On Thursday, The New York Times reported that Facebook and its subsidiary Instagram had decided to ban seven of its most controversial users from their platforms. Many of the accounts banned were run by far-right media personalities like conspiracy theorist and InfoWars founder Alex Jones, former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, and right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” a Facebook spokeswoman 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.”
Banned from Facebook and Instagram:
Louis Farrakhan
Alex Jones
Laura Loomer
Paul Nehlen
Paul Joseph Watson
Milo Yiannopouloshttps://t.co/E9S6PQ3Par— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 2, 2019
Also included in Thursday’s announced ban was Minister Louis Farrakhan, the black nationalist best known for being the leader of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has been criticized in the past for what many perceived as anti-semitic remarks. Facebook’s choice to purge the 85-year-old from their platforms is likely connected to this criticism. The decision didn’t sit well with everyone, however. Just hours after the announcement was made, the rapper Snoop Dogg posted a video to Instagram criticizing the company for what he saw as their unfair treatment of the Minister.
“So Facebook and Instagram just banned Louis Farrakhan, I want to know for what?” Snoop asked. “All he ever do was to tell the truth…How the f*ck you gonna ban Minister Louis Farrakhan for putting truth out there?” he went on angrily. “I stand with him…ban me muthaf*cka. Ban me. I’ma keep posting his sh*t. I’ma keep putting Louis Farrakhan out there. That’s my dear brother. F*ck y’all that got a problem with him.”
You can watch the clip above.
