Facebook has banned the Chicago-based leader of the Nation of Islam as part of the tech giant’s efforts to rid its websites of “dangerous” people and organizations.
Pages affiliated with Minister Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones, Paul Nehlen, Paul Joseph Watson, Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopolous were removed from both Facebook and Instagram for violations of Facebook’s policies, the website said in a statement.
Farrakhan’s official Facebook and Instagram pages had more than 1 million “likes” and followers before they were removed Thursday afternoon. His Twitter account, with more than 336,000 followers, remains active.
Posts on Farrakhan’s Facebook page often contained clips of his speeches and sermons, which has sometimes been streamed on Facebook Live. Many of those same clips are still posted to his Twitter account, where they have been viewed and shared several hundred thousand times.
A representative for the Nation of Islam did not respond to a request for comment about Farrakhan’s ban. Addressing the Facebook and Instagram ban on Twitter, the Nation of Islam invited its followers to sign up for its email newsletter “to stay connected with Movement & Action!”
A representative for Twitter did not respond when asked if the platform had plans to ban Farrakhan.
Farrakhan, who leads the Nation of Islam from its headquarters at 74th and Stony Island, has a lengthy history of bigoted comments, especially against Jews. He has publicly said that Jews control the U.S. government, the media and were responsible for the slave trade and 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Anti-Defamation League says the Nation of Islam “has maintained a consistent record of anti-Semitism and racism since its founding in the 1930s.”
In a 2017 speech, Farrakhan, 85, said that modern-day Jews are “not really Jews but, in fact, Satan,” according to the ADL.
“The organization has used its programs, institutions, and media to disseminate its message of hate,” the group said.
In a speech given in Detroit last October, Farrakhan compared Jews that don’t like him to vermin.
“To the members of the Jewish community that don’t like me: Thank you very much for putting my name all over the planet because of your fear of what we represent,” he said to a round of applause. “I’m not mad at you ‘cuz you’re so stupid.”
“So when they talk about Farrakhan, call me a hater — you know what they do — call me an anti-Semite, stop it,” he added. “I’m anti-termite.”
Father Michael Pfleger, an ally of Farrakahn, ripped Facebook and its chairman, Mark Zuckerberg.
“How dare FB BAN Minister Louis Farrakhan while daily I come across Racist, Violent and Hateful comments and postings…I STAND WITH MY BROTHER….Mr. Zuckerberg your hypocrisy and double standards are disgraceful,” he tweeted.
Richard Muhammad, the editor in chief of The Final Call, the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam, wrote a column Wednesday about murders carried out by white nationalists under the headline: “White Nationalism, White Hatred Is America’s Problem, Not Louis Farrakhan.”
“Despite the tragedy and loss of life in California and that killing which we reject, we will not sacrifice Min. Farrakhan on an altar that absolves America of her sins or tries to destroy this innocent man,” Muhammad wrote, referring to the murders of two people at a Los Angeles, allegedly by a white supremacist.
Facebook has also banned white nationalists groups from its platforms.
