Facebook Banned a Hindu Extremist Group – Then Left Most of Its Pages Online for Months – By Billy Perrigo
Facebook allowed a Hindu extremist group to operate openly on its platform for months, even after the company banned the group’s main pages for violating its policies.
It was not until TIME pointed out a network of more than 30 pages linked to the Sanatan Sanstha – with more than 2.7 million total followers – that the social media giant followed through and purged them in April. The pages regularly shared hate speech and misinformation, largely targeting India’s Muslim minority, including Islamophobic depictions of Muslims as green monsters with long fingernails.
The Sanatan Sanstha’s extended presence on Facebook, despite the ban, raises questions about how effectively the company is delivering on its commitment to root out hate speech and incitement to violence – including in India, its largest market….
