Coca Cola and Unilever, are joining a boycott against Facebook by stopping all advertising on the platform, over what they say is Facebook’s failure to address fake news and hate speech. Civil rights groups, such as the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League, launched the #StopHateForProfit campaign on June 17 after the company didn’t take action against a series of Trump’s tweets earlier this month, including one warning that “looting” would lead to “shooting” of protesters.
