May 3 (UPI) — Facebook banned several high-profile people Thursday for violating its policy against “dangerous individuals and organizations,” including right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan and Milo Yiannopoulos.
A Facebook spokesman told CNN Business that individuals and groups can be banned for calling for violence against individuals based on race, ethnicity or national origin or for identifying with a hateful ideology and for using hate speech or slurs in their about section.
The ban extends to Facebook’s other platforms, including Instagram.
“We’ve always banned individuals or organizations that promote or engage in violence and hate, regardless of ideology,” Facebook 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.”
Jones was banned from Facebook last year for 30 days for violating community standards. Four other pages, including InfoWars, were temporarily removed. InfoWars and Jones have been banned on YouTube and Twitter.
Others who were banned include Laura Loomer, Paul Joseph Watson and Paul Nehlen.
InfoWars ties all the users together. Watson started his career on InfoWars 15 years ago and the website championed Nehlen and Loomer, both of whom were banned from Twitter.
On the other end of the spectrum, Farrakhan is a frequent target of InfoWars. The Southern Poverty Law Center considers the Farrakhan’s Nation of Islam a hate group for its “deeply racist, anti-Semitic and anti LGBT rhetoric.”
Facebook will also restrict others from expressing praise or support for someone who has been banned, though that may not apply to everyone who was banned.
